Bill-OCRD— 1 OCRD-1 Distribution Category UC-70 DE82 010252 A National Survey of Crystalline Rocks and Recommendations of Regions to Be Explored for High-Level Radioactive Waste Repository Sites Technical Report Aoril 1983 DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United Slates Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsi­ bility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Refer­ ence herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recom­ mendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Office of Crystalline Repository Development Battelle Memorial Institute 505 King Avenue Columbus, OH 43201 The content of this report was effective as of April 1983. This report was prepared by Battelle Project Management Division, Office of Crystalline Repository Development under Contract No. DE-AC02- 83CH10140 with the U.S. Department of Energy. NOTICE Portions or this report a m illegibiE/’ It has been reproduced from the best Available copy to permit the broadest possible availability. A major purpose of the Techni­ cal Information Center is to provide the broadest dissemination possi­ ble of information contained in DOE’s Research and Development Reports to business, industry, the academic community, and federal, state and local governments. Although a small portion of this report is not reproducible, it is being made available to expedite the availability of information on the research discussed herein. NOTICE TU READER The Department of Energy (DOE) is evaluating various geographic regions and rock types in the conterminous United States to determine their potential suitability for deep geologic disposal of commercial high-level radioactive wastes. The Office of Crystalline Repository Development (OCRD) of Battelle Memorial Institute's Project Management Division is responsible to DOE for co­ ordinating the work of a number of National Laboratories and subcontractors with geological and environmental expertise in studies of crystalline rock. The evaluation process is one of screening successively smaller units of land containing potential host rock types. Eventually, one or more repository sites may be selected from a number of potentially suitable alternatives. Salt domes, bedded salt, tuff, and basalt are being considered for the nation's first repository. Status of the investigations in crystalline rock will allow their consideration for a second or subsequent repository. This report is being issued to describe the geologic reconnaissance that has been completed in the national survey of crystalline rocks and the decision process applied in evaluating and recommending regions for further study. This document supersedes the earlier draft 0NWI-50 entitled "Crystal­ line Intrusives in the United States and Regional Geologic Characteristics Important for Storage of Radioactive Waste". It is not simply a revision of draft 0NWI-50. but a document which provides additional information and logic to support the regional recommendations resulting from the national reconnais­ sance and evaluations. As such, the document incorporates some of the draft 0NWI-50 data base as well as other relevant data from more recent sources. It is responsive to and includes resolutions of, pertinent issues and substan­ tive comments raised through state reviews of draft 0NWI-50. This document will serve as the basis for the regional phase of activi­ ties for the Crystalline Rock Project of the National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) program. In issuing this document. DOE is completing the national phase of reconnaissance and evaluations for crystalline rocks. The regional surveys that characterize the regions of crystalline rock recommended in this report are nearly complete and will be released in draft form for review by involved states in May 19*33. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was prepared by Harry W. Smedes (under subcontract No. E514- 099-00 with BPMD/ONI of Battelle Memorial Institute) and BPMD/OCRD geotech- nical staff (under contract No. DE-AC02-83 CH 10140 with the U.S. Department of Energy) with the technical supervision and aid of G. L. Stirewalt and M. E. Shea of BPMD/OCRD. The report draws upon data collected and compiled in 1979 by Dames and Moore under subcontract No. E513-002-08 with BPMD/0NWI of Battelle Memorial Institute under contract No. EY-76-C-06-1830 with the U.S. Department of Energy. Thanks are given to the following individuals for ideas and/or informa­ tion contributed via discussions, access to unpublished maps and reports, or review of draft versions of this report: N. J. Beskid, J. 0. Duguid, C. H. George, S. T. Hinschberger, P. K. Kearns, M. Kehnemuyi, C. Klingsberg, S. J. Kowal1, R. B. Laughon, J. T. McGinnis, W. J. Madia, D. E. Markley, J. M. Mountain, R. A. Robinson, S. A. Silbergleid, J. L. Smiley, N. J. Trask, and R. M. Winar. ABSTRACT A reconnaissance of the geological literature on large regions of exposed crystalline rocks in the United States provides the basis for evaluating if any of those regions warrant further exploration toward identifying potential sites for development of a high-level radioactive waste repository. The recon­ naissance does not serve as a detailed evaluation of regions or of any smaller subunits within the regions. Site performance criteria were selected and applied insofar as a national data base exists, and guidelines were adopted that relate the data to those criteria. The criteria include consideration of size, vertical movements, faulting, earthquakes, seismically induced ground motion. Quaternary volcanic rocks, mineral deposits, high-temperature convec­ tive ground-water systems, hydraulic gradients, and erosion. Srief summaries of each major region of exposed crystalline rock, and national maps of rele­ vant data provided the means for applying the guidelines and for recommending regions for further study. It is concluded that there is a reasonable likelihood that geologically suitable repository sites exist in each of the major regions jf crystalline rocks. The recommendation is made that further studies first be conducted of the Lake Superior, Northern Appalachian and Adirondack, and the Southern Appalachian Regions. It is believed that those regions could be explored more effectively and suitable sites probably could be found, characterized, veri­ fied, and licensed more readily there than in the other regions. V FOREWORD The National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) program was established in 1976 by the Department of Energy's (DOE) predecessor agency, the Energy Re­ search and Development Administration (ERDA), to develop th<? technology and provide the facilities for the safe, environmentally acceptaole, permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). High-level radioactive wastes are produced by both commercial and defense activities, and include spent fuel from nuclear power reactors, accumulations of wastes remaining from production of nuclear weapons, and solidified wastes from the reprocessing of commercial reactor fuel. DOE's responsibility for the long-term management of HLW is de­ fined in regulations which specify that DOE must provide facilities for the successful isolation of HLW from the environment in federally licensed, federally owned repositories for as long as the wastes represent a significant hazard. To meet its major objective of isolating HLW, DOE is developing a tech­ nical program that will meet all relevant radiological protection criteria as well as other applicable regulatory requirements established by the U.S. Nu­ clear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). DOE's program emphasizes disposal in mined repositories deep under­ ground in geologically stable formations. Several types of rock are being studied in several states. Rock types include bedded salt deposits, salt domes, basaltic lava flows, tuff, and crystalline rocks. Steps leading to the permanent disposal of HLW are: t Studying, characterizing, and recommending potential sites for repositories • Developing and providing waste packaging facilities • Developing and providing for transportation requirements • Designing, constructing, obtaining licenses for, and operating commercial repositories • Studying alternative disposal methods as long-range options to the geologic disposal program • Developing the technology to support the above steps. Four separate but coordinated projects are involved in the NWTS mined geologic disposal program: the Office of Crystalline Repository Development (OCRD), the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation (ONWI), the Basalt Waste Isola­ tion Project (BWIP) at DOE's Hanford Site in Washington state, and the Nevada vi Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) at the federal Nevada Test Site. All these projects focus on different rock types and conduct studies in site evaluation, technology development, facility design, and field testing. They share mutually beneficial data and information. In addition, the Subseabed