WIPP Laboratories and their Role in Demonstrating DOE’s Compliance with Regulatory Standards - A presentation by Dr. Thakur
Thursday, September 08, 2022, 06:30pm
Contact Jef Lucchini or Josh Vajda
The ANS Carlsbad Section is offering the following presentation either in person or virtually (see Zoom information below).
WIPP Laboratories and their Role in Demonstrating DOE’s Compliance with Regulatory Standards, a presentation by Dr. Punam Thakur (RES)
Abstract:
Regulations for the management and storage of transuranic (TRU) waste at WIPP require that the Department of Energy (DOE) provide reasonable assurance that radiation doses received by members of the public shall not exceed regulatory standards. The DOE demonstrates compliance primarily through performance assessment calculations, and the analysis of target radionuclides in environmental, emergency samples, and bioassay. Environmental matrices include air filters, surface and ground water, soil, sediment, sewage lagoon, vegetation, and biota. Biota usually include quail, rabbits, road-killed deer, fish, and any sample of opportunity. Bioassay matrices include mostly urine. The mission of the WIPP Laboratories (WIPP Labs) is to produce defensible and quality analyses of these samples in support of Radiological Control, Dosimetry, Environmental Monitoring and Environmental Compliance. The Lab also provide analytical support following any abnormal event that occurs during normal waste handling operations. The lab routinely analyzes samples using gamma spectroscopy, alpha spectroscopy, and radiochemical separation in conjunction with proportional counting. Laboratory Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) are met by implementing the criteria set forth in ANSI N13.30 “Performance Criteria for Radiobioassay”, and by active participation in two national performance-evaluation programs, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Radiochemistry Inter-Comparison Program (NIST-RIP), and the Department of Energy (DOE) Mixed-Analyte Performance Evaluation Program (MAPEP) for soil, filters, vegetation, synthetic urine and water analyses. A major deliverable to the DOE is the result of the annual performance evaluations. In this presentation, the pre-operational (baseline) and post operational monitoring data of WIPP for different environmental matrices were compared to determine whether TRU waste handling operations have had any impact on radionuclide activity concentrations. Long-term (1985-2022) measurements of transuranic radionuclides in the WIPP environment indicate that, except for the occasional detection of transuranic radionuclides in ambient air, soil, and sediments, there is no persistent contamination and no increase attributable to WIPP operations. Historical data also show seasonal trends, which suggest the source of these radionuclides is largely the resuspension of weapons-testing contamination present in local soils.
Presenter:
Dr. Punam Thakur is currently Manager of WIPP Laboratories. Prior to joining the WIPP Labs, Punam was a Technical Director and a lead Investigator for the Radiochemistry Program at the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring & Research Center (CEMRC).
Zoom information:
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https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84552221193?pwd=MHVDamdjTkwyTlo2UDgzQTlsVkhJdz09
Meeting ID: 845 5222 1193
Passcode: 290520
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Meeting ID: 845 5222 1193
Passcode: 290520
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Location Carlsbad Environmental & Monitoring Center (CEMRC) 1400 University Drive, Carlsbad, NM