WIPP waste package performance testing on simulated DHLW: Early data

Several series of waste performance experiments are currently being conducted at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility. These experiments involve 18 full-size, simulated (nonradioactive) defense high-level waste (DHLW) containers of several waste package designs. These DHLW packages are emplaced in vertical boreholes in bedded rock salt, under both (thermal) near-reference and accelerated-aging repository conditions. A major purpose of these experiments is to evaluate the in-situ materials performance (i.e., degradation and alteration) of the various waste package barriers: metallic waste canisters and overpacks, backfill materials, and high-level glass waste form (nonradioactive). This paper describes the current technical status of these WIPP tests and discusses the available, early results