The primary goal of the ongoing LLL program is to develop the technology and data base required to license a nuclear repository in a crystalline rock medium, located at or near the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Our secondary goal is to apply this technology in helping the Department of Energy (DOE) develop repositories in other media and locations.

Bedded-salt deposits of the Salado Formation have been selected for evaluation for a proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to be located in Eddy County, NM, -26 mi east of Carlsbad, Site selection and evaluation studies that included geologic mapping, geophysical surveys, drilling, and resource appraisal were conducted over and under the prospective location. The lower portion of the Salado meets essential criteria for waste isolation. Beds chosen for waste storage lie 2074-2730 ft below the surface.

This report presents the results of our mining, geological<br/>and geotechnical studies provided in support of the development<br/>of site suitability criteria for the high level waste<br/>repository. This work was performed in accordance with our<br/>unsolicited proposal to LLL dated January 1977 and authorized<br/>by the University Purchase Order 6115603.

From the very early stages of the nuclear waste management<br/>program, salt has been advocated as the most suitable geologic<br/>medium in which to store high-level radioactive wastes (HLW).<br/>The primary reason for this is based on the fact that, relative<br/>to other rock types, salt has a low yield strength with the<br/>result that, at the confining pressures that exist at depths<br/>of a few thousand feet, salt will deform plastically.

There are two waste management R&D programs of national significance that are being administered for ERDA by the Union Carbide Corporation — Nuclear Division (UCC/ND). The National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) program is concerned with the development of geologic repositories for commercial nuclear fuel cycle wastes, and is organized as the Office of Waste Isolation within UCC/ND.

This report presents a management plan and a technical program plan for the National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) program. It was prepared by the Office of Waste Isolation (OWI) which is part of Union Carbide Corporation-Nuclear Division (UCC-ND). These plans are based on guidance provided by the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA). The technical plan is an extension of over 15 years of studies of waste storage in geologic formations.

A program leading to the establishment in FY I983 of a pilot plant for storing radioactive wastes in bedded salt is described. The program consists of laboratory and field investigations of factors affecting the suitability of a specific site in southeastern New Mexico; of more generally applicable problems associated with geohydrology and rock mechanics; and of considerations bearing on the operational safety of a pilot plant repository. Tasks concerned with the engineering development and design of the facility are also included.

Salt deposits are considered to be most attractive for this purpose because of their wide distribution and great abundance; they are easily mined, have good thermal properties, and are free of circulating groundwater.

As nuclear power assumes an increasingly important role in meeting the nation&#39;s requirements for electrical energy, the quantity of radioactive wastes will also increase. The wastes of primary concern -<br/>designated &quot;high-level&quot; and &quot;alpha&quot; wastes - contain radioactive nuclides that decay so slowly as to require that they be isolated from the biosphere for thousands of years.