Selection of the Initial Access for the Yucca Mountain Exploratory Studies Facility

Recent appropriations for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) have not included sufficient funding to proceed with the full design and implementation of the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) concept developed by the US DOE. To proceed with a phased Exploratory Studies Facility design and construction schedule, DOE was required to address the selection of the preferred location for the initial access to the ESF. In the fall of 1991, the DOE examined possible phasing of the underground construction and design activities for the ESF; preliminary criteria that potentially could be used to select the initial access were developed. Subsequent to that, a task force compared the accesses of the ESF to develop a recommendation about whether either access would be more likely to provide relevant geotechnical information about potential unsuitability of the site.