Drilling rates for oil and gas near the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:6846403

Silva, M ^[1]

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1. Environmental Evaluation Group, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

The drilling rates estimated by subjective elicitation are four orders of magnitude less than the actual drilling rates for oil and gas near the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a repository intended for the disposal of defense transuranic (TRU) waste. The 1985 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA standards for the disposal of TRU waste specifically cautioned against building a repository in an area with resource potential [open quotes]unless the favorable characteristics of such places compensate for their greater likelihood of being disturbed in the future.[close quotes] The 1992 WIPP Land Withdrawal Act requires the U.S. Department of Energy to submit analyses to the EPA that demonstrate that the repository's release of radionuclides to the biosphere over the next 10,000 yr will be less than allowed by the EPA standards. These analyses rely on performance assessment calculations. The performance assessment calculations published to date have identified future drilling for oil and gas reserves as an event that can disrupt the repository and release radionuclides in excess of the standards. The calculations are highly sensitive to the assumed drilling rates.

• OSTI ID: 6846403
• Report Number(s): CONF-931160--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Journal Volume: 69
• 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
CALCULATION METHODS
DRILLING
EXPERT SYSTEMS
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
HUMAN INTRUSION
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OIL FIELDS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PILOT PLANTS
RADIATION PROTECTION
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RESOURCES
STORAGE
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
WASTES
WIPP