Development of a Performance Assessment Capability in the Waste Management Programs of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

• Published in: Risk analysis Vol. 19; no. 5; pp. 847 - 876
• Main Authors: Eisenberg, Norman A., Lee, Michael P., McCartin, Timothy J., McConnell, Keith I., Thaggard, Mark, Campbell, Andrew C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-10-1999
• Subjects: Government Agencies; Humans; Models, Theoretical; nuclear waste; Performance assessment; Radioactive Waste - adverse effects; Radioactive Waste - legislation & jurisprudence; Risk Assessment - statistics & numerical data; risk-informed regulation; United States; Waste Management - legislation & jurisprudence; United States
• ISSN: 0272-4332; 1539-6924
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1999.tb00448.x

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has developed a performance assessment capability to address three programmatic areas in nuclear waste management: high‐level waste, low‐level waste, and decommissioning of licensed facilities (license termination). The NRC capability consists of (1) methodologies for performance assessment; (2) models and computer codes for estimating system performance; (3) regulatory guidance in various forms, such as regulations, Branch Technical Positions, and Standard Review Plans; and (4) a technical staff experienced in executing and evaluating performance assessments for a variety of waste systems. Although the tools and techniques are refined for each programmatic area, general approaches and similar issues are encountered in all areas.