Keeping Track of the National Transuranic Program Complex Defense Transuranic Waste

The long-term performance of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) disposal system in southeastern New Mexico is assessed periodically using transuranic (TRU) waste physical and radiological properties and other information describing the waste. This TRU waste estimate is based on the best knowledge of the TRU waste across the DOE complex at the time repository performance is assessed. TRU waste inventory was collected from each of the Department of Energy (DOE) sites that generated TRU waste for the Compliance Certification Application (CCA) and subsequently for the Compliance Re-certification Application (CRA) in order to support the assessments that ultimately led to certification and re-certification of the WIPP. In each case, information was collected, stored and maintained in the Transuranic Waste Baseline Inventory Database (TWBID) that was used to generate tables describing the volumetric, physical, and radiological properties of the TRU waste. The tables and other descriptions of the waste were reported in baseline reports for the certification and the re-certification. Information maintained in the TWBID database has now been transferred to a new qualified database that utilizes a more efficient operating configuration. This database known as the Comprehensive Inventory Database (CID) will be the information repository for TRU waste destined to WIPP, and the source for information submitted for annual Transuranic Waste Inventory Update Reports to be used in future repository performance assessments (PAs) and re-certifications. The information that has been collected will support a wider range of data needs including waste management, transportation and strategic planning. (authors)