FRAMES-2.0 Software System: Linking to the Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) RT3D and MT3DMS Models

Linkages to the Groundwater Modeling System have been developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to enable the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to more realistically assess the risk to the public of radioactive contaminants at NRC-licensed sites. Common software tools presently in use are limited in that they cannot assess contaminant migration through complex natural environments. The purpose of this initiative is to provide NRC with a licensing safety-analysis tool with sufficient power, flexibility, and utility that it can serve as the primary software platform for analyzing the hazards associated with licensing actions at those ''complex'' sites at which the traditional tools are inappropriate. As a tool designed to realistically approximate prospective doses to the public, this initiative addresses NRC's safety-performance goal by confirming that licensing actions do not result in undue risk to the public.