The War Over Kds at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

1997 ◽  
Vol 506 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W.-L. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
The United States ◽  
Distribution Coefficients ◽  
Performance Assessments ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
History Of ◽  
Compliance Certification

This paper traces the history of distribution coefficients used to calculate radionuclide transport in performance assessments for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), to obtain technical lessons for performance assessment in general. The WIPP is a geologic repository for transuranic waste. The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) has filed a compliance certification application1with the Environmental Protection Agency. If the application is approved, the USDOE plans to operate the WIPP starting in November 1997, making the WIPP the first operational repository in the United States.

A Mechanistically-Based Model for Spallings Releases at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

1997 ◽  
Vol 506 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.D. Hansen ◽  
M.K. Knowles ◽  
T.W. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Regulatory Limits ◽  
Hypothetical Scenario ◽  
The Us ◽  
Compliance Certification ◽  
Compliance Certification Application

SummaryThe Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is an underground facility operated by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for permanent disposal of transuranic waste. The compliance of the WIPP to the US Environmental Protection Agency regulations, as assessed by the performance assessment process, is demonstrated by comparison of potential releases to the regulatory limits. In the Compliance Certification Application the potential for solids release to the surface exists only for “disturbed” scenarios, whereby the repository is intersected by an exploratory borehole at some time during the regulatory period of 10,000 years. Releases for this scenario are dominated by three mechanisms associated with the hypothetical scenario. These mechanisms are “cuttings”; the removal of solid materials by the action of drilling, “cavings”; the removal of solids by erosion by the circulating mud, and “spallings”; the removal of solids by a gas-driven blow-out.

Materials Interface Interactions Test (MIIT); in-Situ Testing of Simulated Hlw Forms in Salt- Performance of Srs Simulated Waste Glass After up to 5 Years of Burial at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

1991 ◽  
Vol 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.G. Wicks ◽  
A.R. Lodding ◽  
P.B. Macedo ◽  
D.E. Clark
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTThe first field tests conducted in the United States involving burial of simulated high-level waste [HLW] forms and package components, were started in July of 1986. The program, called the Materials Interface Interactions Test or MIIT, is the largest cooperative field-testing venture in the international waste management community. Included in the study are over 900 waste form samples comprising 15 different systems supplied by 7 countries. Also included are approximately 300 potential canister or overpack metal samples along with more than 500 geologic and backfill specimens. There are almost 2000 relevant interactions that characterize this effort which is being conducted in the bedded salt site at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The MIIT program represents a joint endeavor managed by Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., and Savannah River Laboratory in Aiken, S.C. and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Also involved in MIIT are participants from various laboratories and universities in France, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In July of 1991, the experimental portion of the 5-yr. MIIT program was completed. Although only about 5% of all MIIT samples have been assessed thus far, there are already interesting findings that have emerged. The present paper will discuss results obtained for SRS 165/TDS waste glass after burial of 6 mo., 1 yr. and 2 yrs., along with initial analyses of 5 yr. samples.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: A Global Opportunity for Partnerships With a Purpose

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inés R. Triay ◽  
Mark L. Matthews ◽  
Leif G. Eriksson ◽  
Frank D. Hansen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
The United States ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
International Programs ◽  
Strategic Partnerships ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Deep Geological Disposal ◽  
Scientific Technical ◽  
Underground Research Laboratory

Abstract On March 26, 1999, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) opened the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, United States of America (USA), for safe deep geological disposal of up to 175,584 cubic meters (m3) of long-lived radioactive wastes/materials (LLRMs). Twenty-four years of intensive, iterative interactions with scientific, environmental, public, institutional, political, and regulatory interest groups resolved all regulatory and legal challenges involved in bringing a deep geological repository for LLRMs to adequate scientific, technical, institutional, political, and public acceptance and fruition. International strategic partnerships and research and development (R&D) collaborations are cornerstones in both past and current strategies designed to timely, cost-effectively, and safely accomplish the CBFO mission. The primary objectives of the CBFO’s international programs are to: 1. Acquire information supporting the CBFO mission. 2. Present and share CBFO mission information, expertise, and facilities of potential interest and/or value to other radioactive waste management and disposal programs, including using the WIPP underground research laboratory (URL) for joint R&D and training.

General Approach Used in the Performance Assessment for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

2002 ◽  
Vol 713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob P. Rechard
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Performance Assessments ◽  
Computational Tool ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Technical Approach ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Reasonable Expectation ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses the technical approach and rationale of the performance assessments (PAs) conducted for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant that contributed to the success of the certification in 1998. The PAs were iterated: there were four preliminary PAs between 1989 and 1992 and the certification PA in 1996. Although many changes occurred between the 1992 PA and 1996 PA, the preliminary iterations provided a strong foundation on quality assurance, parameter and model databases, documentation, and peer review. The seven general steps of a PA are used to provide a brief overview of their history. The paper then delves into the rationale used for the most computationally intense step of a PA, the consequence evaluation. For this evaluation, Sandia National Laboratories mostly used detailed models when evaluating the probabilistic performance of the repository under the stylized conditions specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A computational tool, CAMCON, was specifically tailored for this approach. Many advantages were gained by using detailed models directly in the PA, rather than using simplified results of these models. One important advantage was that models and parameters remained fairly unbiased (i.e., the analysis had only a few major conservative assumptions rather than many, unquantified conservatisms). This approach allowed Sandia to faithfully provide a “reasonable expectation” of repository performance, as specified by the EPA.

scholarly journals 2019 Performance Assessment Calculations for the Recertification of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Zeitler ◽  
James Bethune ◽  
Sarah Brunell ◽  
Dwayne Kicker ◽  
Jennifer Long
Keyword(s):  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
New Information ◽  
Regulatory Limits ◽  
Underground Disposal ◽  
Wholly Owned Subsidiary ◽  
The U.S

<p>The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), located in southeastern New Mexico, has been developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the geologic (deep underground) disposal of transuranic (TRU) waste. Containment of TRU waste at the WIPP is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) according to the regulations set forth in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 191. The DOE demonstrates compliance with the containment requirements according to the Certification Criteria in Title 40 CFR Part 194 by means of performance assessment (PA) calculations performed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). WIPP PA calculations estimate the probability and consequence of potential radionuclide releases from the repository to the accessible environment for a regulatory period of 10,000 years after facility closure.</p><p>The models used in PA are maintained and updated with new information as part of an ongoing process. Improved information regarding important WIPP features, events, and processes typically results in refinements and modifications to PA models and the parameters used in them. Planned changes to the repository and/or the components therein also result in updates to WIPP PA models. WIPP PA models are used to support the repository recertification process that occurs at five-year intervals following the receipt of the first waste shipment at the site in 1999.</p><p>The 2019 Compliance Recertification Application (CRA-2019) is the fourth WIPP recertification application submitted for approval by the EPA. A PA has been executed by SNL in support of the DOE submittal of the CRA-2019. Results found in the CRA-2019 PA are compared to those obtained in the 2014 Compliance Recertification Application (CRA-2014) PA in order to assess repository performance in terms of the current regulatory baseline. This presentation includes a summary of the changes modeled in the CRA-2019 PA, as well as the estimated releases over the assumed 10,000-year regulatory period. Changes incorporated into the CRA-2019 PA included repository planned changes, parameter updates, and refinements to PA implementation.</p><p>Overall, the total normalized releases for the CRA-2019 PA have increased at all probabilities compared to those from the CRA-2014 PA. Releases from each of the four potential release mechanisms tracked in WIPP PA (cuttings and cavings, spallings, releases from the Culebra formation, and direct brine releases) have also increased at all probability levels. Cuttings and cavings releases continue to dominate total releases at high probabilities and direct brine releases continue to dominate total releases at low probabilities. Although the calculated releases have increased, the total normalized releases continue to remain below regulatory limits. As a result, the CRA-2019 PA demonstrates that the WIPP remains in compliance with the containment requirements of 40 CFR Part 191.</p><p>Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.. This research is funded by WIPP programs administered by the Office of Environmental Management (EM) of the U.S. Department of Energy. SAND2020-0131A</p>

The Role of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in the Cleanup of the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne K. Smith ◽  
Mary L. Bisesi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
The United States ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
United States Department ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Transuranic Waste

As a result of nuclear weapons production, the United States of America produced significant quantities of transuranic waste, which consists of clothing, tools, rags, residues, debris and other items contaminated with small amounts of radioactive man-made elements — mostly plutonium — with an atomic number greater than that of uranium. Transuranic waste began accumulating in the 1940s and continued through the Cold War era. Today, most transuranic waste is stored at weapons production sites across the United States. In 1957, the National Academy of Sciences concluded that the most promising disposal option for radioactive wastes was disposal in deep geologic repositories situated in the salt formations. After nearly a decade of study, the United States Department of Energy decided in January 1981 to proceed with construction of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) at a site 41.6 km (26 miles) southest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. After years of study, construction, and permitting, the WIPP facility became operational in early 1999. As the United States continues to clean up and close its former nuclear weapon facilities, the operation of WIPP will continue into the next several decades. This paper will provide on overview of the history, regulatory, and public process to permit a radioactive repository for disposal of transuranic wastes and the process to ensure its long-term operation in a safe and environmentally compliant manner.

Lessons Learned at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: Share, Listen, and Learn to Earn Stakeholder Acceptance

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leif G. Eriksson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Role Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Host Community ◽  
Deep Geological Repository ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Geological Repository

Abstract On March 26, 1999, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) opened the nation’s first deep geological disposal system (repository) for long-lived radioactive wastes/materials (LLRMs) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site, New Mexico, United States of America (USA). The opening of WIPP embodies gradually achieved acceptance, both local and global, on scientific, institutional, regulatory, political, and public levels. In the opinion of the author, five significant determinants for the successful siting, certification, and acceptance of WIPP, were the existence of: • A willing and supportive host community; • A strong, independent regulator; • A regulatory framework widely perceived to (over)protect public health and the environment; • A structurally simple, old, stable, host-rock with excellent radionuclide containment and isolation characteristics; and • An open siting, site characterization, repository development, certification and recertification process with regularly scheduled opportunities for information exchanges with affected and interested parties, including a) prompt responses to non-DOE concerns and b) transparency/traceability of external-input into, and the logic behind, the DOE’s decision-making process. The nation’s and the world’s next deep geological repository for LLRMs is currently scheduled to open in 2010. As follows, in addition to providing a national solution to safe disposal of LLRMs, the opening and continued safe operation of WIPP provides an international role model that effectively dispels the global myth that LLRMs cannot be safely disposed in a deep geological repository.

scholarly journals Conceptual Structure of Performance Assessments Conducted for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

1992 ◽  
Vol 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Helton ◽  
M. G. Marietta ◽  
R. P. Rechard
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Conceptual Structure ◽  
Distribution Functions ◽  
Performance Assessments ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Cumulative Distribution ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Sensitivity Studies ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The U.S

ABSTRACTThe Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico is being developed by the U.S. Department of Energy as a disposal facility for trans-uranic waste. In support of this project, Sandia National Laboratories is conducting an ongoing performance assessment (PA) for the WIPP. The ordered triple representation for risk proposed by Kaplan and Garrick is used to provide a clear conceptual structure for this PA. This presentation describes how the preceding representation provides a basis in the WIPP PA for (1) the definition of scenarios and the calculation of scenario probabilities and consequences, (2) the separation of subjective and stochastic uncertainties, (3) the construction of the complementary cumulative distribution functions required in comparisons with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard for the geologic disposal of radioactive waste (i.e., 40 CFR Part 191, Subpart B), and (4) the performance of uncertainty and sensitivity studies. Results obtained in a preliminary PA for the WIPP completed in December of 1991 are used for illustration.

An Early Review of the Performance Assessment in the Draft Compliance Certification Application for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

1995 ◽  
Vol 412 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W.-L. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Environmental Standards ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Environmental Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Group ◽  
Compliance Certification ◽  
Compliance Certification Application

AbstractOn March 31, 1995, tlhe IT. S. Department of Energy filed a draft application for certification of compliance with I the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to show the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's compliance with the USEPA's environmental standards, making the application the first of its kind. Demonstration of compliance is by performance assessment. This paper is an early review of the performance assessment in the draft application, by the Environmental Evaluation Group, an oversight group. The performance assessment in the draft application is incomplete. Not all relevant scenarios have been analyzed. The calculation of potential consequences often does not use experimental data but rather estimates by workers developing additional data. The final compliance application, scheduled for October 1996. needs to consider additional scenarios, and be fully based on experimental data.

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