THE CARLSBAD AREA OFFICE NATIONAL REMOTE-HANDLED TRANSURANIC WASTE PROGRAM STRATEGIC PLANNING

Since the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) opened for receipt of non-mixed contact-handled (CH) transuranic (TRU) waste on March 26, 1999, planning for the receipt of remote-handled (RH) TRU waste has been revitalized. WIPP is scheduled to begin receiving RH-TRU waste in January 2002. Before the first receipt and disposal of RH waste at WIPP, the following must be coordinated: the RH-TRU waste management programs at the TRU-waste sites must be approved, the WIPP RH-72B packaging and transportation system must be in place and operational, the WIPP RH facility must be operational, and the Hazardous Waste Facility Permit must be modified so that RH-TRU waste can be accepted at WIPP. As part of the RH-TRU management programs, the four primary TRU-waste sites (the Los Alamos National Laboratory [LANL], the Oak Ridge National Laboratory [ORNL], the Hanford Site, and the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory [INEEL]) will build, modify, and/or maintain RH-TRU waste management facilities to retrieve, characterize, certify, store, and package RH-TRU waste. The RH transportation system for shipment to WIPP requires a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certified Type B packaging; the RH-72B cask is currently undergoing the NRC certification process. The WIPP disposal system has three components: aboveground operations (which will be refurbished and enhanced), transfer to the underground, and underground operations. The permit modification process was initiated shortly after receipt of the Hazardous Waste Facility Permit. Successful implementation of the National RH-TRU Waste Program will require that a commitment to sustained funding and full support of the entire U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) TRU waste complex be maintained