Download or read book Certifying the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant written by and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In May 1998, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) as being in compliance with applicable long-term regulations governing the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel, high-level, and transuranic radioactive wastes. The WIPP is the first deep geologic repository in the US to have successfully demonstrated regulatory compliance with long-term radioactive waste disposal requirements. The first disposal of TRU waste at WIPP occurred on March 26, 1999. Many of the lessons learned during the WIPP Project's transition from site characterization and experimental research to the preparation of a successful application may be of general interest to other repository programs. During a four-year period (1992 to 1996), the WIPP team [including the DOE Carlsbad Area Office (CAO), the science advisor to CAO, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the management and operating contractor of the WIPP site, Westinghouse Electric Corporation (WID)] met its aggressive schedule for submitting the application without compromising the integrity of the scientific basis for the long-term safety of the repository. Strong leadership of the CAO-SNL-WID team was essential. Within SNL, a mature and robust performance assessment (PA) allowed prioritization of remaining scientific activities with respect to their impact on regulatory compliance. Early and frequent dialog with EPA staff expedited the review process after the application was submitted. Questions that faced SNL are familiar to geoscientists working in site evaluation projects. What data should be gathered during site characterization? How can we know when data are sufficient? How can we know when our understanding of the disposal system is sufficient to support our conceptual models? What constitutes adequate ''validation'' of conceptual models for processes that act over geologic time? How should we use peer review and expert judgment? Other lessons learned by SNL and the WIPP team are more specific to the regulatory context of the project and the demands imposed by pervasive review by the regulator and other external organizations. How should we document the relationship between site data and the parameter values used in computer models? How can we manage software configuration and use it to support the regulatory requirement that analyses be traceable and reproducible? Can we institute a quality assurance (QA) program that will meet the regulatory requirements and enhance the process without unreasonable budget and schedule impacts? How can we resolve technical disputes, both within the project and with external critics? How should we involve regulators and stakeholders in the compliance process? The WIPP teams answers to these questions, and others like them, were, in many cases, pragmatic solutions based on the needs of the pro-warn at the time. Some problems encountered and their solutions may be of limited interest. However, that it is possible to license a geologic repository in a regulatory proceeding while incorporating meaningful public review and criticism is a lesson of general interest to all radioactive waste management programs.

Download or read book Requirements for Disposal of Remote handled Transuranic Wastes at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant written by and published by Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers(IEEE). This book was released on 2001 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report contains the results of a peer review performed jointly by the ASME and the Institute for Regulatory Science(RSI).This report, conducted for the U.S. Department of Energy's Carlsbad Operations Office, explores the criteria for disposing of remote-handled transuranic waste at the Carlsbad waste isolation site.

Download or read book Nuclear Waste written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Nuclear Waste written by DIANE Publishing Company and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1996-10 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1998, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) plans to begin a $19 billion program to dispose of 176,000 c.m. of transuranic waste that will be permanently stored in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a repository near Carlsbad, NM. However, DoE must first obtain from EPA a certificate of compliance with its disposal regulations for radioactive waste and meet the requirements of RCRA for handling and disposing of hazardous waste. This report assesses the prospects for opening WIPP and determines how well DoE is positioned to begin filling it in the first few years of operation and longer.

Download or read book Review of the Department of Energy s Plans for Disposal of Surplus Plutonium in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2020-06-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued an Interim Report evaluating the general viability of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration's (DOE-NNSA's) conceptual plans for disposing of 34 metric tons (MT) of surplus plutonium in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a deep geologic repository near Carlsbad, New Mexico. It provided a preliminary assessment of the general viability of DOE-NNSA's conceptual plans, focused on some of the barriers to their implementation. This final report addresses the remaining issues and echoes the recommendations from the interim study.

Download or read book Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Initial Report for Polychlorinated Biphenyl Disposal Authorization written by and published by Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers(IEEE). This book was released on 2002 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Prepared through the collaborative efforts of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Center for Research and Technology Development and the Institute for Regulatory Science"--T.p. verso.

Download or read book Review of the Scientific and Technical Criteria for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant WIPP written by and published by National Academies. This book was released on 1984 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Improving Operations and Long Term Safety of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2001-06-11 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a deep underground mined facility for the disposal of transuranic waste resulting from the nation's defense program. Transuranic waste is defined as waste contaminated with transuranic radionuclides with half-life greater than 20 years and activity greater than 100 nanocuries per gram. The waste mainly consists of contaminated protective clothing, rags, old tools and equipment, pieces of dismantled buildings, chemical residues, and scrap materials. The total activity of the waste expected to be disposed at the WIPP is estimated to be approximately 7 million curies, including 12,900 kilograms of plutonium distributed throughout the waste in very dilute form. The WIPP is located near the community of Carlsbad, in southeastern New Mexico. The geological setting is a 600-meter thick, 250 million-year-old saltbed, the Salado Formation, lying 660 meters below the surface. The National Research Council (NRC) has been providing the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) scientific and technical evaluations of the WIPP since 1978. The committee's task is twofold: (1) to identify technical issues that can be addressed to enhance confidence in the safe and long-term performance of the repository and (2) to identify opportunities for improving the National Transuranic (TRU) Program for waste management, especially with regard to the safety of workers and the public. This is the first full NRC report issued following the certification of the facility by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 18, 1998. An interim report was issued by the committee in April 2000 and is reproduced in this report. The main findings and recommendations from the interim report have been incorporated into the body of this report. The overarching finding and recommendation of this report is that the activity that would best enhance confidence in the safe and long-term performance of the repository is to monitor critical performance parameters during the long pre-closure phase of repository operations (35 to possibly 100 years). Indeed, in the first 50 to 100 years the rates of important processes such as salt creep, brine inflow (if any), and microbial activity are predicted to be the highest and will be less significant later. The committee recommends that the results of the on-site monitoring program be used to improve the performance assessment for recertification purposes. These results will determine whether the need for a new performance assessment is warranted. For the National TRU Program, the committee finds that the DOE is implementing many of the recommendations of its interim report. It is important that the DOE continue its efforts to improve the packaging, characterization, and transportation of the transuranic waste.

Download or read book Independent Assessment of Science and Technology for the Department of Energy s Defense Environmental Cleanup Program written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-03-27 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2017 contained a request for a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine review and assessment of science and technology development efforts within the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM). This technical report is the result of the review and presents findings and recommendations.

Download or read book Status of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Project written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Operations. Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Subcommittee and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1996-11-13 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume discusses the readiness of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility near Carlsbad, New Mexico, to serve as a geological repository for transuranic radioactive waste. WIPP is located in a Permian-age bedded salt deposit 658 meters below the surface. The committee has long reviewed DOE's readiness efforts, now aimed at demonstrating compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations. Site characterization studies and performance assessment modeling are among the topics considered in this volume.

Download or read book Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Construction written by and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 642 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Characterization of Remote Handled Transuranic Waste for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-09-28 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) disposes of plutonium-contaminated debris from its 27 nuclear weapons facilities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), an underground repository in Carlsbad, New Mexico. After four years of operational experience, DOE has opportunities to make changes to the costly and time-consuming process of "characterizing" the waste to confirm that it is appropriate for shipment to and disposal at WIPP.  The report says that in order to make such changes, DOE should conduct and publish a systematic and quantitative assessment to show that the proposed changes would not affect the protection of workers, the public, or the environment.

Download or read book Disposition of High Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2001-07-05 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focused attention by world leaders is needed to address the substantial challenges posed by disposal of spent nuclear fuel from reactors and high-level radioactive waste from processing such fuel. The biggest challenges in achieving safe and secure storage and permanent waste disposal are societal, although technical challenges remain. Disposition of radioactive wastes in a deep geological repository is a sound approach as long as it progresses through a stepwise decision-making process that takes advantage of technical advances, public participation, and international cooperation. Written for concerned citizens as well as policymakers, this book was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and waste management organizations in eight other countries.

Download or read book Disposition of High Level Radioactive Waste Through Geological Isolation written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-10-07 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the next several years, decisions are expected to be made in several countries on the further development and implementation of the geological disposition option. The Board on Radioactive Waste Management (BRWM) of the U.S. National Academies believes that informed and reasoned discussion of relevant scientific, engineering and social issues can-and should-play a constructive role in the decision process by providing information to decision makers on relevant technical and policy issues. A BRWM-initiated project including a workshop at Irvine, California on November 4-5, 1999, and subsequent National Academies' report to be published in spring, 2000, are intended to provide such information to national policy makers both in the U.S. and abroad. To inform national policies, it is essential that experts from the physical, geological, and engineering sciences, and experts from the policy and social science communities work together. Some national programs have involved social science and policy experts from the beginning, while other programs have only recently recognized the importance of this collaboration. An important goal of the November workshop is to facilitate dialogue between these communities, as well as to encourage the sharing of experiences from many national programs. The workshop steering committee has prepared this discussion for participants at the workshop. It should elicit critical comments and help identify topics requiring in-depth discussion at the workshop. It is not intended as a statement of findings, conclusions, or recommendations. It is rather intended as a vehicle for stimulating dialogue among the workshop participants. Out of that dialogue will emerge the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the National Academies' report.

Download or read book Review of the Status of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Project written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Operations. Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Subcommittee and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: