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

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B.10<br />

parts <strong>of</strong> the repository are not expected to be damaged by vibratory earth motion, although<br />

the surface structures and access shafts are likely to be more vulnerable.<br />

Isolation <strong>of</strong> a repository could be disrupted by tectonic activity and cause faulting,<br />

which may alter the hydrologic regime, or elevation and subsequent exposure through ero-<br />

sional processes. The tectonic stability <strong>of</strong> a host rock can be evaluated by investigating<br />

and delineating these tectonic processes <strong>of</strong> deformation and the rates <strong>of</strong> deformation. The<br />

processes and factors <strong>of</strong> the tectonic stability can be determined from the tectonic history<br />

and significant geologic structural features.<br />

The occurrence <strong>of</strong> strong ground shaking at a repository site from local or regional<br />

earthquakes is not expected to have serious effects on the repository at depth (Dowding<br />

1978), although some operational components <strong>of</strong> a waste isolation facility may be disrupted.<br />

The primary effect <strong>of</strong> earthquake occurrence is faulting, an important mode <strong>of</strong> tectonic<br />

deformation. Faulting may or may not.be evident at the ground surface.

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