Research
Funded Research
Computer simulation models
Dr. James Conca, Director, Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center
Sandia National Laboratories
Increase of $90,000 (modification), total funding $587,485
James Conca, director of the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center (CEMRC) recently received $90,000 to continue assisting Sandia National Laboratories with conducting performance assessment to support the recertification of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The grant award now totals $587,485. The assessment involves the use of probabilistic computer simulation models to estimate the potential releases from the WIPP repository over 10,000 years. These models simulate the physical and chemical states of the repository over this interval, penetration of the repository by mining or drilling, and estimate the release of radionuclides through mechanisms such as drilling waste, brine releases through boreholes and releases through groundwater.