Acknowledgment and Disclaimer


Environmental Impact and
Risk Analysis for NEPA
Implementation and Compliance



Project Description and Significance

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which applies to federal actions, is the basic national charter for the protection of the environment. The Act establishes policy, sets goals, and provides a process for carrying out the policy within the federal agencies. The NEPA process includes an evaluation of the environmental effects of a federal undertaking. The risk assessments performed in support of NEPA provide valuable and necessary information for federal agencies to use in the decision-making process. This information helps federal agencies incorporate environmental values into their actions.


Sandia's Contribution

SNL maintains an extensive capability in research and development of state-of-the-art analytical methods designed to address impacts and risks associated with the operation of nuclear facilities and the transportation of radioactive materials and releases of contaminants into the environment. Sandia has extensive experience in applying such methods to the analyses required by federal guidelines for compliance with NEPA. Sandia's strength is focused on analysis of facilities and transportation under incident-free and accident conditions, package response, radiological chemical source term analysis, population and individual radiological dose models, atmospheric dispersion, ground water contamination, and ecological impacts.


Sandia's extensive background in R&D and analysis related to the National Environmental Policy Act allows the Laboratories to apply the most advanced methods available while guiding the analysis with the perspective gained from past assessments. This is critical since the complex and often turbulent NEPA process can benefit greatly from "lessons learned" insights that can only be gained from long-term involvement. Sandia also teams with appropriate organizations at other national laboratories to provide a full range of technical expertise and analytic tools that efficiently access the combined strengths of several diverse organizations.


Sandia has extensive experience in providing support throughout the NEPA process, including technical assistance and expert testimony to support sponsors during public hearings and litigation. Sandia maintains capabilities to provide full support for the range of NEPA documentation requirements, from very detailed, regionally focused environmental assessments to broadly defined programmatic environmental impact statements (PEIS) that are national in scope.


Sandia has been the technical lead on several DOE and NRC NEPA analyses and risk assessments that have served as benchmarks for the application of impact and risk assessment methods that met the requirements of NEPA. Areas of expertise include:
Sandia's capabilities in computer modeling of facility processes, transportation, and environmental systems is extensive. Computer codes frequently applied to NEPA analyses at Sandia include those listed below.


Summary of Computer Tools Used at
Sandia National Laboratories for NEPA and
Environmental/Facilities Impact and Risk Assessment

CategoryCode Description of Primary Use
Radiation and chemical dose, intake, hazard, and risk from facility operations CAP-88Calculates maximum individual and population dose for chronic air releases of radionuclides.
-MACCS (SNL developed)Calculates health and economic consequences from hypothetical releases of radioactive source terms.
-ORIGEN2Radionuclide generation and decay in nuclear reactor fuel assemblies.
-PRECIS (SNL developed)Calculates radiation dose, cancer risk, hazard index, and residual contamination guidelines for radionuclides and chemicals in soil.
Air pollutant dispersionISC2Calculates maximum air concentrations and deposition of air pollutants and the corresponding distances from the source.
-SCREENProvides coarse comparison of air concentrations with regulatory limits and enhances results from ISC2.
-TRANSATModels atmospheric dispersion of hypothetical releases of radionuclides in transportation accidents. Developed by CEA (France) to be used in conjunction with the IAEA's INTERTRAN, which is based on Sandia's RADTRAN 4 code (see below).
Transportation impacts, risks, and logisTRANSNETNetwork of transportation programs, databases, and utilities.
-RADTRAN 4 (SNL developed)Health impacts and risks associated with truck, rail, or ship transportation of radioactive materials.
-TICLD (SNL developed)Estimates doses to individuals located at specific downwind distances from a hypothetical transportation accident site.
-MARINRAD IV (SNL developed)Calculates radiation dispersion and dose to biota and humans from hypothetical release of radionuclides into the ocean.
-HIGHWAYCalculates route alternatives for highway shipments of radioactive and hazardous materials. Developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory under sponsorship from Sandia.
-INTERLINECalculates route alternatives for rail shipments of radioactive and hazardous materials. Developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory under sponsorship from Sandia.
-RAMPOSTRadioactive Materials Postnotification Database - A compilation of all shipments and related data on highway-route controlled quantities of radioactive materials that have been made since 1987.
-RMIRRadioactive Materials Incident Reporting Database - Contains information on transportation-related accidents and incidents involving radioactive materials from 1971 to the present.
-StateGEN/StateNETDesigned to assist state and other agencies in performing local routing analysis.



For further information, contact:

Ken Sorenson
Sandia National Laboratories, MS-0720
Albuquerque, NM 87185-0720
Phone: (505) 844-0074
e-mail: kbsoren@sandia.gov

or

Timothy Wheeler
Sandia National Laboratories, MS-0720
Albuquerque, NM 87185-0720
Phone: (505) 845-9540
e-mail: tawheel@sandia.gov

or

H. Richard Yoshimura
Sandia National Laboratories, MS-0718
Albuquerque, NM 87185-0718
Phone: (505) 845-8181
e-mail: rhyoshi@sandia.gov

Submitted October 1996
Layout design by Wanda Mar.