Passive Institutional Controls

The U.S. Department of Energy has developed a program for the development of Passive Institutional Controls to alert future generations to the potential hazards of intersecting the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) repository. These controls are required by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [Title 40 CFR, Sections 191.14 and 194.43].

The purpose of a passive control, or a PIC, is to indicate the location of the repository and to convey the dangers associated with human exposure to the disposed radioactive material, thus reducing the likelihood of inadvertent human intrusion into the repository. The EPA regulations require multiple controls, including permanent markers, long-term records and other measures which DOE has defined as “awareness triggers.”

As the responsible organization, the Carlsbad Field Office (DOE-CBFO) has two general near-term objectives:

1. To develop and design effective PICs; and

2. To communicate with WIPP regulators and with the public regarding plans and activities that will be completed as part of the PICs program

[Click on above image to view source document: Permanent Marker Monument Survey, 2000]