NWTS program criteria for mined geologic disposal of nuclear waste: program objectives, functional requirements, and system performance criteria

At the present time, final repository criteria have not been issued by the responsible agencies. This document describes general objectives, requirements, and criteria that the DOE intends to apply in the interim to the National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) Program. These objectives, requirements, and criteria have been developed on the basis of DOE's analysis of what is needed to achieve the National objective of safe waste disposal in an environmentally acceptable and economic manner and are expected to be consistent with anticipated regulatory standards. The qualitative statements in this document address the broad issues of public and occupational health and safety, institutional acceptability, engineering feasibility, and economic considerations. A comprehensive set of criteria, general and project specific, of which these are a part, will constitute a portion of the technical basis for preparation and submittal by the DOE of formal documents to support future license applications for nuclear waste repositories