Probability of a catastrophic hoist accident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Technical Report · Mon Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:5235509

Banz, I; Buchberger, S G; Rasmussen, D G

Radioactive waste will be transported from the surface to an underground facility at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The proposed waste transport system is a counterbalance multi-rope friction hoist that operates a single conveyance in a vertical engineered shaft. This report evaluates the annual probability of a catastrophic hoist accident at WIPP. A catastrophic accident is defined as a hoisting system malfunction which has the potential to cause uncontrolled release of radioactive material from the conveyance cargo. Abstracts of 814 hoisting accidents compiled by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for the period 1978-1984 were reviewed. Those hoisting incidents which may be applicable to the WIPP project were identified. On the basis of the MSHA records and considering the proposed design and operation of the waste transport system, accident scenarios for the WIPP hoist were postulated in three primary categories: cable break, overtravel into headframe, and overtravel into sump. A probability model was developed to represent the hoisting system and to determine the probability of a catastrophic hoist accident at WIPP. Results show that the annual probability of a catastrophic hoist accident from all postulated failure scenarios is less than one in 60 million.

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (USA); Dravo Engineers and Constructors, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-78AL05346
• OSTI ID: 5235509
• Report Number(s): WTSD-TME-063; ON: DE86000463
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
054000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ACCIDENTS
EQUIPMENT
FAILURES
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
HOISTS
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
PILOT PLANTS
PROBABILITY
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WIPP