Unites Slstes
                 EnvinxwiMntil Protection
Mr and Radiation
EPA4Q2-F-94-QQ?
January 1895
                 ENVIRONMENTAL
                 FACT SHEET
                                                      for the
                            Pilot       (40 CFR Part 194)
Introduction

      The iBnviranmental Protection Agency
(EPA)       the      of radioactivity from
the                   and         of
             in     to      public
and the             This feet     will
        one of tie key         in EPA's
                 —  EPA's         of
              for        the
or             of the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant              the 1992       Land
          Act      Law 102-579),  EPA is
required'to            activities including,
tat not limited to: (1)
for                    (2)      criteria
for               the WffP       with
the radioactive                      (3)
        whether the WIPP       with the
                        can        if
the WIPP is allowed to      (4)
       the WIP P        to be in
with lie              every five
           of waste for

      On December 20,1993, EPA issued the
 final                              (40
 CFR If 1), These                 on the
       of       from
 and        facilities.   EPA's
          criteria, which are
 "Proposed Criteria for the Certification  and
            of the WIPFs
' Environmental         for the
 and       of     Fuel, High-Level and
 Transwanie Radioactive Wastes,"
               by         how the EPA
 will              or non-compliance for the
 WIPP,

       The WIPP, which is under development
 by the          of       (DOE), is a
                          for
 radioactive waste,               .is long-
     radioactive waste        as by-products
 (e.g.,                tools, and sludges)
      nuclear        production.  Congress
         tile          of the WIPP in 1979
 for the purpose  of providing a       and
           facility to           the safe
        of defense waste. The WIPP is
 in          New Mexico     the city  of
 CarslbaA It has
 the excavation  of  natural  salt
            2,100 feet      the surface,

 Use of the

                          oFr^.lloactive
      at the WIPP, DOE              that
 the WIPP facility can       with  EPA's
 radioactive waste              DOE will
       to EPA an application for         of
              the         The
 criteria, which are        to the WIPP, will
 serve as a       for EPA to          the
 radioactive                  by clarifying
 the           of the        and requiring
 DOE to              of         in its
                     to EPA.   Like  the

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radioactive  waste                       the
                    criteria include
                      individual,    ground-
water protection requirements. In addition,  the


       The                        of EPA's
radioactive
                            be           to
provide a                         that total
       of                  a        facility
to the          environment will not
         levels for 10S000
The                       criteria lay  out
                      and          that cm
be      for demonstrating           with the
containment requirements.   For          the
criteria specify a         for           the
         and              of taman-iEitiated
          and              may affect  the
repository, such as intrusion from oil driEing,'
The                       an            to
            naturally-occurring           and
       that           the WIPP

       The                          of  the
                                        the
                                  with
          provisions.  For example,, DOE is
        to       "passive institutional controls"
to provide farther               the
          will be met.  Passive
                                      at the
site and                                 to
       that                   to the facility is
       on to future             Other types of
                           include    active
            controls,                    and
                     for the  waste..     The
            criteria             the        of
            and justification DOE will      to
provide to EPA to                 DOE is
properly                     the
requirements.

       The  individual           provisions of
the radioactive
that  radioactive                         be
designed to provide a          expectation that,
for 10,000             disposal, the
        dose to any               not exceed
15 millirems per. year.  (This is equivalent to
receiving               two       x-rays per
year.) The ground-water protection provisions of
the                     that
must  be           to  provide a
           that the        facility does not
contaminate underground         of drinking
water such that radionuelide      in this
            allowed under the Safe Drinking
Water Act. The compliance criteria clarify terms
in the -          and          the types of
        that DOE will     to submit to EPA to
demonstrate compliance with      portions of
the

       The                         the level
of   confidence        for certification and
       the                 of the
      as the explicit              for  public
participation.     The               „ establish
procedures that will afford  EPA       to the
WIPP and its        so EPA can independently
       the            of the facility. Finally,
the       provide          for the Agency to
        or revoke            if necessary.

       When  DOE           its
           to EPA, the Agency will use the
compliance        as the      for making  a
decision on        or not the facility  can be
certified as        in compliance with  the
radioactive                 standards.    This
decision will be              a
        which will           public input.  A
                           will be      for
comment, and        will be            the
Agency       a final certification decision. If
EPA         that the WIPP is in  compliance
with   its regulations,  the  Agency will be
           for            whether the WIPP
          to be in            on a continuing
basis. EPA will      this              every
five years.

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                                                For
       EPA  Is involving  the  public in this
                  by inviting public comment
 on the                   criteria. In
 EPA will                   on the
            criteria within the State of New
                           will  provide  an
 opportunity for                to
 views to EPA        the  rulemaking
 EPA will                            notice
            the           and        of the
                         will            in
 local              In  formulating the
-       of the                  EPA will
 into consideration                received in
 writing as  well as               during the
                 A           to Comments"
         will be                   available
 to all                 EPA      to finalize
 the                               one year
      the        date.
      EPA  has              four
                      on  this  rulemaking.
Three          are         in          -in
Albuquerque, Carlsbad, and        Fe,  New
Mexico, and one        is         in  EPA
            In Washington, D.C,

      For copies of                 notice
on the proposed compliance criteria,       on
the EPA's role      the WIPP Land Withdrawal
Act,                    the dockets, and/or
      of this Fact Sheet,      contact EPA at
the following       '

U.S. EPA
Office of         and       Air
Criteria and          Division
Policy & Public                  (6602J)
401 M Street,,SW
Washington BC

      For the      information on the       of
the                  and
and                 call the  EPA's
WIPP Information Line

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