2. Acceptable results and quality of the end product.

3. Documentation that substantiates the quality of products.

4. Performance of trained and qualified personnel.

5. Implementation of applicable QA program elements.

With the exception of the areas where conditions adverse to quality were identified, the audit team concluded that critical process steps applicable to the preparation of milestone reports were effectively implemented.

There were no stop work actions or immediate corrective actions taken as a result of the audit.

A summary table of audit results is provided in Attachment 2. Details of the audit, including the objective evidence reviewed, are documented in the audit checklist. The checklist is maintained as a QA record.

Joe Wang is the Principal Investigator (PI) for the two milestones audited. During the interviews the PI and other LBNL staff, besides having a good grasp of the QA program requirements, were very cooperative and helpful.

The Milestone Reports audited support WBS 1.2.3.3.1.2.4, "Percolation in the Unsaturated Zone-Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF)." The objective of this element is to conduct in-situ ambient cross-hole pneumatic and liquid-release niche seepage studies and alcove surface infiltration studies to evaluate fluid flow within the unsaturated zone (UZ) at Yucca Mountain. The purpose of the niche drift scale seepage tests is to better understand the drift seepage process, percolation fluxes, and capillary barrier system.

Milestone SP33PLM4, "Testing and Modeling of Seepage into Drift, Input of Exploratory Study Facility Seepage Test Results to Unsaturated Zone Models," summarizes the drift seepage test results which have been successfully interpreted with the UZ drift scale models and site scale models to produce the flow fields for inputs to the Total System Performance Assessment for the Viability Assessment.

Although a completed milestone, the report appears to be more like an interim report on work being done on ESF seepage. The audit team determined the work to be technically sound with few flaws. The planning process for this work is not very well defined. The statement of work associated with this milestone consists of two sentences in the Planning and Control System (PACS) Participant Planning Sheet (PPS). The work evolved as the result of a series of negotiations between LBNL and CRWMS M&O management. The Master Planning Notebook, YMP-LBNL-JSW-6.0, contains a general discussion of the ESF seepage work that was planned, but did not reference this specific milestone. Only through interviews with the PI and others could the audit team identify the specific planning documents and their applicability, as well as the various steps in the planning process. Yvonne Tsang, Acting Laboratory Lead, indicated in the response, which was negotiated during this audit, to previously issued DR LBNL-98-D-029, that the planning process for future milestone deliverables will be detailed in a controlled document. Recommendation #1 addresses planning weaknesses.

The report for Milestone SP33PLM4 contained two references that could not be traced. One was a personal communication and the other was an unpublished technical paper. These deficiencies required only remedial action and were corrected during the audit. The personal communication was documented in a memorandum and along with the unpublished technical paper submitted to the TIC.

During the production of this milestone, some simple, but unqualified, modifications were made to software program ITOUGH2. Although this was noted in the milestone report, the audit team recommended the use of unqualified software, even though flagged, should cease at this stage of the project (see Recommendation #2).

Milestone SP33PBM4, "Draft Report on Fracture Flow and Seepage Testing in the ESF," is work in progress. There was not much documented work on this milestone, which is not due for several months. However, this milestone suffers from the same planning weaknesses as Milestone SP33PLM4.

Both milestones audited were of good technical quality. The preliminary testing and modeling results in drift seepage and alcove studies should lead to a better understanding of the seepage process and capillary barrier system important to the potential repository performance. These milestones are considered work in progress that provides the foundation for future seepage analysis and modeling.

The audit team identified three conditions adverse to quality during the audit. Corrective action for these conditions will be addressed in the response to the recently issued OCRWM deficiency documents identified in Section 5.5.2 of the report.

None.