[indolering]

This is also how we end up with "crazy" regulations. Case-in-point: nuclear waste handling. Engineers create complex six-sigma safety plans which are then slowly eroded as the regulations and safety protocols are wacky overkill, right?

The WIPP nuclear isolation site had a 15 year run so management began to cut corners. Then three unlikely events all lined up and nearly got people killed. It started with a truck catching fire, which prompted operators to bypass the HVAC's filtration system. They stopped the bypass for a few days to perform maintenance on the only underground radiation detection unit. That unit gave a false alarm during testing, but was fixed and placed back into service so they started ventilating again. Then a cask was breached ~midnight because someone upstream had used organic kitty litter instead of clay kitty litter. The operator assumed it was a false alarm due to the previous false positive and kept things running. It wasn't until the next morning that they realized they were blowing radioactive particles above ground.

Had management kept maintenance up, enforced protocol, or done more than the absolute bare minimum (i.e. installing multiple underground radiation detection units) US tax payers could have avoided paying $500 million dollars. And this isn't a one-off thing, there are dozens of instances just like this where the US dodged a bullet.

0: https://lessonslearned.lbl.gov/Docs/2091/OES_2015-02%20-%20R...

[calvano915]

What a fascinating DB you linked to. I'd never known these types of things were public or common.

[fjdlwlv]

Seems like the "organic" fad was the problem

[mikeash]

The problem was substituting an unsuitable material because of mistakes when revising procedures and insufficient review of the revisions. The fact that the mistake involved an "organic" product is coincidental.