An Overview of Epa Regulation of the Safe Disposal of Transuranic Waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Abstract

In March of 1999, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeast New Mexico, the world's first deep geological repository for radioactive materials, began receiving defense-related transuranic waste. The WIPP was designed and constructed by the U.S. Department of Energy, but critical to its opening was certification by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the repository complies with the radioactive waste disposal regulations set forth as environmental radiation protection standards (40 CFR Part 191) and compliance criteria (40 CFR Part 194). This paper provides a summary of the regulatory process, including the Environmental Protection Agency's waste containment, groundwater protection, and individual dose regulations for the WIPP; the Department of Energy's performance assessment and the other parts of its compliance certification application; and the Environmental Protection Agency's review and analysis of the compliance certification application and related documentation.

Radiation Disasters and Children

“…63 The proposed facility will house more than 77 000 tons of radioactive waste, delivered via an estimated 108 000 train and truck shipments over a 30-year period. 64 These plans, if implemented, will require intense security from terrorism, protection from crashes or other vehicular mishaps, and careful consideration of the potential for and effects of earthquakes in the vicinity. 65 Through their daily practice, pediatricians can participate in the prevention of adverse effects of ionizing radiation.…”