Radioactive waste isolation in salt: peer review of the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation's plan to decommission and reclaim exploratory shafts and related facilities

Abstract

The following recommendations are made for improving the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation's plan for decommissioning and reclaiming exploratory shafts and other facilities associated with site characterization: (1) Discuss more comprehensively the technical aspects of activities related to decommissioning and reclamation. More detailed information will help convince the staff of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and others that the activities as outlined in the plan are properly structured and that the stated goals can be achieved. (2) Address in considerably greater detail how the proposed activities will satisfy specific federal, state, and local laws and regulations. (3) State clearly the precise purpose of the plan, preferably at the beginning and under an appropriate heading. (4) Also under an appropriate heading and immediately after the section on purpose, describe the scope of the plan. The tasks covered by this plan and closely related tasks covered by other appropriate plans should be clearly differentiated. (5) Discuss the possible environmental effects of drilling the exploratory shaft, excavating drifts in salt, and drilling boreholes as part of site characterization. Mitigation activities should be designed to counter specific potential impacts. High priority should be given to minimizing groundwater contamination and restoring the surface to a condition consistent with the proposed land use following completion of characterization activities at sites not chosen for repository construction. (6) Define ambiguous technical terms, either in the text when first introduced or in an appended glossary.