Groundwater occurrence and the dissolution of salt at the WIPP Radioactive Waste Repository Site

Abstract

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), located about 25 miles east of Carlsbad, in southeastern New Mexico, is slated to be the first deep geologic repository for permanent disposal of radioactive wastes in the United States. The repository will be located in bedded salt of Permian (225 m.y. B.P.) age, at a depth of 655 m below the ground surface. The present mission of WIPP calls for a permanent disposal of approximately 170,000 cubic meters of defense transuranic (TRU) wastes and for temporary, retrievable emplacement of 4.25 cubic meters of experimental high level wastes. The site will not be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) but will comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards and all other federal and state regulations.

Numerical simulation of ground-water flow in the Culebra dolomite at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site: Second interim report

“…Although most i n v e s t i g a t o r s agree w i t h t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t h a t a d i s s o l u t i o n zone e x i s t s i n t h e Rustler Formation a t t h e WIPP s i t e (Cooper and Glanman, 1971 ; Powers et a l . , 1978;Chaturvedi and Rehfeldt, 1984;Bachman, 1985;and Snyder, 19851, o t h e r i n v e s t i g a t o r s oppose t h i s concept and believe that t h e westward decrease of h a l i t e within t h e R u s t l e r simply r e p r e s e n t s d e p o s i t i o n a l limits (Powers and Holt, 1984;.…”

Ground-water flow modeling of the Culebra dolomite

“…Although most investigators agree with the interpretation that a dissolution zone exists in the Rustler Formation at the WIPP site (Cooper and Glanzman, 1971;Powers et al, 1978;Mercer, 1983;Chaturvedi and Rehfeldt, 1984;Bachman, 1985;and Snyder, 1985), other investigators oppose this concept and think that the westward decease of halite within the Rustler simply represents depositional limits (Powers and Holt, 1984;and Holt and Powers, 1988). Lowenstein (1987) co:aducted a detailed analysis on core from wells .…”

“…Based upon observations of outcrops, core, and detailed shaft mapping, the Culebra can be characterized, at least locally, as a fractured medium at the WIPP site (Chaturvedi and Rehfeldt, 1984;Holt and Powers, 1984). As the amount of fracturing and development of secondary porosity increases, the Culebra transmissivity generally increases (Chatmwedi and Channell, 1985).…”