ROCKVILLE, Md. – With the completion of the Department of Energy’s reactor pilot program on July 4, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission turns its attention to creating a formulaic pathway for reactor designs authorized by other agencies.
In April, NRC published a proposed rulemaking that would create an additional licensing pathway for reactors authorized by DOE and the Pentagon that seek commercialization. Ho Nieh, NRC chair, said during the NRC Commission’s Tuesday meeting that fine-tuning the agencies’ collaboration was a “top priority”, especially with the emerging microreactor technology coming out of the reactor pilot program.
During the industry’s panel half of the meeting, Radiant Nuclear’s Chief Nuclear Officer Rita Baranwal pitched the idea of DOE, NRC and Pentagon developing a uniform safety case for all regulations.
A safety case is documented assurance and evidence that show a nuclear facility is safe and can operate within regulatory requirements.
Baranwal, a DOE former assistant secretary of nuclear energy, said this would reduce “unnecessary” duplication between the agencies on regulatory work, leading to a streamlined review process.
Baranwal said Radiant is already in talks with the DOE, NRC and the Pentagon and hopes that the company’s Kaleidos microreactor can be the “poster child” of the collaboration effort.
NRC Executive Director of Operations Mike King said later in the NRC staff portion of the meeting, that he “loved the idea” of using the same regulatory safety case between the agencies and plugging pieces needed for each reactor design to minimize administrative work. NRC is also working on adding more clarity, predictability and purpose to the proposed framework, King said.
When asked by NRC Commissioner Bradley Crowell on the potential gaps between DOE-authorization and NRC licensing, NRC Director of the Office of Advanced Reactors Jeremy Bowen said NRC staff is studying how these reactor designs go from criticality to commercially viable. NRC is seeking to find out where it can use information provided through the DOE process, Bowen said.