Case Studies: Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

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WIPP has the distinction of being, “…the world’s first underground repository licensed to safely and permanently dispose of transuranic radioactive waste left from the research and production of nuclear weapons.” WIPP is located in the Chihuahuan Desert in Southeastern New Mexico. The plant utilizes disposal rooms that been painstakingly mined 2,150 feet under the surface of the Earth in a 2,000 foot thick salt formation. The carefully selected formation was subjected to, “…more than 20 years of scientific study, public input, and regulatory struggles…” and has proven to be stable in excess of 200 million years.

The Problem

The system utilized to track the acceptance and consequential disposal of nuclear material faced significant performance problems, amongst other outstanding issues. Currently, the system interface requires all clients that utilize the storage facilities to enter redundant data into both the WIPP Waste Information Management System (WWIS) and the Nuclear Materials Management & Safeguards System (NMMSS) to ensure the proper tracking of nuclear material within the U.S. Additionally, there are also security concerns regarding how and by whom data was being entered and changed within the system.

The Solution

The primary task that NAC has been retained to perform is to expand the current user interface and provide a direct interface to NMMSS. WWIS users will no longer be required to enter duplicate information into two separate systems. Once the new interface has been deployed,redundant information will automatically be entered into NMMSS and the user may be prompted to provide additional necessary information.

To address the performance problems that are plaguing the system, NAC will employ efforts to fine-tune the database and the application. This includes evaluating the manner in which data is submitted and retrieved from the data-base. Once determinations have been made specifying the underlying performance issues, the appropriate adjustments will be made to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of WWIS.

Security concerns are attended to through the implementation of improved audit functionality. The audit functionality will very explicitly tie a specific user to a specific action taken. An accurate audit trail will be associated with each record.

The remaining task to be performed includes providing a standardized graphical user interface (GUI). The enhancements made will present WWIS with continuity in the look, feel, and layout of every screen.

The Benefits

The interface from WWIS to NMMSS will afford a great benefit to all current and future WWIS users. The interface will allow each user the ability to more effectively utilize their time by reducing the amount of time spent to make a submission into the system. The interface also enables the submission of electronic data into both systems and significantly reduces the paper trail that has been associated with the process. The resolution of the underlying performance issues will also considerably increase the effectiveness of the system.