Radionuclide and colloid transport in the Culebra Dolomite and associated complementary cumulative distribution functions in the 1996 performance assessment for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

The following topics related to radionuclide and colloid transport in the C ulebra Dolomite in the 1996 performance assessment for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) are presented: (i) mathematical description of models; ( ii) uncertainty and sensitivity analysis results arising from subjective (i .e. epistemic) uncertainty for individual releases; and (iii) construction of complementary cumulative distribution functions (CCDFs) arising from sto chastic (i.e, aleatory) uncertainty. The presented results indicate that ra dionuclide and colloid transport in the Culebra Dolomite does not constitut e a serious threat to the effectiveness of the WIPP as a disposal facility for transuranic waste. Even when the effects of uncertain analysis inputs a re taken into account, no radionuclide transport to the boundary with the a ccessible environment was observed; thus, the associated CCDFs for comparis on with the boundary line specified in the US Environmental Protection Agen cy's standard for the geologic disposal of radioactive waste (40 CFR 191, 4 0 CFR 194) are degenerate in the sense of having a probability of zero of e xceeding a release of zero. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.