July 2016

Assessment of the Fire Protection Program at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Safety and Environmental Assessments, within the independent Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA), conducted a targeted assessment of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) fire protection program.  EA identified fire protection as a targeted assessment area for DOE independent oversight in a memorandum, Independent Oversight of Nuclear Safety – Targeted Review Areas Starting in FY 2013, dated November 6, 2012.  EA has also made it one of its highest priorities to provide the necessary independent oversight to ensure that the recovery of WIPP is performed safely and in accordance with current requirements to ensure the health and safety of the workers, the public, and the environment.

This assessment addressed both the contractor, Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC (NWP), and DOE Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) oversight to determine their effectiveness in implementing key elements of the fire protection program.  These elements include program documentation, pre-incident plans, the exemption and equivalency process, combustible control, fire hazards analysis, and the inspection, test, and maintenance program.  The assessment further evaluated the fire hazards analysis and its integration with the documented safety analysis, technical safety requirement surveillance and testing, and configuration management aspects of the fire protection program and related systems and components.  EA also evaluated the fire protection elements of mine safety.