F. QUESTIONS ON THE SELECTION OF A DEEP GEOLOGICAL REPOSITORY SITE

1. Why is the site being selected now when the operation of the DGR is planned for 2065?

The selection of the DGR site began in the 1990s. In addition to the site, the disposal policy (e.g. the container and its packaging, among others) and all related technologies need to be developed by the date of the start of operation of the DGR. Everything then has to go through the relevant administrative processes. In addition, many of the parameters of the disposal facility (e.g. the distance of the disposal wells for SF, or the type of containment) are directly dependent on the characteristics of the specific site, which should thus be selected well in advance (response from SÚRAO).

2. Have any of the excluded/back-up sites met the exclusion criteria given by the Nuclear Installation Siting Ordinance?

Of the original nine potential sites, only the Kraví hora site conflicts with some of the exclusion criteria for the location of a nuclear installation under Decree No. 378/2016 Coll.

On the basis of the first step, the evaluation of eight potential DGR sites, namely Březový potok, Čertovka, Čihadlo, Horka, Hrádek, Janoch (NPP Temelín-South), Magdaléna, Na Skalním (NPP Dukovany-West), it was found that none of these sites is in direct conflict with any exclusion criteria evaluable on the basis of available data. The ninth site evaluated, Kraví hora, is in conflict with exclusion criteria reflecting the sites of the nearby former uranium mines of Rožná and Olší. However, following the assessment, this conflict is resolvable within the framework of administrative and technical measures. However, as Kraví hora showed significantly worse characteristics than the other sites in the second step of the assessment, the potential measures were not further evaluated in terms of cost. Based on the current state of knowledge and the assessment methodology, all the sites assessed are suitable for deep geological repository (response from SÚRAO).

3. What are the basic requirements for selecting sites for the location of DGR and what are the criteria for evaluating site selection? Who sets them and who monitors compliance?

The basic requirements for the location of a nuclear power plant are set out in Act No. 263/2016 Coll., the Atomic Act, and Decree No. 378/2016 Coll., on the location of nuclear facilities.  Compliance with the requirements in these regulations is checked by the SÚJB in the framework of the relevant licensing procedures.

As the site selection is fully under the responsibility of SÚRAO, site evaluation criteria were derived by SÚRAO staff for the selection and evaluation of potential DGR sites. Three main areas of criteria were defined - technical feasibility (whether the rock mass is sufficiently large and has sufficient reserves), long-term and operational safety (whether the area is stable in the long term and sufficiently predictable) and environmental impacts of DGR. These criteria included the requirements of the above-mentioned legislation (response from SÚRAO).

4. What is a geological survey and what is the schedule of exploration work? How will it differ from that which has already taken place as part of the narrowing of the number of sites?

The geological work is related to the need to describe the site in order to meet the criteria of technical feasibility (whether it is possible to build the DGR, at what cost and in what time) and safety (how the long-term stability of conditions and the development of the area can be predicted). For this purpose, both geological survey work (work leading to the establishment of a protected area for special intervention in the earth's crust - in the exploration area) and geological research work - identifying all other relevant characteristics (e.g. groundwater flow behaviour in the wider vicinity of the disposal facility) will be carried out. The content will include geophysical measurements, drilling and excavation work, borehole tests or geological mapping. All work will be presented to the affected communities and conflicts of interest will be resolved. The estimated duration of the next stage of the work - until the final and backup site is selected - is about 7 years, of which the actual field work will take about 5 years (response from SÚRAO).