Annual site environmental monitoring report for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: Calendar year 1987

This is the third annual preoperational Site Environmental Report for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico. The purpose of WIPP is to provide a research and development facility to demonstrate the safe disposal of transuranic (TRU) wastes generated by the defense activities of the US government. The report provides a comprehensive description of environmental activities at WIPP during calendar year 1987, including (1) a description of the WIPP project and its mission; (2) a description of the local environment, including demographics; (3) a summary of environmental program information, including an update on the status of environmental permits and compliance activities; (4) a presentation of the data of the Radiological Baseline Program (RBP), which is a program to characterize background radionuclide concentrations in the environment around the WIPP site; and (5) a summary of findings of the Ecological Monitoring Program (EMP), which examines nonradiological impacts of WIPP construction on the surrounding ecosystem. This report reflects the data received at the time of publication. Complete analytical results will be reported in a comprehensive data compilation for the RBP. 33 refs., 26 figs., 24 tabs