Canister with air samples from WIPP site

The WIPP Hazardous Waste Facility Permit, issued by the New Mexico Environment Department under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), makes it mandatory to monitor certain volatile organic compounds. The Organic Chemistry Department monitors the concentration of seventeen Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the ambient air in the WIPP underground.

This monitoring is conducted in accordance with the “Volatile Organic Compound Confirmatory Monitoring Plan”, prepared by the WIPP management and operations contractor, Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC (NWP). For the current list of analytes click here.

More information about the Organic Chemistry (OC) Department can be found by using the navigation links to the left.