The disposal of radioactive waste in the proper geologic environment offers a high potential for isolating the waste from man's environment for the period of time required for the waste to decay to innocuous levels. As part of the National Waste Terminal Storage Program, the Savannah River Laboratory has responsibility for studies related to the storage of waste in the geologic environment in the Southeast.

The geology of the southeastern United States was studied to recommend areas that should be considered for field exploration in order to select a site for a radioactive waste repository. The region studied included the Piedmont Province, the Triassic Hasins, and the Atlantic Coastal Plain in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. This study was -entirely a review of literature and existing knowledge from a geotechnical point of view and was performed by subcontractors whose individual reports are listed in the bibliography. No field work was involved.