&EPA Regulating the
Safety of the WIPP
United States
Environmental
Protection
Agency
The Continuing Role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
What is WIPP?
The WIPP is the nation's first geologic facility
designed for permanent disposal of transuranic
(TRU) radioactive waste that was generated as a
result of U.S. defense activities. Beginning in the
1980's, DOE excavated a mine 2,100 feet under-
ground in the natural salt formations outside
Carlsbad, New Mexico to dispose of this waste.
The TRU waste being disposed at the WIPP is
packaged into drums and consists mainly of rags,
clothing, glassware, equipment, sludges, soils and
other materials that are contaminated with ameri-
cium, plutonium, and other radioactive elements.
TRU waste is separate from high-level waste and
spent nuclear fuel. The WIPP has a total capacity
of 6.2 million cubic feet of TRU waste.
Approximately 60% of the TRU waste also con-
tains hazardous chemicals and is referred to as
"mixed waste."
:
bbreviations
DOE: U.S. Department of Energy
DOT: U.S. Department of
Transportation
EPA: U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
TRU: transuranic (radioactive
waste)
WIPP: Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Disposal of TRU mixed
waste at the WIPP
requires EPA and state
approval. (EPA regulates
the radioactive compo-
nents of mixed waste.
The state of New Mexico regulates the
hazardous components under a separate
permit. For additional information visit the
New Mexico Environment Dept. website at
www.nmenv.state.nm.us.) The waste that is being
disposed of at the WIPP is being transferred to the
WIPP by truck in specially-designed transport con-
tainers from federal (DOE) facilities across the
United States where it has been temporarily stored,
in some cases for decades. Some of the waste pro-
posed for disposal at the WIPP is currently being
generated as part of the ongoing cleanup of DOE
sites contaminated with radioactivity.
EPA's Initial Determination of
WIPP's Safety
In 1992, Congress gave EPA responsibility for reg-
ulating many of DOE's activities at the WIPP.
Based on years of independent technical evalua-
tion and careful consideration of public input, EPA
certified in May 1998 that WIPP could safely con-
tain TRU waste, and that it complied with the
Agency's radioactive waste disposal standards.
The first shipment of waste arrived at the WIPP
from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New
Mexico in March 1999.
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Regulatory Dockets
Locations
These dockets contain the
information used by EPA
in carrying out its WIPP rule-
making responsibilities.
US EPA Air Docket
Waterside Mall Room M1500
401 M St. SW
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 260-7548
(all dockets)
Carlsbad Public Library
101 S. Halagueno
Carlsbad, NM 88220
(505) 885-6776
(all dockets)
Zimmerman Library
Government Publications
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
(505) 277-5441
(all dockets)
Fogelson Library
College of Santa Fe
1600 St. Michaels Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87505
(505) 473-6576
(Docket A-93-02 only; EPA's
WIPP Certification Decision)
New Mexico State Library
1209Cammo Carlos Rey
Santa Fe, NM 87505
(505)476-9717
(Docket A-98-49 only; EPA's
WIPP Recertification Decision)
EPA's Continuing Regulatory
Responsibility for the WIPP
EPA has an ongoing regulatory role at WIPP
to verify independently that it continues to
protect public health and the environment.
EPA ensures that DOE maintains and oper-
ates the facility in a safe manner and that
the facility continues to comply with our
radioactive waste disposal standards. The
Agency performs independent technical
reviews and audits of many aspects of
DOE's WIPP program. Since 1999, EPA has
conducted more than a dozen technical
meetings with DOE. EPA's main regulatory
activities include:
• Recertifying the safety of WIPP
• Evaluating changes in WIPP activities
• Conducting audits and inspections
^ Recertifying the Safety of WIPP
DOE is required by law to submit documen-
tation that the WIPP remains in compliance
with EPA's certification. This recertification
process will take place every five years until
WIPP closes in about 35 years. Spring 2004
marks the deadline for DOE's submission of
Waste Handling Shaft
and Support Building
documentation for the first recertification in
this process. EPA is required by law to reach
a recertification decision within six months
of receipt of the complete documentation
from DOE. We will conduct our recertifica-
tion evaluation based on the results of our
continuous regulatory oversight of WIPP, on
the documentation provided by DOE, and on
public input.
<^- Evaluating Changes in WIPP
Activities
DOE is required to report to EPA planned
and unplanned changes in activities and con-
ditions at WIPP. EPA reviews the changes
and determines whether the initial certifica-
tion should be modified, suspended, or
revoked.
Sometimes DOE may want to make
changes to their activities to make improve-
ments or increase efficiency. In many cases,
these changes are insignificant. If EPA thinks
these changes are significant, the agency
will ask for public comments to assist in its
review. Details of
changes to WIPP that
EPA has reviewed since
1998 may be found in
the public dockets.
•^ Conducting
Audits and
Inspections
EPA conducts regular
audits and inspections of
WIPP-related activities
at the WIPP site and at
other DOE facilities.
The WIPP Facility
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Regulating the Safety of the WIPP
The Continuing Role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Transporting Waste to the
The purpose of the audits and inspections
varies. At the WIPP site, we inspect such
activities as air monitoring and waste
emplacement. We also audit the quality assur-
ance programs of DOE's Carlsbad Field Office
(CBFO) and its key technical support contrac-
tors. CBFO and its contractors must maintain
adequate management controls over activities
that could affect the safe containment of
waste in the WIPP.
TRU waste destined for the WIPP is current-
ly stored at numerous DOE facilities across
the U.S. Before the waste may be disposed
in the WIPP, EPA requires that it be suffi-
ciently "characterized"—that is, invento-
ried—so that the important contents of the
material are properly understood. DOE must
measure and track radioactive isotopes and
other materials. Through inspections, EPA
verifies that each facility has in place a sys-
tem of controls for waste characterization.
When we inspect DOE waste-generating
facilities, the purpose is to evaluate waste
characterization activities for compliance
with our regulations. EPA also verifies that
each site applies adequate quality assurance
measures to waste characterization activities.
ver the next 35 years, the WIPP will receive up to
37,000 shipments from federal (DOE) storage
facilities. The shipment containers are specially
designed and tested to prevent radioactive releases,
even in the event of a severe accident or other emer-
gency. Highways in 30 states and tribal lands will be
used to transport TRU waste shipments to the WIPP.
Congress did not give EPA authority to select and/or
approve the transportation routes. Regulations
issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation set
guidelines for routing waste to the WIPP, and give the
states and Indian tribes authority to designate routes
within their borders. These transportation routes fol-
low the most direct interstate highway route. For
more information see DOE's WIPP website at:
www.wipp.carlsbad.nm.us/
EPA has conducted dozens of inspections at
DOE facilities since 1998. To date, we have
approved five federal TRU waste sites to
ship waste to the WIPP:
1) Los Alamos National Lab, New Mexico
2) Idaho National Engineering Lab, Idaho
3) Hanford National Lab, Washington
4) Rocky Flats Environmental Technology
Site, Colorado
5) Savannah River Site, South Carolina
(including a mobile waste characterization
unit under DOE's Central Characterization
Program).
Eighty percent of the waste will come from
these five sites and from the Oak Ridge site
in Tennessee. Eventually waste could come
from an additional 20 or so sites, based on
DOE estimates of TRU waste in the U.S.
Announcements about our waste characteri-
zation activities, including approvals, upcom-
ing inspections and opportunities to com-
ment may be found on EPA's WIPP website.
Copies of EPA inspection reports are avail-
able in our dockets.
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EPA's Commitment
to the Public
EPA will develop explanatory information
to assist the public in understanding our
process of independently evaluating and
verifying the ongoing safe containment of
TRU waste at the WlPP.
We will seek public comment on WIPP TRU
waste activities and changes proposed by
DOE during the recertification period. You can
find announcements about opportunities for
public comment on our website and in the
Federal Register.
We invite the public to contact us with
comments, concerns, or questions regarding
our WIPP program at any time. We will listen
and respond to your concerns.
You may reach us at our WIPP Information
master at webmaster.oria@epa.gov. Or visit:
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp
From Top to Bottom:
7. Workers excavate the WIPP mine 2,100 feet under-
ground in the natural salt formations (source: DOE
Carlsbad Field Office)
2. Arriving shipments of TRU waste are inspected prior to
disposal (source: DOE Carlsbad Field Office)
3. Barrels are permanently stored in mined vaults (source:
DOE Carlsbad Field Office)
4. EPA meets with DOE and key stakeholder groups
United States Environmental Protection Agency I Office of Air and Radiation (6608J) I EPA-402-F-02-005 I May 2002
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SEPA
EPA's WIPP Activities 2002
WIPP
Date*
Winter
Issue
Summer
Fall
EPA Receives Annual WIPP
Change Report From DOE
Technical Meeting with DOE,
Carlsbad, NM
Meetings with Stakeholder
Groups in New Mexico
Publish Proposal on Revisions to
EPA's Compliance Criteria for the
WIPP
Technical Meeting with DOE,
Washington, DC
EPA Issues Decision on DOE's
Annual Change Report to WIPP
Public Hearings in New Mexico
on EPA's Proposed Revisions to
WIPP Compliance Criteria
Proposed Technical Meeting with
DOE (Location: TBD)
DOE's Proposal for Remote
Handled Waste (RH) at WIPP
Proposal on Revisions to EPA's
Compliance Criteria for the WIPP
Proposed Technical Meeting with
DOE (Location: TBD)
Meetings with Stakeholder Groups
in New Mexico
Performance Assessment Related
Proposal
Publish Final Decision on
Revisions to EPA's Compliance
Criteria for the WIPP
Public Activities
Available in EPA Dockets
Meeting summaries available in EPA Dockets
Information on meetings printed in WIPP Bulletin
EPA Opens 120-day Public Comment Period
Meeting summaries available in EPA Dockets
Available in EPA Dockets
Opportunity for Public Testimony- Call EPA's WIPP
Information Line a^^^^^^H for details
Meeting summaries available in EPA Dockets
Public Comment Period Opens
Public Comment Period Closes
Meeting summaries available in EPA Dockets
Information on meetings printed in WIPP Bulletin
Public Comment Period (TBD)
Available in EPA Dockets
* Dates for EPA's WIPP Activities
are based on projected timeframes
for receiving information from DOE.
For Further Information on EPA's WIPP Activities
Please Call the WIPP Information Line
or visit our website at:
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp
United States Environmental Protection Agency I Office of Air and Radiation (6608J) I May 2002
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