Critical review of the draft Area Recommendation Report and region-to-area screening methodology for the Crystalline Repository Project

Two documents related to the Crystalline Repository Project have been reviewed. Comments and concerns related to the review of the ''Region-To-Area Screening Methodology'' and the ''Draft Area Recommendation Report'' are presented. These comments will be considered in preparation of the Final Area Recommendation Report, which will serve to formally identify potentially acceptable sites for a second repository in crystalline rock. Following a detailed review of the aforementioned documents, it is concluded that the identification of proposed potentially acceptable sites in the Draft Area Recommendation Report is based on questionable screening methodology and often incomplete data. As a result, ''favorable characteristics'' that are ascribed to each of the proposed potentially acceptable sites are, in many cases, misleading