WIPP Inspections and Quality Assurance

EPA headquarters staff, with assistance from EPA’s Region 6, conduct inspections and quality assurance (QA) audits of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site and its supporting facilities. EPA also conducts inspections at waste generator sites to determine if the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is properly tracking the waste and to ensure that it adheres to specified waste component limits.

EPA maintains several dockets that contain all publicly accessible documents related to WIPP inspections and QA. 

For all other information, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s National TRU Program.

On this page:

WIPP Site Inspections

Inspections of the WIPP facility are typically conducted on a periodic basis and comprise at least three components: emplacement inspection, monitoring inspection, and air emissions inspection.

These inspections ensure that:

  • Activities at the WIPP are accurately documented and remain in accordance with established protocols and procedures.
  • DOE continues to adequately monitor the WIPP to ensure it meets compliance and regulatory requirements.
  • DOE demonstrates ability to measure and keep radioactive air emissions below established limits to protect public health.

WIPP Site Inspection 2025

EPA conducted an inspection of the WIPP in September 2025 as part of our continuing oversight program. This inspection was conducted to verify that DOE continues to track waste emplacement, monitor designated parameters, and demonstrate compliance with the dose limits for members of the public and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for radionuclides. One focus of this inspection was the newly installed Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) and its role as the new point of compliance for air emissions. EPA’s inspection team found that DOE continues to conduct these activities in accordance with regulatory requirements and its own internal procedures. 

Waste Characterization Inspections

Currently, the waste destined for the WIPP is stored at DOE waste generator sites across the United States. Before the waste can be transported to the WIPP, EPA requires that it be identified or "characterized" as transuranic waste (TRU) to be eligible for disposal at the WIPP. DOE is responsible for characterizing the waste at the generator sites.

The waste limits are fixed and may only be changed through a modification to the certification. EPA publishes notices in the Federal Register announcing certain actions and once published, they will be open to public comment for a limited period.

Quality Assurance Inspections

DOE is required to have in place a system of controls to measure and track important waste components, and to apply quality assurance (QA) measures to its waste identification activities.

EPA’s oversight responsibility includes verifying that DOE has implemented an effective quality assurance program based on American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA) standards. This is done through inspections, record reviews and record keeping requirements, which may include, but may not be limited to, surveillance, audits and management systems reviews. For EPA’s quality assurance reports, please visit the WIPP Dockets.

Carlsbad Field Office Quality Assurance Program Audit 2025

EPA conducted an audit of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) Quality Assurance (QA) Program on January 14-16, 2025 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory-Carlsbad Operations (LANL-CO) and the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring & Research Center Laboratory (CEMRC).

The purpose of the audit was to verify the implementation of CBFO’s QA program relative to the requirements of the ASME NQA Standard NQA-1-1989 (NQA-1), “Quality Assurance Program requirements for Nuclear Facilities.” 

On-Site Technical Reviews

LANL-CO On-Site Technical Review 2024-2025

Los Alamos National Laboratory Carlsbad Operations (LANL-CO), scientific advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO), conducts scientific experiments in support of waste disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). During the week of May 13, 2024, EPA conducted an on-site review of scientific practices at LANL‑CO to understand LANL‑CO’s documentation processes, specifically related to performance assessment (PA) parameters for plutonium (Pu) oxidation state and microbial colloids. Sorption experiments were conducted with Pu and iron surfaces to evaluate model assumptions regarding final Pu oxidation state in WIPP conditions. During the week of April 21, 2025, the EPA conducted a follow-up on-site review to evaluate progress related to issues identified during the May 2024 review.

See the reports and correspondence on Regulations.gov:

SNL On-Site Technical Review 2022 

During the week of December 5, 2022, EPA staff conducted an on-site review of Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) technical investigation practices in Carlsbad, NM. The purpose of the visit was to evaluate how SNL’s current processes are used to identify and correct technical issues in documentation related to the DOE’s Compliance Recertification Applications (CRA) before they are submitted to EPA. Specifically, the goal of the visit was to understand how SNL applied its internal review processes on work that would ultimately be applied to the WIPP performance assessment (PA). 

EPA concluded that SNL Carlsbad needed to reassess and strengthen its review process, as well as its current methodologies, to ensure data quality and the integrity of the WIPP PA. With the findings and discussion points contained in this report, EPA and DOE anticipate that future WIPP CRAs and corresponding review cycles will continue to be refined and improved.

Report documenting the December 2022 SNL Technical Review and transmittal letter: Docket Document ID EPA-HQ-OAR-2001-0012-0777

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Last updated on September 21, 2026