the nrc: who we are and what we do
TRANSCRIPT
2
Who We Are
The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 established the
NRC to independently regulate commercial uses of nuclear
material, including nuclear power. Other duties of the former
Atomic Energy Commission were assigned to the DOE.
The NRC is headed by five Commissioners, all nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for staggered five year terms. No more than three can be from the same political party. One Commissioner is designated by the President to serve as the Chairman.
3
Who We Are
The NRC employs nearly 4,000 people among its
suburban Maryland headquarters and four regional
offices in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois and Texas.
NRC inspectors are also assigned to 65 nuclear power
plant sites and three fuel facilities.
Who We Are The NRC receives a
budget each fiscal
year from Congress.
By law, the NRC
must recover,
through fees billed
to licensees,
approximately 90
percent of its budget
authority which in
FY 2012 equals
$909.5 million of the
total $1,038 million
budgeted.
4
5
Our Mission
To license and regulate the nation’s civilian use
of byproduct, source and special nuclear
materials to ensure adequate protection of
public health and safety, promote the common
defense and security, and protect the
environment.
6
Our Strategic Goals
Safety: Ensure the protection of public health and safety
and the environment.
Security: Ensure the secure use and management of
radioactive material.
7
Some Nuclear Facts • 104 nuclear power plants supply about 20 percent of
the electricity in the U.S.
• Nuclear materials are used in medicine for cancer
treatment and diagnosis.
• Nuclear materials are widely used in industry, such as
in density gauges, flow measurement devices,
radiography devices and irradiators.
8
The NRC Regulates: Nuclear reactors – commercial power reactors, research
and test reactors, new reactor designs;
Nuclear materials – radioactive materials for medical,
industrial and academic use;
Nuclear waste – transportation, storage and disposal of
nuclear material and waste,
decommissioning of nuclear facilities; and
Nuclear security – physical security of nuclear facilities
and materials from sabotage or attacks.
9
What We Don’t Do: • Regulate nuclear weapons, military reactors or space
vehicle reactors.
• Lobby for nuclear power.
• Own or operate nuclear power plants.
• Regulate naturally occurring radon, X-rays and material produced in particle accelerators.
11
What We Do: Materials The NRC protects public health, national security and the
environment by regulating:
• Medical and industrial use of nuclear materials. About
22,000 licenses have been issued and inspected by
the NRC and Agreement States.
• Mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facilities, which mix
uranium with surplus weapons-grade plutonium to
make fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. A
MOX plant is under construction at the Department of
Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
12
What We Do: Materials The NRC also regulates uranium facilities:
• Uranium milling and
in situ or solution mining
facilities
• Uranium conversion
and fuel fabrication
facilities
• Uranium enrichment plants
13
What We Do: Waste
The NRC ensures public safety through the licensing of
nuclear waste, including:
• 65 spent fuel storage installations for
the storage of spent nuclear
reactor fuel in pools or dry casks.
• About 67,000 metric tons stored at reactor sites.
14
What We Do: Waste
The NRC also certifies:
• Spent fuel storage
and transportation
cask designs; and
• Transportation
packages for
nuclear materials
and waste.
What We Do: Transportation
• Co-regulate with U.S. DOT
• Review and approve Type B & fissile transportation packages.
• Comprehensive multi-discipline review
– Stringent test/analysis requirements
– Maintain subcriticality, shielding and containment
• Inspect cask designers, fabricators, and shippers and shipments
• Co-US representative to IAEA Transportation Safety Standards Committee
15
16
What We Do: Security • The NRC has long recognized the importance of
securing nuclear facilities and materials; security requirements were significantly increased after 9/11.
• Nuclear power plants are built to withstand disasters both natural and man-made, and are among the best-protected commercial facilities in the U.S.
• The NRC works closely with DHS, the FBI and others to monitor threat conditions.
17
Partners in Regulation • The NRC grants 37 Agreement States authority to
regulate:
• Source material (natural
uranium or thorium ores);
• Byproduct material, such as
uranium mill tailings;
• Small amounts of special
nuclear material (enriched uranium and plutonium);
• Evaluation of radiation safety information on sealed radioactive sources and devices; and
• Commercial disposal of low-level radioactive waste.
18
Partners in Regulation The NRC works with many other agencies and
organizations including:
• Department of Energy
• Department of Transportation
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Department of Homeland Security
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Department of Health and Human Services
• U.S. Congress
• International Atomic Energy Agency
19
Open To The Public The NRC places a high priority on keeping the public and
stakeholders informed of its activities. At www.nrc.gov,
you can:
• Find public meeting dates
and transcripts;
• Read NRC testimony,
speeches, press releases
and policy decisions; and
• Access the agency’s Electronic Reading Room to
find NRC publications and documents.
NRC’s Role in Regulating Spent
Fuel Shipments
Certification of Shipping Casks
Inspection of Cask Designers and Fabricators
Enforcement of NRC and DOT safety rules
Enforcement of Physical Protection Measures
Emergency Response – assistance to first responders, lead Federal Agency
20
NRC’s Role in Regulating Spent
Fuel Shipments Spent Fuel Casks are certified to be accident resistant.
They must withstand:
Thirty foot drop onto unyielding surface.
Forty inch drop onto a steel puncture pin.
Thirty minute fully engulfing 1475 o F fire.
Immersion Test (50 feet).
21
NRC’s Role in Spent Fuel Storage
• Reviews and approves designs and
operational requirements of storage
facilities
• Reviews and approves designs of
storage casks
22
Spent Fuel Storage
• Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation (ISFSI)
– Pad
– Horizontal Storage Module (HSM)
23
NRC Initiatives
• Extended Storage and Transportation (EST)
• Identify and address areas that may affect safe storage of spent
fuel over long periods, and related transportation
• Potential changes to NRC storage and transportation regulations
and guidance
• Waste Confidence • Commission directed staff to prepare Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and revised rule within 24 months
• Commission order: no final licenses until Waste Confidence is complete
27
Current Policy Environment
• U.S. national policy for disposition of spent nuclear fuel
is in transition
• Extended (dry) storage of spent fuel may be necessary
• Alternative disposal options may emerge
• NRC’s mission remains the same – ensure the safe
and secure use of radioactive materials while
protecting people and the environment
• Consistent with Commission direction, NRC staff is
preparing for potential changes in policy
28
Extended Spent Fuel Storage and
Transportation: Framework
29
• Transportation
• 10 CFR Part 71
• Term certificates with
renewal
• Certification generally
separate from storage
• Dry Storage
• 10 CFR Part 72
• Term certificates and
licenses
• Aging management
plans for renewal
• Multiple renewals
allowed
• Enhance technical knowledge for regulating extended
storage of spent nuclear fuel
• Identify technical issues associated with long-term storage and
subsequent transportation
• Perform focused research on technical areas of regulatory
significance
• Identify needed revisions to regulatory framework
• As appropriate,
• revise regulations
• develop or revise guidance
• develop staff capabilities
30
Extended Spent Fuel Storage and
Transportation: Approach
• Finalize report on Technical Information Needs Affecting
Potential Regulation of Extended Storage and
Transportation
• Respond to public comments
• Small adjustments to priority areas
• Clarifications and improved explanations
• Technical investigations underway in highest-priority
areas
• Further technical investigations in next level areas now
starting
31
Extended Spent Fuel Storage and
Transportation: Current Work
Extended Spent Fuel Storage and
Transportation: Technical Needs
32
• Focus on potential degradation phenomena for dry
storage systems
• Consider impact on performance of safety functions
• Highest priority technical information needs
• Stress corrosion cracking of stainless steel canisters
and welds
• Swelling of fuel over time, including fuel fragmentation
• More realistic thermal models for longer time periods
• Effects of residual moisture after drying
• In-service monitoring methods
• Eight areas in next priority level include degradation
processes for cladding, hardware, concrete
Extended Spent Fuel Storage and
Transportation: Current Projects
• Examples of current NRC technical investigations:
• Laboratory tests to better define susceptible conditions for
stress corrosion cracking of canisters
• Development of more-realistic thermal models using
computational fluid dynamics methods
• Analysis of potential effects of residual moisture
• Surveys of in-service monitoring and non-destructive
examination methods
• Research plan for fuel swelling and cladding stress
• Research plan for concrete degradation, inspection, and
monitoring
33
Waste Confidence Status
• NRC staff is on schedule
– Completed first phase of project in
March 2013
– Scoping Summary Report
• Status updates
– NRC staff holds monthly
teleconferences, updates website,
maintains e-mail list
34
Waste Confidence Next Steps
• Plan to complete the draft generic EIS and
rule for comment by September 2013
• Plan to hold 8 meetings across the U.S.
plus 2 webcast meetings from NRC HQ in
the September-October timeframe
• 75-day comment period
• Final EIS and Rule by September 2014.
35
Conclusions
• NRC is continuing to perform its mission while preparing
for potential policy changes
• NRC is engaged in several multi-year initiatives
concerning storage and transportation of spent fuel
• Initial NRC staff efforts have defined tasks and developed
plans and schedules
• Technical work is underway on high priority areas
• Staff will continue in productive interactions with public,
industry, and other stakeholders
• Waste Confidence activities are progressing and are on
schedule
36
Fukushima
37
• Tier 1 - Recommendations that should be started without
unnecessary delay and for which the agency already has
enough resources (such as staff with proper skills).
• Tier 2 - Recommendations that had to wait for factors such
as further technical assessment, resolution of Tier 1 issues,
or availability of critical staff skills.
• Tier 3 - Recommendations that require further staff study to
support a regulatory action, rely on resolution of a higher-
tier action, are dependent on critical skill sets, or depend on
the NRC’s actions on the first recommendation.
•