Results and experience gained from the WIPP remote-handled transuranic waste mock retrieval demonstration

This paper presents the results and experience gained from the remote-handled transuranic (RHTRU) waste mock retrieval demonstration conducted at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The demonstration was carried out as a requirement of the Consultation and Cooperation Agreement between the State of the New Mexico and the Department of Energy (DOE). The highly successfully demonstration was used to document the retrievability of the RH TRU waste form should retrieval ever become necessary. This paper describes major events in the preparation for the demonstration, how the demonstration was conducted, and how it was witnessed and documented. Also detailed are the operational methods utilized to reduce the total time required to complete retrievals over that which was originally estimated. Operator training and administrative actions taken to keep simulated radiation exposures as low as reasonably achievable are also given