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Performance Assessment in Support of the 1996 Compliance
Certification Application for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
J. C. Helton, D. R. Anderson,2 H.-N. Jow,2 M.G. Marietta,2 G. Basabilvazo3
t Department of Mathematics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1804 USA
2 Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1328 USA
- 3 U.S. Department of Energy, Carlsbad, NM 88221 USA
Abstract
The conceptual and computational structure of a performance assessment (PA) for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
(WIPP) is described. Important parts of this structure are (i) maintenance of a separation between stochastic (i.e.,
aleatory) and subjective (i.e., epistemic) uncertainty, with stochastic uncertainty arising from the many possible
disruptions that could occur over the 10,000 yr regulatory period that applies to the WIPP and subjective uncertainty
arising from the imprecision with which many of the quantities required in the analysis are known, (ii) use of Latin
hypercube sampling to incorporate the effects of subjective uncertainty, (iii) use of Monte Carlo (i.e., random)
sampling to incorporate the effects of stochastic uncertainty, and (iv) efficient use of the necessarily limited number
of mechanistic calculations that can be performed to support the analysis. The WIPP is under development by the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the geologic (i.e., deep underground) disposal of transuranic (TRU) waste,
with the indicated PA supporting a Compliance Certification Application (CCA) by the DOE to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in October 1996, for the necessary certifications for the WIPP to begin
operation. If certified, the WIPP will be the first operational facility in the United States for the geologic disposal of
radioactive waste.
Key Words: Aleatory uncertainty, compliance certification application, epistemic uncertainty, Latin hypercube
sampling, performance assessment, radioactive waste, stochastic uncertainty, subjective uncertainty, transuranic
waste, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, 40 CFR 191, 40 CFR 194.
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Anderson, D. R.; Basabilvazo, G.; Helton, J. C.; Jow, H. -N. & Marietta, M. G. Performance Assessment in Support of the 1996 Compliance Certification Application for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, article, October 14, 1998; Albuquerque, New Mexico. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc620891/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.