NRC Discusses Options for a New Regulatory Framework

NRC Discusses Options for a New Regulatory Framework

from Nuclear Energy Institute by vbarq

The following news article originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview.
NRC staff last week outlined several options it is considering for creating a more integrated regulatory framework, as recommended by the agency’s post-Fukushima task force.
The options, discussed at a Nov. 8 public meeting, include clarifying the role of voluntary industry initiatives, creating a decision process for determining appropriate safety margins, and adding a new category in the regulations to address beyond-design-basis matters.

The commission has asked the staff to provide its draft recommendations in February.
After the 2011 accident in Japan, the NRC’s near-term Fukushima task force confirmed the commission’s conclusion that existing regulations are effective. “Although complex, the current regulatory approach has served the commission and public well,” the task force said in its report (SECY-11-0093). However, the task force identified areas for improvement, particularly the NRC’s approach to beyond-design-basis events.
In its Nov. 2 draft report, an NRC staff working group outlined four options for responding to the task force recommendation:

• maintain the existing framework
• clarify the role of voluntary industry initiatives
• establish a decision-making process and criteria for balancing risk, defense-in-depth and safety margins
• establish a new category for requirements related to beyond-design-basis events.

The first option would leave the regulatory framework unchanged and continue the NRC’s longstanding practice of revising regulations and adding new ones as necessary.http://safetyfirst.nei.org/industry-actions/nrc-discusses-options-for-a-new-regulatory-framework/