1 EPA Actions in Response to WIPP Release EPA Actions in Response to Release of Radioactive Material
f rom the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

Since the release of radioactive material on February 14, 2014 at the WIPP , EPA has been working closely with the New Mexico Environment Department ( NMED) in actively overseeing the actions being taken by the Department of Energy (DOE). Based on the available information

, EPA does not believe that
the radioactive releases from the WIPP present public health concern s or r egulatory compliance issues.

How ever, EPA is in daily communications with DOE and NMED and i s taking the following actions to
support and provide oversight of the response effort , and provide information for the public :

Review of DOE ’s Data and Analysis

• Data analysis and review

– EPA i s review ing data provided by DOE, NMED and the independent Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center (CEMRC) for consistency, completeness
and to identi fy trends or unexpected results

. EPA is also conducting a v erification and validat ion of

DO E

- generated lab data

, which will include a review of a representative p ortion of DOE data

.

• Public dose and dispersion m odeling

– EPA is evaluat ing DOE’s plume modeling and dose projections for reasonableness and rigor, and also conduct ing independent model ing of public dose projections using data supplied by DOE

.

EPA Verification and R eview of DOE Air Monitoring

• Independent EPA air monitoring

– EPA’s RadNet Monitor in Carlsbad continues to show
radionuclide levels at background

. Also, wi thin the next 1

- 2 weeks

, EPA plans to depl oy 3

- 4 air samplers at the WIPP facility to validate and verify DOE monitoring . These samplers are expected to
be located on

- site near existing DOE samplers and will be in place for a limited period of time during
DOE’s re

- entry into the underground. The monitors will provide extra support during re

- entry as well as independent verification of DOE’s monitoring network. As the incident response progresses, EPA
will continue to reevaluate whether additional monitor s are needed in the near term.

• Evaluation of DOE environmental monitoring system

– EPA is evaluat ing the number and location
of DOE’s environmental monitors to identify any needed improvements for the future to ensure adequate monitoring is in place should a similar incident occur in the future

.

Oversight at the WIPP Site

• On

- site visits and inspection s

– EPA plans to continue to conduct site visits , as needed, to oversee DOE’s management of th e incident includ ing :

• EPA staff was on

- site for an initial inci dent assessment and to attend public meetings;

• A m ore extensive s ite visit is planned shortly (along with the monitoring described above) to inspect the facility and gather information for EPA’s review of DOE’s environmenta l monitoring ; EPA will conduct a f ollow

- on site visit(s) to coordinate with DOE’s incident investigation and to evaluate potent ial process improvements ;

• A complete compliance inspection will be conducted at a later date when EPA can have full access to the underground, including the wast e panels

.

EPA Communications

• EPA will continue to communicate regularly with DOE and the NMED , and will share information with the public on EPA’s oversight actions at the WIPP facility through EPA’s website and other
mechanisms.