Summary discussion of the 1996 performance assessment for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
- Sandia National Laboratories
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is under development by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for the geologic disposal of transuranic waste. The construction of complementary cumulative distribution functions (CCDFs) for total radionuclide release from the WIPP to the accessible environment is described. The resultant CCDFs (1) combine releases due to cuttings and cavings, spallings, direct brine release, and long-term transport in flowing groundwater, (2) fall substantially to the left of the boundary line specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) standard 40 CFR 191 for the geologic disposal of radioactive waste, and (3) constitute an important component of the DOE's successful Compliance Certification Application to the EPA for the WIPP. Insights and perspectives gained in the performance assessment (PA) that led to these CCDFs are described, including the importance of (1) an iterative approach to PA, (2) uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, (3) a clear conceptual model for the analysis, (4) the separation of stochastic (i.e., aleatory) and subjective (i.e., epistemic) uncertainty, (5) quality assurance procedures, (6) early involvement of peer reviewers, regulators, and stake holders, (7) avoidance of conservative assumptions, and (8) adequate documentation.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (US); Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 755590
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2000-1128J
- Journal Information:
- Reliability Engineering and System Safety (Special Journal Issue), Journal Name: Reliability Engineering and System Safety (Special Journal Issue)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
40 CFR 191
40 CFR 194
ALEATORY UNCERTAINTY
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
COMPLEMENTARY CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION
COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATION APPLICATION
DATA COVARIANCES
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS
EPISTEMIC UNCERTAINTY
LATIN HYPERCUBE SAMPLING
MONTE CARLO
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
PROBABILISTIC ESTIMATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTE
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RISK ASSESSMENT
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
STOCHASTIC UNCERTAINTY
SUBJECTIVE UNCERTAINTY
TRANSURANIC WASTE
UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS
WASTE ISOLATION PILOT PLANT
WIPP