[en] The impetus for this study was provided by a recent series of incidents at the Kerr-McGee mine near Carlsbad, New Mexico. On December 13, 1983, a miner operating a continuous mining machine apparently hit a pocket of trapped, pressurized gas. The sudden release of pressure from this gas pocket caused the gas to expand. This resulted is dislodging of rock and debris and loose fixtures on the mining machine. According to a preliminary investigation by MSHA, ''The operator of the continuous miner was apparently killed as a result of being struck by a light fixture which had been torn loose from the continuous miner and hurled back into the victim's face.'' Two more incidents, fortunately non-fatal, within a 5 week period in the same mine have resulted in a concern about the possibility of the occurrence of such blowouts in the WIPP excavations. The blowouts occurred 9 miles north of the center of the WIPP site in a geological strata which is 660 ft above the excavations for the WIPP repository. This study uses the reported encounters of gas in the potash mines as well as the studies related to the WIPP project as valuable information to reach some tentative conclusions about the possibility of such a hazard existing at the WIPP excavations. The conclusions of this study do not relate specifically to the safety conditions at any given mine and make no judgements about incidents in the mines. 17 refs., 11 figs., 3 tabs

[en] The Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG) is conducting an assessment of the radiological health risks to people from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). As a part of this work, EEG is making an effort to improve the understanding of those geological issues concerning the WIPP site which may affect the radiological consequences of the proposed repository. One of the important geological issues to be resolved is the timing and the nature of the dissolution processes which may have affected the WIPP site. EEG organized a two-day conference of geological scientists, titled Geotechnical Considerations for Radiological Hazard Assessment of WIPP on January 17-18, 1980. During this conference, it was realized that a field trip to the site would further clarify the different views on the geological processes active at the site. The field trip of June 16-18, 1980 was organized for this purpose. This report provides a summary of the field trip activities along with the participants post field trip comments. Important field stops are briefly described, followed by a more detailed discussion of critical geological issues. The report concludes with EEG's summary and recommendations to the US Department of Energy for further information needed to more adequately resolve concerns for the geologic and hydrologic integrity of the site

[en] The Environmental Evaluation Group is conducting an assessment of the radiological health risks to people from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. As a part of this work, EEG is making an effort to improve the understanding of those geological issues concerning the WIPP site which may affect the radiological consequences of the proposed repository. One of the important geological issues to be resolved is the timing and the nature of the dissolution processes which may have affected the WIPP site. EEG organized a two-day conference of geological scientists, on January 17-18, 1980. On the basis of the January conference and the June field trip, EEG has formed the following conclusions: (1) it has not been clearly established that the site or the surrounding area has been attacked by deep dissolution to render it unsuitable for the nuclear waste pilot repository; (2) the existence of an isolated breccia pipe at the site unaccompanied by a deep dissolution wedge, is a very remote possibility; (3) more specific information about the origin and the nature of the brine reservoirs is needed. An important question that should be resolved is whether each encounter with artesian brine represents a separate pocket or whether these occurrences are interconnected; (4) Anderson has postulated a major tectonic fault or a fracture system at the Basin margin along the San Simon Swale; (5) the area in the northern part of the WIPP site, identified from geophysical and bore hole data as the disturbed zone, should be further investigated to cleary understand the nature and significance of this structural anomaly; and (6) a major drawback encountered during the discussions of geological issues related to the WIPP site is the absence of published material that brings together all the known information related to a particular issue

[en] This workshop contained eight papers characterizing the Rustler Formation at the WIPP site in New Mexico. Four of these reports were processed separately for the data bases. Information contained in the four remaining papers is available in journal articles or in the reports of other conferences and included discussions of ground water flow through the Rustler Formation, the potential migration of leached radionuclides in this rock, the effects of mineral dissolution on the removal of underlying salt deposits, and a possible pathway for radionuclide migration into the biosphere

[en] The WIPP repository is being excavated in the lower part of the 2000 ft thick Salado Formation, 2150 ft below the ground surface. The water-bearing zones in the Rustler Formation, which overlies the Salado, are considered to be the main pathway for the transport of radionuclides to the biosphere after a potential breach of the WIPP repository. Geological nd hydrological characterization of the Rustler Formation has not yet been completed to a desired level of detail for a realistic modeling of breach and transport scenarios through this Formation. Currently, the Department of Energy is conducting studies which will significantly enhance our knowledge about the suitability of the Rustler Formation to act as a barrier against the movement of radionuclide contaminated water. A sedimentological study of the cores from several boreholes will help establish the causes for the absence of salt from the Rustler Formation. Several multi-well flow tests over the WIPP site will yield more reliable values for the hydrologic parameters. Rustler water-chemistry data will help in more accurately establishing the flow directions and the pattern of interconnections. In addition to analyzing the geological conditions which affect the hydrological characteristics of the Rustler Formation, this report contains an analysis of radionuclide transport through a Rustler water-bearing zone which is assumed to contain karst conduits. 54 refs., 18 figs., 4 tabs

[en] The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), located in southeastern New Mexico, has been constructed to be a repository for transuranic (TRU) radioactive wastes generated from the US defense activities. In order to use WIPP as a repository for permanent disposal of TRU waste, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has to demonstrate compliance with the ''Standards for the Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High Level and Transuranic Radioactive Wastes'' promulgated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US Code of Federal Regulations 40 CFR Part 191. The DOE initially plans to perform experiments with a small quantity of waste at WIPP and would like to bring additional quantities for ''operational demonstration'', before determining whether WIPP is to be a repository for permanent disposal. There are serious problems in pursuing this course of action from an operational point of view. It would be wiser to take the actions necessary to decide whether the facility should be used as a permanent repository, before emplacing a substantial quantity of waste in it. This report evaluates the status of the WIPP Project as of February 1991. 22 refs

[en] The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a geological repository for disposal of U.S. defense transuranic radioactive waste. Built and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), it is located in the Permian age salt beds in southeastern New Mexico at a depth of 655 m. Performance assessment for the repository's compliance with the 10,000-year containment standards was completed in 1996 and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified in 1998 that the repository meets compliance with the EPA standards 40 CFR 191 and 40 CFR 194. The Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG) review of the DOE's application for certification identified a number of issues. These related to the scenarios, conceptual models, and values of the input parameters used in the calculations. It is expected that these issues will be addressed and resolved during the first 5-year recertification process that began with the first receipt of waste at WIPP on March 26, 1999, and scheduled to be completed in March 2004

[en] The purpose of the New Mexico Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG) is to conduct an independent technical evaluation of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Project to ensure the protection of the public health and safety and the environment. The WIPP Project, located in southeastern New Mexico, is being constructed as a repository for the disposal of transuranic (TRU) radioactive wastes generated by the national defense programs. The EEG was established in 1978 with funds provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to the State of New Mexico. Public Law 100-456, the National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1989, Section 1433, assigned EEG to the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and continued the original contract DE-AC04-79AL10752 through DOE contract DE-AC04-89AL58309. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994, Public Law 103-160, continues the authorization. EEG performs independent technical analyses of the suitability of the proposed site; the design of the repository, its planned operation, and its long-term integrity; suitability and safety of the transportation systems; suitability of the Waste Acceptance Criteria and the generator sites' compliance with them; and related subjects. These analyses include assessments of reports issued by the DOE and its contractors, other federal agencies and organizations, as they relate to the potential health, safety and environmental impacts from WIPP. Another important function of EEG is the independent environmental monitoring of background radioactivity in air, water, and soil, both on-site and off-site

[en] Rock salt has been regarded as a suitable medium for the permanent disposal of high and medium level radioactive wastes since the National Academy of Sciences recommended it in 1957. As a result of detained site-specific studies conducted for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) project in New Mexico, however, several potential problems which are unique to bedded salt deposits have emerged. These include 1) the need to delineate the extent and rate of past dissolution and projections for the future, 2) the origin and significance of brines often found underlying the salt beds, 3) the rate and volume of migration of brine from the salt crystals towards the heat producing waste canisters, 4) the creep rates and implications for retrievability, and 5) the existence of potash and oil and gas resources with implications of human intrusion in the future. These questions will also be faced for sites in salt domes with added complications due to more complex structure and hydrology. The experience at WIPP shows that the site characterization process for high level waste repositories in bedded or dome salt should aim at identifying the important issues of site suitability early in the process and a clear program should be established to address these issues

[en] The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) located in southeastern New Mexico, USA, is being constructed to be a geologic repository in salt beds for the disposal of defense transuranic waste. Site investigation for the WIPP began in 1974. The characteristics of regional geology, hydrology and underground geomechanics are now fairly well understood. Performance assessment to predict the long-term containment capability of the site has identified some additional issues of site characterization that need to be resolved. There is a plan to temporarily emplace some waste at the WIPP for experiments to measure gas generation from waste, but that may not contribute much to assess the suitability of the project for containment of the waste for 10,000 years or more. The facility was designed for a 25 year operation and excavation of the shafts and the major tunnels started in 1982. It is recommended that assessment of the repository's long-term suitability be accelerated, robust engineered barriers be included in the design, and the project should proceed to make the decision whether to use it as a repository. It is not necessary to first temporarily emplace some waste at the site to make this decision