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Table 3. Effect of allowing the exploitation of hydrocarbons and potash in control zone IV (after U.S. Depanment of
Energy, 1980, table 9-19)
Percentage of
In inner zones
total recoverable
Deposit In total site (I, II, III) in Zone IV
RESOURCES
Sylvite' million st ore 133.2 39.1 71
Langbeinite' million st ore 351.0 121.9 65
Crude oil' million bbls 37.50 16.12 57
Natural gas' BCF 490 211 57
Distillate' million bbls 5.72 2.46 57
RESERVES
Sylvite'" million st ore 27.43 NIl 100
Sylvite'" million st 1(,0 3.66 Nil 100
Langbeinite' million st ore 48.46 13.3 73
Langbeinite' million st K,O 4.41 1.21 73
Crude oil million bbls
Natural gas' BCF 44.62 21.05 53
Distillate million bbls 0.12 0.03 75
'Data from U.S. Geological Survey (l978b, table 4).
'Computed from New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources (1974).
'Data from U.S. Bureau of Mines (1977, table 5).
'Sylvite considered sUbeconomic by U.S. Bureau of Mines (1977).
'Computed from data presented by Sipes, Williamson. and Associates (198Oa),
considering that only reserves under the inner safety zones are precluded from
development.
Figure 1. Evolution of the radioactive waste repository in southeastern New Mexico from the Oak
Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Study Area of 1974-1975, through the original Los
Medaftos Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) site of 1975-1982 with four control zones (1, IT,
m, and lV), to the present Los Medaftos WIPP site of 1982-to present. The l-mile-wide border
also evaluated in this report and surrounding the present WIPP area is also shown.
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