Nuclear Regulatory Commission Process

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has a detailed licensing process to build a nuclear power plant. The NRC has a two-step process for a reactor design. The first is a pre-application review to identify:

• Major safety issues that could require policy guidance to the staff from the Commission.
• Major technical issues that the staff could resolve under existing regulations or NRC policy.
• Research needed to resolve identified issues.

Following a successful pre-application process, a manufacturer submits an application for review. During this stage, the applicant presents the technical information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the safety standards set forth in NRC regulations. The application includes detailed analysis of the design's vulnerability to certain accidents or events, and inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria to verify the key design features.

The US-APWR design is currently in the pre-application stage of the process. For detailed information on progress of the review, click on the link below:

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/design-cert/apwr.html