PROGRESS TOWARD THE SECOND REPOSITORY--STATUS OF THE CRYSTALLINE PROGRAM

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is investigating the suitability of a variety of geologic media for siting two permanent, nuclear waste repositories in accordance with the provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982. The Crystalline Repository Project (CRP) is one of four projects under DOE's Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program. The objective of the CRP is to evaluate, screen, and recommend sites in crystalline rocks for construction of the second repository. After completing a national survey of crystalline rocks, three regions in seventeen states were selected by DOE for further evaluation. Rock bodies in these regions will be screened to a smaller number of areas in 1985. The NWPA requires that three sites for the second repository be recommended to the President for site characterization by July 1989. The background, current status, and nearterm future activities of the CRP are described.