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Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste - U.S. ...

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214<br />

GEOLOGIC CONSIDERATIONS<br />

in these general factors, precipitation is included as part <strong>of</strong> the climatic conditions that<br />

would characterize an area when selected. Man-induced changes in the climate are not con-<br />

sidered under the natural processes.<br />

Draft p. 3.1.2<br />

Issue<br />

Faulting and deformation should be mentioned in addition to erosion as hazards assoc-<br />

iated with glaciation. (208-NRC)<br />

Response<br />

The text has been changed (see Section B.1 <strong>of</strong> the final Statement).<br />

Draft p. 3.1.2<br />

Issue<br />

Several commenters indicated that predicting the lower depth <strong>of</strong> glacial erosion with<br />

any degree <strong>of</strong> certainty would be difficult. Other than uniform crustal depression, a repos-<br />

itory located at the 500 to 600 m depth should be relatively unaffected by direct glacial<br />

processes. Future glacial front advance beyond former areas is an overly conservative<br />

assumption. (43, 208-NRC, 218-DOI)<br />

Response<br />

A depth <strong>of</strong> 600 to 1000 m is generally considered adequate to avoid most glacial<br />

effects. Much <strong>of</strong> the Statement is deliberately conservative in approach, particularly the<br />

accident scenarios.<br />

Issue<br />

One commenter made the following points regarding the role <strong>of</strong> containment and<br />

isolation:<br />

Draft pp. 3.1.1-3--Erosion processes affect isolation rather than containment. Data<br />

sampling points may not be representative <strong>of</strong> the entire rock; younger rocks must be present<br />

in order to have confidence that the geologic history is completely known up to the present<br />

time. (154)<br />

Draft p. 3.1.5--The statement--"<strong>Waste</strong> isolation requires that the properties <strong>of</strong> the<br />

host rock minimize transport <strong>of</strong> the waste and that the host rock be isolated from more per-<br />

meable media." is true for containment and false for isolation. (154)

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