Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Conceptual structure of performance assessments conducted for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6555962
 [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)
  2. Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico is being developed by the US Department of Energy as a disposal facility for transuranic 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 US 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.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
6555962
Report Number(s):
SAND-92-2285; ON: DE93013948
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English