At the request of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (USAEC), the Atlantic Richfield Hanford Company has completed engineering studies that will lead to the construction of a retrievable surface storage facility (RSSF), capable of receiving all high-level radioactive wastes generated by commercial reactor fuel reprocessing plants through the year 2000 and storing these wastes for at least 100 years. There will be approximately 75 000 canisters (1 ft diam x 10 ft long) of dry solid waste containing a total of about 200 M W of heat. These wastes must be safely stored in a manner that will have minimum adverse impact on man’s environment and the ecology, and not causeundue risk to the health and safety of the public. General design criteria for the RSSF were developed and the technical feasibility of each of the following concepts was determined: (a) storage in water basins where the decay heat is rejected to the atmosphere by the use of heat exchangers and cooling towers, (b) storage in air-cooled vaults where the heat removal is by natural convection, and (c) storage in rugged thick-wall casks placed outdoors. Selection of the concept to be developed for RSSF construction will be made by the USAEC.