Using Results from Tru Experiments for WIPP to Determine Model Development and Needed Experimental Programs

2000 ◽  
Vol 663 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Silva ◽  
V. M. Oversby
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Model Development ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Organic Ligands ◽  
Oxidation States ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Oxide Phases ◽  
A Site ◽  
Transuranic Waste

ABSTRACTThe Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is located at a depth of 655 m in bedded salt at a site about 40 km east of Carlsbad, New Mexico.The 1996 U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) application for certification by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) included results of a performance assessment (PA) for the planned repository.After the EPA certified the facility in May, 1998, emplacement of contact handled transuranic waste (CHTRU) began in March, 1999.The WIPP facility must undergo a recertification by EPA every 5 years to demonstrate compliance with disposal regulations.Performance assessment is expected to be a key part of the recertification process.The PA will include probabilistic calculations to predict the release of actinides to the accessible environment over a 10,000 year period using a variety of plausible scenarios.The 1996 PA used a model for Pu(IV) solubility based on Th data and the assumption of analogous behavior for all actinides in the (IV) oxidation state.That model did not allow for mobility between the various possible oxidation states of Pu.The possible effects of increases in solubility of Pu through complexation with organic ligands was also not included in the PA because it was argued by DOE that such complexation would be insignificant. Subsequent data from tests using actual TRU wastes show strong evidence that the importance of organic ligands and the potential for multiple oxidation states must be carefully considered in estimating the expected solution concentrations of Pu in WIPP brines.This paper reviews the present state of knowledge of the behavior of Pu-containing wastes in contact with brines similar to those expected to be important for the WIPP repository, recent advances in understanding of the nature of Pu-oxide phases, and analytical methods that have high sensitivity for Pu speciation. A conceptual model for Pu in TRU wastes is presented and a series of steps - including experiments and calculations - that could led to an improved basis for the PA calculations to be done during the WIPP recertification process is outlined.

scholarly journals Experimental Work Conducted on MgO Characterization and Hydration

2008 ◽  
Vol 1124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoran Deng ◽  
Yongliang Xiong ◽  
Martin Nemer ◽  
Shelly Johnsen
Keyword(s):  
Control Agent ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Fractional Factorial ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Large Particles ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Engineered Barriers ◽  
And Diffusion ◽  
Transuranic Waste

AbstractMagnesium oxide (MgO) is the only engineered barrier certified by the EPA for emplacement in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a U.S. Department of Energy repository for transuranic waste. MgO will reduce actinide solubilities by sequestering CO2 generated by the biodegradation of cellulosic, plastic, and rubber materials. Demonstration of the effectiveness of MgO is essential to meet the U.S Environmental Protection Agency's requirement for multiple natural and engineered barriers. In the past, a series of experiments was conducted at Sandia National Laboratories to verify the efficacy of Premier Chemicals LLC (Premier) MgO as a chemical-control agent in the WIPP. Since December 2004, Premier MgO is no longer available for emplacement in the WIPP. Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties LLC is the new MgO supplier. MgO characterization, including chemical, mineralogic, and reactivity analysis, has been performed to address uncertainties concerning the amount of reactive constituents in Martin Marietta MgO. Characterization results of Premier MgO will be reported for comparison. Particle size, solid-to-liquid ratio, and stir speed could affect the rate of carbonation of MgO slurries. Thus, it's reasonable to hypothesize that these factors will also affect the rate of hydration. Accelerated MgO hydration experiments were carried out at two or three levels for each of the above factors in deionized water at 70 °C. The Minitab statistical software package was used to design a fractional-factorial experimental matrix and analyze the test results. We also fitted the accelerated inundated hydration data to four different kinetic models and calculated the hydration rates. As a result of this study we have determined that different mechanisms may be important for different particle sizes, surface control for large particles and diffusion for small particles.

Hydration of Magnesium Oxide in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

2002 ◽  
Vol 757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna C. Snider
Keyword(s):  
Magnesium Oxide ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Free Water ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Stable Phase ◽  
Nacl Solution ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Diffusion Limited ◽  
Transuranic Waste ◽  
Hydroxide Hydrate

ABSTRACTMagnesium oxide (MgO) is the only engineered barrier being emplaced in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a U.S. Department of Energy repository for transuranic waste. MgO will lower dissolved concentrations of actinides by consuming CO2 from possible microbial activity, by buffering the pH between 8.5 and 9.5, and by reducing the amount of free water in the repository. This paper discusses results from experiments measuring the hydration of MgO. Results suggest that periclase (MgO) hydrates rapidly to brucite (Mg(OH)2) in de-ionized water and 4 M NaCl solution at 90°C; the hydration rate decreases as temperature decreases. In ERDA-6, a NaCl-rich WIPP brine, MgO hydrates directly to brucite; in GWB, a high-Mg brine, periclase hydrates to magnesium chloride hydroxide hydrate(s) until the dissolved Mg2+ concentration decreases, and brucite becomes the stable phase. Under humid conditions MgO fully hydrates at higher humidities(> 50%). All data are consistent with diffusion-limited hydration reactions.

A National Perspective: Establishing and Implementing a Characterization Program in the U.S. for Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Nelson ◽  
Alton D. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Dose Rate ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Surface Dose ◽  
Radiation Dose Rate ◽  
Characterization Methods ◽  
Dose Rates ◽  
Transuranic Waste ◽  
The U.S

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for waste management from nuclear weapons production and operates the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for permanent disposal of defense-generated transuranic waste (TRU), as authorized by Congress in 1979. Radioactive waste in the U.S. has historically been managed in one of two ways depending on its penetrating radiation dose rate. Waste with surface dose rates above 200 millirem/hour (0.002 sievert/hour) and waste that has been managed remotely (remote-handled). In 1992, Congress passed the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, which created the regulatory framework under which DOE was to operate the facility, and authorized disposal of waste up to 1,000 rems/hour (10 Sievert/hour). Subsequently, DOE submitted applications to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at the Federal level, for certification to operate WIPP, and to the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), at the State level, for a hazardous waste permit. Both applications described the characterization methods that DOE proposed to use to ensure only compliant waste was shipped to WIPP. No distinction was employed in these methods concerning the surface dose rate from the waste. During the applications review, both regulatory agencies came to the conclusion in their approval that DOE had not demonstrated that remote-handled transuranic (RH-TRU) waste could be adequately characterized. Therefore, WIPP was only granted approval to begin waste disposal operations of waste with surface dose rates less than 200 millirem/hour (0.002 sievert/hour) — or contact-handled transuranic (CH-TRU) waste. Emplacement of CH-TRU waste in WIPP began March 26, 1999. However, WIPP was designed for disposal of both CH- and RH-TRU waste, with the RH-TRU waste in canisters emplaced in the walls of the underground disposal rooms and CH-TRU waste in containers in the associated open drifts. Therefore, as disposal rooms filled with CH-TRU waste, the space along the walls for RH-TRU waste disposal was lost. This made removal of the regulatory prohibition on RH-TRU waste a very high priority, and DOE immediately began an iterative process to change the two regulatory bases for RH-TRU waste disposal. These changes focused on how DOE could rely on CH-TRU characterization methods for adequate characterization of RH-TRU waste. On January 23, 2007, the first shipment of RH-TRU waste was finally received at WIPP. The revised EPA certification and NMED permit now both consider all waste characterization methods to be equally effective when applied to either CH- or RH-TRU waste, as DOE maintained in the original applications over 10 years ago.

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.

Opening and Operating the WIPP: A Regulator’s Perspective on Policy and Process

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott D. Monroe
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Disposal Facility ◽  
The U.S

Abstract The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is the United State’s (U.S.) first deep disposal facility for transuranic radioactive (TRU) waste generated as a result of defense activities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA or “the Agency”) initially certified the WIPP in May 1998, and WIPP received the first shipment of TRU waste on March 26, 1999. Every five years thereafter, USEPA is required by law to recertify whether the WIPP continues to comply with the USEPA’s radioactive waste disposal regulations. USEPA is coordinating with the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), which operates the WIPP, to prepare for the first recertification in 2004. This process involves many interesting technical and policy issues.

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.

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.

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.

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