DOE 2000. - Waste Isolation Pilot Plant - U.S. Department of Energy

WIPP RH PSAR DOE/WIPP-03-3174 CHAPTER 4
4.2.1.1.4 Waste Handling Building Effluent Monitoring System
The WHB exhaust system is Design Class IIIA, the supply system is Design Class IIIB, and the HEPA
filters and isolation dampers are Design Class II. The WHB ventilation system has a single discharge
point, with most of the air coming from the WHB being processed through a prefilter and two stages of
HEPA filters prior to its release to the environment. Some of the air may go down the waste shaft
(Section 4.4.3.1). Station C is located downstream of the HEPA filters and provides fixed air sampling
to quantify the total amount, if any, of radioactivity released to the environment.
4.2.1.2 Exhaust Filter Building
The Exhaust Filter Building (EFB), adjacent to the exhaust shaft, contains the HEPA filtration equipment
associated with the underground ventilation system. During normal operations, air is pulled from
underground areas, up the exhaust shaft, and discharged to the environment without the HEPA filtration
units in service. In the event of an underground radiological event, airflow from the underground is
diverted through the HEPA filtration to remove airborne radioactive particulates from the air stream. The
underground ventilation system is discussed in Section 4.4.3.3, and the EFB layout is shown in Figure
4.2-30.
The EFB structure is classified as Design Class IIIA, the HEPA filters and isolation dampers are Design
Class II. The major areas within the EFB are the filter room and support area. The filter room houses the
HEPA filtration units. The support area includes two mechanical equipment rooms housing the building
filtration units, the exhaust fans, the supply-air handling units, the motor control centers, and the air lock.
The EFB effluent monitoring system is composed of Station A which obtains its sample from a point
21 ft (6.4 m) below ground level in the exhaust shaft and Station B which obtains its sample from a point
downstream from the EFB HEPA filtration system. Each station contains fixed air samplers operated by
the WIPP, one each for WIPP, the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center (CEMRC),
and the Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG), quantifying the total amount of radioactivity released to
the environment.
4.2.1.3 Water Pumphouse
The Water Pumphouse, adjacent to the two water storage tanks (Figure 4.1-2a), contains two fire water
pumps (one electric and one diesel), three electric domestic water pumps, and water chlorination
equipment and chemical storage. The Water Pumphouse is an above ground steel frame and siding
building classified as Design Class IIIB.
4.2.1.4 Support Building
The Support Building, adjacent to the WHB, houses general support services for activities at the WIPP
facility. The Support Building is constructed of steel framing and sandwich panel siding, and is
classified as Design Class IIIA. The main lateral force-resisting members of the Support Building are
designed for DBE and DBT to protect the WHB from their structural failure.
4.2-20 January 28, 2003