Regulatory considerations in design of the exploratory studies facility

The Department of Energy (DOE) has the responsibility for developing a mined geologic repository for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and other high-level radioactive waste. A site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada had been identified as a potential location of a repository. If a repository is built at Yucca Maintain, it will consist of a system of tunnels and rooms excavated in rock formations approximately 300 meters below the surface. A multiyear site characterization program is to be conducted to investigate whether the Yucca Mountain site is a suitable location of the repository. To assist the DOE in selecting an ESF design, the DOE's Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Office (YMPO) undertook an effort to develop the information required to make an informed decision regarding the selection of the preferred configuration for an ESF at Yucca Mountain, NV. The decision process took into account potentially discriminatory regulatory requirements and concerns. These were cross-correlated to the decision factors expressed in influence diagrams. This paper discusses the role of regulatory requirements in the Exploratory Shaft Facilities Alterative Studies decision process. It also discusses related regulatory concerns and the nature of the discrimination between options provided by the regulatory concerns