WIPP Future Advancements and Operational Safety

1. WIPP Future Advancements and
Operational Safety
Rodney L. Whisenhunt, NWP
Senior Project Manager, Capital Asset Projects

2. Historic Ventilation Modes at WIPP
●Normal Mode - 2 main 700 fans in unfiltered operation – up
to 480,000 cfm
●Alternate Mode - 1 main 700 fan in unfiltered operation –
280,000 cfm
●Filtration Mode - 1 860 fan in filtered operation – 60,000 cfm
●Operating one or two 860 fans in unfiltered (by-pass) mode
(reduced and minimum flow)
●Operating a main 700 fan in parallel with a unfiltered (by-
pass) 860 fan (maintenance)
Note: Airflows shown are nominal and at surface fan location

3. Ventilation Upgrades Post
Radiologic Event

4. Current Filtered Ventilation System – Adding the
Interim Ventilation System (IVS) fans
●IVS added two additional filter units
●Two 960 fans with each fan having a 27,000 cfm
capacity
●Flow increased to 114,000 cfm
●Limited ability to provide ventilation to the
construction and north circuits
●Does allow for limited emplacement operations

5. SVS Surface Fan
Configuration

6. Filtered Ventilation System with
Supplemental Ventilation System (SVS)
Fan in Operation
●Exhaust flow is with UVS/IVS at 114,000 cfm at surface
●SVS fan will pull air from the AIS and course the air to the
North and Construction Circuits
●The Salt Handling Shaft will be on exhaust
●Air to the disposal circuit is fixed at the UVS/IVS fan flow.
Air to the disposal circuit will be from the construction
circuit

7. Long Term Ventilation Upgrades
at WIPP

8. Long Range WIPP Planning
●WIPP was originally designed for 8 Panels with
options for Panels 9 and 10.
●For planning purposes, NWP was directed by
CBFO to extend the mission need to the year
2050.
●Other project direction was:
●All exhaust air will be filtered from the disposal and
waste shaft station (NO unfiltered exhaust).
●All underground activities, maintenance, waste
handling, mining, etc. will be performed in parallel.

9. Long Range Ventilation Goals at WIPP
●The use of the UVS/IVS/SVS systems will
NOT be capable of meeting these long term
goals at WIPP
●The original WIPP ventilation system will
NOT be capable of meeting these mission
statement needs.
●An upgrade to the surface exhaust and filter
system is required

10. Long Range Ventilation Design Basis
●Assumed new panels would be constructed to
the west of the existing repository.
●Panels would be identical to existing panels
(room width and height, number of rooms,
length of rooms, space between panels, and
similar access airways)
●A repository life to the year 2050
●From the receipt rate to 2050, the maximum
number of additional panels was estimated at 13

11. Long Range Ventilation Design Basis
●Five main airways developed to the west. With
five airways, two will be for disposal intake.
●Allows for ground control functions in one of the
intake mains without impacting waste handling
operations.
●Mining will progress in a clockwise manner
starting to the south nearest the existing
repository mains
●Minimizes mining to complete Panel 11
●Reduces ventilation demand in early years

12. Long Range Ventilation Design
●Even without the radiation event in 2014, the Mission
statement to emplace to 2050 would result in the need
for:
●New surface fans to accommodate distance to furthest panels
●New shaft to replace aging Salt Handling Shaft and enhance
material handling capabilities
●New shaft to separate construction air from disposal exhaust
●New mining equipment (age of existing equipment would need
to be phased out)

13. WIPP Upgrade Projects
●Two new projects are considered to achieve the mission
statement:
●New surface fans with new filter system (sufficient for all
exhaust air as per DOE direction).
●New shaft (to achieve long term goals at WIPP regarding
hoisting and separation of construction [mining] and waste
handling operations)

14. Current New Filter Building (NFB) Design
●Principal underground ventilation design
criteria for NFB
●Maximum airflow of 540,000 cfm (at the fans)
●Consider a salt reduction system to minimize salt
dust from reaching containment filters

15. Permanent Ventilation System Project Status
New Filter Building General Layout

16. Salt Reduction Building
New Filter Building
New Standby
Generators
Exhaust Stack
Fans
Exhaust Shaft

17. Exhaust Shaft (ES) Location

18. ES Project
●A new intake shaft results in all construction
(mining) air to be routed to the AIS for exhausting
to surface
●Eliminates a significant dust source to Exhaust Shaft
filtration system and possibly eliminates the need for a
salt reduction system on surface
●Greatly reduces any salt build up in duct work on Exhaust
Shaft

19. Hoisting System in New Shaft
• The current project does not include a
hoisting system
• A separate project is being considered to
install a hoisting system in the new shaft.

20. New Shaft with Hoisting Capability
●The need for a hoisting system is based on the following
criteria:
●Increased salt handling operations
●Increased personnel and materials handling operations
●The design would allow for salt skipping and personnel
and material handling operations to occur simultaneously
●At least doubling current salt skipping operations
●Large equipment can be hoisted via a large conveyance
●Emergency egress is significantly enhanced

21. New Shaft with Hoisting Capability
●Basis of new hoisting system design
●Need to replace existing Salt Handling Shaft (SHS)
●The SHS has been in operation since the early 1980s and was
designed for a 25 year life (currently over 30 years old)
●The current SHS is a small 10 ft. diameter shaft with
significant corrosion on internal shaft components.
●At some stage this shaft will need a major overhaul – which
will result in a cessation of salt skipping from the
underground during shaft renovation.
●A complete shaft overhaul with updated controllers on the
hoist system could take up to 12 months.
●This will impact mining to new panels to the west.

22. Loading
pocket
corrosion.
SHS liner
and bunton
corrosion
SHS bunton
and wall
connection
corrosion

23. New Shaft with Hoisting Capability
●The need for a hoisting system is based on the following
(continued):
●The SHS has only an 8 ton skipping capacity for salt removal.
Bottlenecks were common with this limited skip capacity
(storing salt in underground airways waiting to be skipped)
●The SHS has two functions, personnel and material
conveyance and salt removal. The two functions CANNOT
occur simultaneously.
●If the SHS is skipping salt, then all personnel and material
handling is moved to the Waste Shaft – potentially limiting any
waste handling operations.

24. Shaft Conveyances and Shaft Diameter
●Twin skips – doubling salt hoisting capacity
●A 12 ft. x 18 ft. personnel and material
conveyance:
● Increased productivity since personnel can be sent
underground more efficiently
● Increased productivity in handling supplies, e.g. rock
bolts, mesh, equipment, diesel fuel, etc.
● Can handle about 100 personnel in an emergency
(egress) and is closer to new panel development
then the Waste Shaft or SHS – A Significant Safety
Improvement
●A 12 ft. x 18 ft. personnel and material
conveyance with two skips and up to
500,000 cfm results in a shaft diameter of
30 ft. (26 ft. finished)
Access to
Cage
Skip Skip
12 ft x 18 ft
Personnel
and Materials
Cage
Counterweight
15 ft13
ft
6
inch
conduit
o