(a) Protection against radiation exposures and releases of radioactive material. (1) The geologic repository operations area must meet the requirements of part 20 of this chapter.

(2) During normal operations, and for Category 1 event sequences, the annual TEDE (hereafter referred to as “dose”) to any real member of the public located beyond the boundary of the site may not exceed the preclosure standard specified at § 63.204.

(b) Numerical guides for design objectives. (1) The geologic repository operations area must be designed so that, taking into consideration Category 1 event sequences and until permanent closure has been completed, the aggregate radiation exposures and the aggregate radiation levels in both restricted and unrestricted areas, and the aggregate releases of radioactive materials to unrestricted areas, will be maintained within the limits specified in paragraph (a) of this section.

(2) The geologic repository operations area must be designed so that, taking into consideration any single Category 2 event sequence and until permanent closure has been completed, no individual located on, or beyond, any point on the boundary of the site will receive, as a result of the single Category 2 event sequence, the more limiting of a TEDE of 0.05 Sv (5 rem), or the sum of the deep dose equivalent and the committed dose equivalent to any individual organ or tissue (other than the lens of the eye) of 0.5 Sv (50 rem). The lens dose equivalent may not exceed 0.15 Sv (15 rem), and the shallow dose equivalent to skin may not exceed 0.5 Sv (50 rem).

(c) Preclosure safety analysis. A preclosure safety analysis of the geologic repository operations area that meets the requirements specified at § 63.112 must be performed. This analysis must demonstrate that:

(1) The requirements of § 63.111(a) will be met; and

(2) The design meets the requirements of § 63.111(b).

(d) Performance confirmation. The geologic repository operations area must be designed so as to permit implementation of a performance confirmation program that meets the requirements of subpart F of this part.

(e) Retrievability of waste. (1) The geologic repository operations area must be designed to preserve the option of waste retrieval throughout the period during which wastes are being emplaced and thereafter, until the completion of a performance confirmation program and Commission review of the information obtained from such a program. To satisfy this objective, the geologic repository operations area must be designed so that any or all of the emplaced waste could be retrieved on a reasonable schedule starting at any time up to 50 years after waste emplacement operations are initiated, unless a different time period is approved or specified by the Commission. This different time period may be established on a case-by-case basis consistent with the emplacement schedule and the planned performance confirmation program.

(2) This requirement may not preclude decisions by the Commission to allow backfilling part, or all of, or permanent closure of the geologic repository operations area, before the end of the period of design for retrievability.

(3) For purposes of paragraph (e) of this section, a reasonable schedule for retrieval is one that would permit retrieval in about the same time as that required to construct the geologic repository operations area and emplace waste.