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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Supplemental Performance Analyses for Igneous Activity and Human Intrusion at the Potential High-Level Nuclear Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain

Conference ·
OSTI ID:829683

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is considering the possible recommendation of a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the potential development of a geologic repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Consequences of hypothetical disruption of the Yucca Mountain site by igneous activity or human intrusion have been evaluated in the Yucca Mountain Science and Engineering Report (S&ER) (1), which presents technical information supporting the consideration of the possible site recommendation. Since completion of the S&ER, supplemental analyses have examined possible impacts of new information and alternative assumptions on the estimates of the consequences of these events. Specifically, analyses of the consequences of igneous disruption address uncertainty regarding: (1) the impacts of changes in the repository footprint and waste package spacing on the probability of disruption; (2) impacts of alternative assumptions about the appropriat e distribution of future wind speeds to use in the analysis; (3) effects of alternative assumptions about waste particle sizes; and (4) alternative assumptions about the number of waste packages damaged by igneous intrusion; and (5) alternative assumptions about the exposure pathways and the biosphere dose conversion factors used in the analysis. Additional supplemental analyses, supporting the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), have examined the results for both igneous disruption and human intrusion, recalculated for a receptor group located 18 kilometers (km) from the repository (the location specified in 40 CFR 197), rather than at the 20 km distance used in the S&ER analyses.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Laboratories P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM (US); Duke Engineering & Services 6501 Americas Parkway NE, Suite 810, Albuquerque, NM; Duke Engineering & Services 1180 Town Center Dr., Las Vegas, NV; Duke Engineering & Services 9119 Research Blvd., Austin, TX (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Department of Energy (US)
OSTI ID:
829683
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English