Publications Details
Parameter sensitivity studies of selected components of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant repository/shaft system
This status report presents preliminary analyses of flow through the rooms, drifts, seals, and shafts of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The purpose of these analyses is to evaluate the importance of various components and parameters of the transuranic waste repository. These analyses are presented to show the current status of repository/shaft system modeling, and to provide input for evaluating proposed engineered modifications to the waste and rooms to ensure compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Standards for the Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-Level and Transuranic Waste. Detailed descriptions are given for nine computational models of the WIPP repository for either undisturbed or human intrusion conditions. Some models are refined versions of earlier models; others include rudimentary studies of an additional phenomenon, flow of generated gas. The models of an undisturbed repository substantiated the results of earlier models by showing that no waste leaves the vicinity of the disposal area in 10,000 yr. The models that studies gas flow agreed with this position; however, the models are too rudimentary to permit conclusive statements. The five models of the human intrusion event explored the importance of parameters that influence the flow of brine through the waste, establishing a base for understanding the behavior of the waste disposal rooms, drifts,and interbeds in the host rock. 63 refs., 92 figs., 29 tabs.