Application of Beryllium-7 and Lead-210 Concentration Measurements to Monitoring the Validity of Effluent Air Sampling at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

摘要

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is an underground repository in southeast New Mexico owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the purpose of safely disposing of transuranic (TRU) waste materials generated by the national defense programs. During normal operations, the underground rooms and drifts at WIPP are ventilated by three large induced draft exhaust fans. These fans pull approximately 425,000 cu ft/min down an intake shaft, through the repository, up a 4.3-meter-diameter exhaust shaft and out one or more exhaust vents to the atmosphere. A sampling station, called Station A, has been established near the top of the exhaust shaft so that a sample of the effluent air may be extracted immediately before the effluent air is discharged to the environment.