Mine Ventilation Services (MVS), newly merged into SRK’s US practice, has been involved with the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) project since 1988. The WIPP is a nuclear waste repository approximately 2,200 ft underground in New Mexico. MVS assisted with the facility’s original ventilation design as well as numerous ventilation and instrumentation upgrades since its opening. MVS has also periodically reviewed the WIPP’s ventilation system and updated its ventilation system control set points during recurring test and balance procedures.
In February 2014, a radioactive release occurred at the WIPP, contaminating parts of the facility and the ventilation system. Immediately after the incident, MVS was brought in to help with the recovery effort. MVS provided input based on numerical modeling to inform decisions about response actions, using the VnetPC Pro+ software developed by MVS. As recovery efforts progressed, MVS developed modified ventilation schemes for operation with severely limited ventilation airflow, developed strategies for recovery operations such as filter replacement with minimal impact on the underground facility, and designed and modeled a new interim ventilation system.
On January 4th, 2017, WIPP resumed its mission of nuclear waste emplacement, the primary goal of nearly three years of recovery efforts. Modeling work performed by MVS was used to explore the limitations of the new ventilation system design and to inform the new technical safety requirements that define the parameters for the facility’s safe operation. A team of MVS engineers, led by MVS Practice Leader Keith Wallace, provided the expertise and software tools needed for this valuable Department of Energy facility to resume its mission.
