Comparative Analysis Between US NRC Requirements and US DOE Orders - 13402
- MRIGlobal, 425 Volker Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64110 (United States)
- Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (United States)
Small modular reactor (SMR) is a nuclear reactor design approach that is expected to herald in a new era of clean energy in the U.S. These reactors are less than one-third the size of conventional large nuclear power reactors, and have factory-fabricated components that may be transported by rail or truck to a site selected to house a small nuclear reactor. To facilitate the licensing of these smaller nuclear reactor designs, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is in the process of developing a regulatory infrastructure to support licensing review of these unique reactor designs. As part of these activities, the NRC has been meeting with the Department of Energy (DOE) and with individual SMR designers to discuss potential policy, licensing, and key technical differences in SMR designs. It is anticipated by the NRC that such licensing interaction and guidance early in the design process will contribute towards minimizing complexity while adding stability and predictability in the licensing and subsequent regulation of new reactor designs such as SMRs. In conjunction with the current NRC initiative of developing the SMR licensing process, early communication and collaboration in the identification and resolution of any potential technical and licensing differences between NRC requirements and similar requirements applicable at DOE sites would help to expedite demonstration and implementation of SMR technology in the US. In order to foster such early communication, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) has begun taking the first steps in identifying and evaluating potential licensing gaps that may exist between NRC and DOE requirements in siting SMRs at DOE sites. A comparison between the existing NRC regulations for Early Site Permits and the DOE Orders was undertaken to establish the degree of correlation between NRC requirements and compliance methods in place at DOE sites. The ability to use existing data and information to expedite the development of the Environmental Report is being evaluated at the Savannah River Site as a case study for application across the DOE Complex. This paper will present areas of direct correlation as well as those where the need for site specific data for either DOE operations or NRC compliance warrant additional interaction between the agencies. Areas where further refinement of the SMR technologies may drive collaborative development of revised regulations through such means as industry consensus standards will also be highlighted. Both NRC and DOE have requirements that mandate public involvement in their processes. The importance and value of early engagement with the public as well as collaborating regulatory agencies is of critical importance when deploying new technologies. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9-332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22221378
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-13-WM-13402; TRN: US14V0572042333
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management 2013 - WM2013 Conference: International collaboration and continuous improvement, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 24-28 Feb 2013; Other Information: Country of input: France
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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