Proposed technologies for use in the National TRU waste system optimization.

Technology deployments planned for the National TRU Waste System Optimization Project are aimed at using appropriate cost-effective technologies to drive the national TRU waste system to a performance-driven certification system that is based on administrative and operational requirements with a sound safety and/or technical basis. Appropriate technology deployments are determined by first identifying technology needs; selecting promising technologies; and overseeing the development of operating procedures, personnel training, testing, and startup and operations to ensure that the resulting operations function correctly and meet the TRU waste certification requirements

Use of Performance Assessment in Support of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Programmatic Activity Planning

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is being developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the geologic (deep underground) disposal of transuranic (TRU) waste. A Compliance Certification Application (CCA) of the WIPP for such disposal was submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in October 1996, and was approved by EPA in May 1998. In June 1998, two separate, but related, lawsuits were filed, one against DOE and one against EPA. On March 22, 1999, the court ruled in favor of DOE, and on March 26, 1999, DOE formally began disposal operations at the WIPP for non-mixed (non-hazardous) TRU waste. Before the WIPP can begin receiving mixed (hazardous) TRU waste, a permit from the State of New Mexico for hazardous waste disposal needs to be issued. It is anticipated that the State of New Mexico will issue a hazardous waste permit by November 1999. It is further anticipated that the EPA lawsuit will be resolved by July 1999. Congress (Public Law 102-579, Section 8(f)) requires the WIPP project to be recertified by the EPA at least as frequently as once every five years from the first receipt of TRU waste at the WIPP site. As part of the DOE's WIPP project recertification strategy, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has used systems analysis and performance assessment to prioritize its scientific and engineering research activities. Two 1998 analyses, the near-field systems analysis and the annual sensitivity analysis, are discussed here. Independently, the two analyses arrived at similar conclusions regarding important scientific activities associated with the WIPP. The use of these techniques for the recent funding allocations at SNL's WIPP project had several beneficial effects. It increased the level of acceptance among project scientists that management had fairly and credibly compared alternatives when making prioritization decisions. It improved the ability of SNL and its project sponsor, the Carlsbad Area Office of the DOE, to demonstrate the importance of ongoing scientific and engineering activities associated with the WIPP project. Finally, it provided objective documentation of the decision-making process for issues with an impact on safety at the WIPP, a critical topic for the general public and the regulatory agencies

Overview of the National Transuranic Waste System.

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) became a reality with the first receipt of waste in March 1999. The years of planning, certification, and permitting milestones were met and the facility began its' mission of safe disposal of the nations transuranic (TRU) waste. Today, more than 12,000 drum equivalents of TRU waste, are resting safely in bedded salt 2,150 feet (nearly one-half mile) beneath the surface of the New Mexico desert-a rock formation that has not moved since it fonned some 250 million years ago. It took more than 20 years to build, license and open the WIPP as the nation's first deep geologic repository for the permanent disposal of defense-generated TRU waste now stored above ground at 23 sites across the country. As it was throughout those 20 years, safety is the number one priority and most significant achievement as the project moves into its third year of disposal operations

Strategy for the path forward for the National transuranic waste system optimization projects.

The Waste Isolatian Pilot Plant (WIPP) opened on March 26,1999, for the permanent disposal of defense-generated transuranic (TRU) waste generated by and temporarily stored at the production sites. With WIPP open, efforts are now focused on achieving the Department of Energy's (DOE'S) strategic vision for WIPP and the National TRU Waste Program (NTP). This vision is to remove all TRU waste from DOE closure sites, to dispose of all legacy TRU waste from DOE sites with an ongoing nuclear mission, and to dispose of all newly generated TRU waste as it is generated

Mobile/Modular Deployment Project-Enhancing Efficiencies within the National Transuranic Waste Program.

In 1999, the National Transuranic (TRU) Waste Program (NTP) achieved two significant milestones. First, the Waste Isolation Plant (WIPP) opened in March for the permanent disposal of TRU waste generated by, and temporarily stored at, various sites supporting the nation's defense programs. Second, the Hazardous Waste Facility Permit, issued by the New Mexico Environment Department, for WIPP became effective in November. While the opening of WIPP brought to closure a number of scientific, engineering, regulatory, and political challenges, achieving this major milestone led to a new set of challenges-how to achieve the Department of Energy's (DOE's) NTP end-state vision: All TRU waste from DOE sites scheduled for closure is removed All legacy TRU waste from DOE sites with an ongoing nuclear mission is disposed 0 All newly generated TRU waste is disposed as it is generated The goal is to operate the national TRU waste program safely, cost effectively, in compliance with applicable regulations and agreements, and at full capacity in a fully integrated mode. The existing schedule for TRU waste disposition would achieve the NTP vision in 2034 at an estimated life-cycle cost of $16B. The DOE's Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) seeks to achieve this vision early-by at least 10 years- while saving the nation an estimated$48 to $6B. CBFO's approach is to optimize, or to make as functional as possible, TRU waste disposition. That is, to remove barriers that impede waste disposition, and increase the rate and cost efficiency of waste disposal at WIPP, while maintaining safety. The Mobile/Modular Deployment Project (MMDP) is the principal vehicle for implementing DOE's new commercial model of using best business practices of national authorization basis, standardization, and economies of scale to accelerate the completion of WIPP's mission. The MMDP is one of the cornerstones of the National TRU Waste System Optimization Project (1). The objective of the MMDP is to increase TRU waste shipment and disposal rates from currently certified sites as well as to provide a means to remove TRU waste from sites that have no characterization capability

Ground-water resources of Catron County, New Mexico /

Shipping list no.: 97-0201-P.Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-62).Mode of access: Internet

Characterization optimization for the National TRU waste system

On March 26, 1999, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) received its first shipment of transuranic (TRU) waste. On November 26, 1999, the Hazardous Waste Facility Permit (HWFP) to receive mixed TRU waste at WIPP became effective. Having achieved these two milestones, facilitating and supporting the characterization, transportation, and disposal of TRU waste became the major challenges for the National TRU Waste Program. Significant challenges still remain in the scientific, engineering, regulatory, and political areas that need to be addressed. The National TRU Waste System Optimization Project has been established to identify, develop, and implement cost-effective system optimization strategies that address those significant challenges. Fundamental to these challenges is the balancing and prioritization of potential regulatory changes with potential technological solutions. This paper describes some of the efforts to optimize (to make as functional as possible) characterization activities for TRU waste

Geohydrology of the High Energy Laser System Test Facility site, White Sands Missile Range, Tularosa Basin, south-central New Mexico /

Shipping list no.: 94-0374-P.Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-46).Mode of access: Internet