A Proposed Methodology for Validating Performance Assessment Models for the DOE Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program

Voss, C. F.; ,

A Proposed Methodology for Validating Performance Assessment Models for the DOE Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program

by C. F. Voss, Pacific Northwest Lab, United States,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: High Level Radioactive Waste Management 1990

Abstract:

The Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a draft methodology for validating performance assessment models that will be used in the licensing of high-level waste repository systems. The objective of the methodology is to establish that a model is appropriate and adequate for the problem being addressed, that it was logically developed and can be supported by experimental and observational data, that the quality of the data is high, and that the limitations of the model are well understood. The methodology consists of: 1) documenting how the model was developed; 2) use of laboratory and field investigations to test the premises of the model and the model itself; and 3) technical reviews. A review committee determines when the information provided in the record is adequate for demonstrating the validity of the model. The validation decision is conditional in that the committee will periodically review the model during the construction and operation of the repository as new data become available.

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