Review of the EPA's proposed certification of WIPP

摘要

The U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a proposed rule that finds the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to be in compliance with its long-term radiation protection standards for disposal of transuranic (TRU) waste (40 CFR 191,Subpart B).The Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG) is an independent oversight review group,created in 1978 with federal funding to conduct technical evaluation of the WIPP project to ensure protection of the public health and safety,and the environment.The EEG's evaluation of the proposed rule finds that several issues with potential impact on the numerical containment requirements of the standards have not been resolved,and compliance with the assurance requirements needs to be strengthened.Although EEG has minor disagreements about several assumptions used by DOE in evaluating the Individual Dose Requirements of the standards,we agree that compliance with that part of the standard has been demonstrated.