The DOE approach to preclosure repository safety assessment

The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) in the US Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for the safe and permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste in a geologic repository. While the primary focus of this effort is on isolation of the wastes from the biosphere for thousands of years after closure of the repository, DOE is also responsible for assuring that the public, repository workers, and the environment are adequately protected from the activities that will be carried out at the repository prior to its permanent closure. The activities that will be conducted prior to repository closure are described. These activities will present both radiological as well as nonradiological risks to the repository workers and the public. To perform the safety analyses of the repository, DOE is developing a preclosure risk assessment methodology (PRAM) whose objective is to identify and develop a consensus on the analytical procedures, computer codes, assumptions, and data bases to be used and to apply such methodology in addressing repository safety issues