[en] The passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act (NWPAA) of 1987 prompted the Department of Energy (DOE) to reexamine the role of the monitored retrievable storage (MRS) facility in the waste- management system, and to this end a series of systems studies was conducted. The overall conclusion is that an MRS facility, whose principal function initially is to receive and store spent fuel, would enhance the waste-management system by providing early spent- fuel acceptance and flexibility for the system. However, these advantages would be gained at an increase in cost. The studies did not identify any significant benefit at present in either consolidating spent fuel or packaging it (encapsulating into disposal containers) at the MRS facility. The results of this study were used in developing the DOE's current position on the role of the MRS facility in the waste-management system