IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reensy/v122y2014icp223-248.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Conceptual structure and computational organization of the 2008 performance assessment for the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Author

Listed:
  • Helton, J.C.
  • Hansen, C.W.
  • Sallaberry, C.J.

Abstract

Extensive work has been carried out by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in the development of a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada, for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. This presentation describes the overall conceptual structure and computational organization of the 2008 performance assessment (PA) for the proposed YM repository carried out by the DOE in support of a licensing application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The following topics are addressed: (i) regulatory background, (ii) the three basic entities underlying a PA, (iii) determination of expected, mean and median dose to the reasonably maximally exposed individual (RMEI) specified in the NRC regulations for the YM repository, (iv) the relationship between probability, sets and scenario classes, (v) scenario classes and the characterization of aleatory uncertainty, (vi) scenario classes and the determination of expected dose to the RMEI, (vii) analysis decomposition, (viii) disjoint and nondisjoint scenario classes, (ix) scenario classes and the NRC’s YM review plan, (x) characterization of epistemic uncertainty, and (xi) adequacy of Latin hypercube sample size used in the propagation of epistemic uncertainty. This article is part of a special issue of Reliability Engineering and System Safety devoted to the 2008 YM PA and is intended as an introduction to following articles in the issue that provide additional analysis details and specific analysis results.

Suggested Citation

  • Helton, J.C. & Hansen, C.W. & Sallaberry, C.J., 2014. "Conceptual structure and computational organization of the 2008 performance assessment for the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 223-248.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reensy:v:122:y:2014:i:c:p:223-248
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ress.2013.06.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0951832013001750
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ress.2013.06.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Perwez Shahabuddin, 1994. "Importance Sampling for the Simulation of Highly Reliable Markovian Systems," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(3), pages 333-352, March.
    2. Helton, Jon C. & Hansen, Clifford W. & Sallaberry, Cédric J., 2012. "Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in performance assessment for the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 44-63.
    3. Helton, Jon C. & Sallaberry, Cedric J., 2009. "Conceptual basis for the definition and calculation of expected dose in performance assessments for the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 94(3), pages 677-698.
    4. Peter W. Glynn & Donald L. Iglehart, 1989. "Importance Sampling for Stochastic Simulations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(11), pages 1367-1392, November.
    5. Helton, Jon C. & Sallaberry, Cedric J., 2009. "Computational implementation of sampling-based approaches to the calculation of expected dose in performance assessments for the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 94(3), pages 699-721.
    6. D. Warner North, 1999. "A Perspective on Nuclear Waste," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 751-758, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wei, Pengfei & Lu, Zhenzhou & Song, Jingwen, 2015. "Variable importance analysis: A comprehensive review," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 399-432.
    2. François Diaz-Maurin & Rodney C. Ewing, 2018. "Mission Impossible? Socio-Technical Integration of Nuclear Waste Geological Disposal Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-39, November.
    3. Nicola Pedroni & Enrico Zio & Alberto Pasanisi & Mathieu Couplet, 2017. "A critical discussion and practical recommendations on some issues relevant to the non-probabilistic treatment of uncertainty in engineering risk assessment," Post-Print hal-01652230, HAL.
    4. Cadini, F. & Gioletta, A. & Zio, E., 2015. "Improved metamodel-based importance sampling for the performance assessment of radioactive waste repositories," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 188-197.
    5. Tosoni, E. & Salo, A. & Govaerts, J. & Zio, E., 2019. "Comprehensiveness of scenarios in the safety assessment of nuclear waste repositories," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 561-573.
    6. Edoardo Tosoni & Ahti Salo & Enrico Zio, 2018. "Scenario Analysis for the Safety Assessment of Nuclear Waste Repositories: A Critical Review," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(4), pages 755-776, April.
    7. Chabridon, Vincent & Balesdent, Mathieu & Bourinet, Jean-Marc & Morio, Jérôme & Gayton, Nicolas, 2018. "Reliability-based sensitivity estimators of rare event probability in the presence of distribution parameter uncertainty," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 164-178.
    8. Helton, Jon C. & Brooks, Dusty M. & Sallaberry, Cédric J., 2020. "Margins associated with loss of assured safety for systems with multiple weak links and strong links," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    9. Nicola Pedroni & Enrico Zio & Alberto Pasanisi & Mathieu Couplet, 2017. "A Critical Discussion and Practical Recommendations on Some Issues Relevant to the Nonprobabilistic Treatment of Uncertainty in Engineering Risk Assessment," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(7), pages 1315-1340, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Helton, Jon C. & Hansen, Clifford W. & Sallaberry, Cédric J., 2012. "Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in performance assessment for the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 44-63.
    2. Pierre L’Ecuyer & Bruno Tuffin, 2011. "Approximating zero-variance importance sampling in a reliability setting," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 189(1), pages 277-297, September.
    3. Rechard, Rob P. & Freeze, Geoff A. & Perry, Frank V., 2014. "Hazards and scenarios examined for the Yucca Mountain disposal system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 74-95.
    4. Zio, E. & Pedroni, N., 2010. "An optimized Line Sampling method for the estimation of the failure probability of nuclear passive systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 95(12), pages 1300-1313.
    5. Sandeep Juneja & Perwez Shahabuddin, 2001. "Fast Simulation of Markov Chains with Small Transition Probabilities," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(4), pages 547-562, April.
    6. Tosoni, E. & Salo, A. & Govaerts, J. & Zio, E., 2019. "Comprehensiveness of scenarios in the safety assessment of nuclear waste repositories," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 561-573.
    7. Kaynar, Bahar & Ridder, Ad, 2010. "The cross-entropy method with patching for rare-event simulation of large Markov chains," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 207(3), pages 1380-1397, December.
    8. Cadini, F. & De Sanctis, J. & Girotti, T. & Zio, E. & Luce, A. & Taglioni, A., 2010. "Monte Carlo-based assessment of the safety performance of a radioactive waste repository," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 95(8), pages 859-865.
    9. Helton, J.C. & Johnson, J.D. & Oberkampf, W.L., 2006. "Probability of loss of assured safety in temperature dependent systems with multiple weak and strong links," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 91(3), pages 320-348.
    10. Barry L. Nelson, 2004. "50th Anniversary Article: Stochastic Simulation Research in Management Science," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(7), pages 855-868, July.
    11. Blatman, Géraud & Sudret, Bruno, 2010. "Efficient computation of global sensitivity indices using sparse polynomial chaos expansions," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1216-1229.
    12. Kuruganti, I. & Strickland, S., 1997. "Optimal importance sampling for Markovian systems with applications to tandem queues," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 61-79.
    13. Hernan P. Awad & Peter W. Glynn & Reuven Y. Rubinstein, 2013. "Zero-Variance Importance Sampling Estimators for Markov Process Expectations," Mathematics of Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 38(2), pages 358-388, May.
    14. Edoardo Tosoni & Ahti Salo & Enrico Zio, 2018. "Scenario Analysis for the Safety Assessment of Nuclear Waste Repositories: A Critical Review," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(4), pages 755-776, April.
    15. Nam Kyoo Boots & Perwez Shahabuddin, 2001. "Simulating Tail Probabilities in GI/GI.1 Queues and Insurance Risk Processes with Subexponentail Distributions," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 01-012/4, Tinbergen Institute.
    16. Pilch, Martin & Trucano, Timothy G. & Helton, Jon C., 2011. "Ideas underlying the Quantification of Margins and Uncertainties," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 96(9), pages 965-975.
    17. Helton, J.C. & Johnson, J.D. & Oberkampf, W.L., 2007. "Verification test problems for the calculation of probability of loss of assured safety in temperature-dependent systems with multiple weak and strong links," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 92(10), pages 1374-1387.
    18. Helton, Jon C. & Sallaberry, Cedric J., 2009. "Computational implementation of sampling-based approaches to the calculation of expected dose in performance assessments for the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 94(3), pages 699-721.
    19. Helton, J.C. & Johnson, J.D. & Sallaberry, C.J. & Storlie, C.B., 2006. "Survey of sampling-based methods for uncertainty and sensitivity analysis," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 91(10), pages 1175-1209.
    20. Philippe Jehiel & Jakub Steiner, 2020. "Selective Sampling with Information-Storage Constraints [On interim rationality, belief formation and learning in decision problems with bounded memory]," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(630), pages 1753-1781.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:reensy:v:122:y:2014:i:c:p:223-248. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/reliability-engineering-and-system-safety .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.