The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Integrated Waste Management is planning for the eventual transportation, storage, and disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) from nuclear power plant and DOE sites. The Stakeholder Tool for Assessing Radioactive Transportation (START) is a web-based, geospatial decision-support tool developed for evaluating routing options and other aspects of transporting SNF and HLW, covering rail, truck, barge, and intermodal infrastructure and operations in the continental United States. The verification and validation (V&V) process is intended to independently assess START to provide confidence in the ability of START to accurately provide intended results. The V&V process checks the START tool using a variety of methods, ranging from independent hand calculations to comparison of START performance and results to those of other codes. The V&V activity was conducted independently from the START development team with opportunities to provide feedback and collaborate throughout the process. The V&V analyzed attributes of transportation routes produced by START, including route distance and both population and population density captured within buffer zones around routes. Population in the buffer zone, population density in the buffer zone, and route distance were all identified as crucial outputs of the START code and were subject to V&V tasks. Some of the improvements identified through the V&V process were standardizing the underlying population data in START, changing the projection of the population raster data, and changes to the methodology used for population density to improve its applicability for expected users. This collaboration also led to suggested improvements to some of the underlying shape file segments within START.

翻译：美国能源部（DOE）综合废物管理办公室正计划对源自核电站及DOE场址的乏燃料（SNF）与高放废物（HLW）进行最终运输、贮存和处置。利益相关方放射性运输评估工具（START）是一个基于网络的地理空间决策支持工具，用于评估SNF和HLW运输的路线选择及其他相关环节，涵盖美国大陆的铁路、公路、驳船及多式联运基础设施与运营。验证与确认（V&V）流程旨在独立评估START，以增强对其准确提供预期结果能力的信心。V&V流程采用多种方法检查START工具，包括独立手工计算以及将START性能与结果同其他代码进行对比。V&V活动独立于START开发团队开展，同时在整个过程中提供反馈与协作机会。V&V分析了START生成的运输路线属性，包括路线距离以及路线缓冲区内的总人口数与人口密度。缓冲区人口、缓冲区人口密度及路线距离均被确认为START代码的关键输出，并纳入V&V任务范畴。通过V&V流程确定的部分改进措施包括：标准化START底层人口数据、更改人口栅格数据投影方式、调整人口密度计算方法以提升其对预期用户的适用性。此次协作还促成了对START内部部分底层形状文件分段的改进建议。