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NRC roles and responsibilities.
Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:18 pm
by chrismb
Sec. 202. Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions Respecting
Selected Administration Facilities
Notwithstanding the exclusions provided for in section 110 a. or any
other provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 USC
2140(a)), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall, except as otherwise
specifically provided by section 110 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended (42 USC 2140(b)), or other law, have licensing and related
regulatory authority pursuant to chapters 6, 7, 8, and 10 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, as to the following facilities of the
Administration:
(1) Demonstration Liquid Metal Fast Breeder reactors when
operated as part of the power generation facilities of an electric utility
system, or when operated in any other manner for the purpose of
demonstrating the suitability for commercial application of such a
reactor.
(2) Other demonstration nuclear reactors–except those in existence
on the effective date of this Act–when operated as part of the power
generation facilities of an electric utility system, or when operated in
any other manner for the purpose of demonstrating the suitability for
commercial application of such a reactor.
(3) Facilities used primarily for the receipt and storage of highlevel
radioactive wastes resulting from activities licensed under such
Act.
(4) Retrievable Surface Storage Facilities and other facilities
authorized for the express purpose of subsequent long-term storage of
high-level radioactive waste generated by the Administration, which
are not used for, or are part of, research and development activities.
(5) Any facility under a contract with and for the account of the
Department of Energy that is utilized for the express purpose of
fabricating mixed plutonium-uranium oxide nuclear reactor fuel for
use in a commercial nuclear reactor licensed under such Act other than
any such facility that is utilized for research, development,
demonstration, testing, or analysis purposes.
NRC responsibility on fusion research reactors still a bit vague - maybe it falls under (2)
"or when operated in
any other manner for the purpose of demonstrating the suitability for
commercial application of such a reactor"
Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:06 pm
by ladajo
You would have to backtrack to what the government considered as a definition for "nuclear" when this was written.
The founding principle of the nuclear arm was fuel cycle control. cradle to grave.
Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:16 pm
by chrismb
My initial survey of documents appear to indicate sections 6, 7, 8 and 10 have been repealled. Does this suggest NRC no longer have any licencing authority and they've just been holding on to power for so long?
Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:46 pm
by ladajo
They still have licensing and review authority. Although, there is now the nuclear security folks in the game. I will have to review that to see how it weaves together.
The tangled web that bureaucracy weaves...
Re: NRC roles and responsibilities.
Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:40 am
by Axil
chrismb wrote:
Sec. 202. Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions Respecting
Selected Administration Facilities
Notwithstanding the exclusions provided for in section 110 a. or any
other provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 USC
2140(a)), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall, except as otherwise
specifically provided by section 110 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended (42 USC 2140(b)), or other law, have licensing and related
regulatory authority pursuant to chapters 6, 7, 8, and 10 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, as to the following facilities of the
Administration:
(1) Demonstration Liquid Metal Fast Breeder reactors when
operated as part of the power generation facilities of an electric utility
system, or when operated in any other manner for the purpose of
demonstrating the suitability for commercial application of such a
reactor.
(2) Other demonstration nuclear reactors–except those in existence
on the effective date of this Act–when operated as part of the power
generation facilities of an electric utility system, or when operated in
any other manner for the purpose of demonstrating the suitability for
commercial application of such a reactor.
(3) Facilities used primarily for the receipt and storage of highlevel
radioactive wastes resulting from activities licensed under such
Act.
(4) Retrievable Surface Storage Facilities and other facilities
authorized for the express purpose of subsequent long-term storage of
high-level radioactive waste generated by the Administration, which
are not used for, or are part of, research and development activities.
(5) Any facility under a contract with and for the account of the
Department of Energy that is utilized for the express purpose of
fabricating mixed plutonium-uranium oxide nuclear reactor fuel for
use in a commercial nuclear reactor licensed under such Act other than
any such facility that is utilized for research, development,
demonstration, testing, or analysis purposes.
NRC responsibility on fusion research reactors still a bit vague - maybe it falls under (2)
"or when operated in
any other manner for the purpose of demonstrating the suitability for
commercial application of such a reactor"
Until recently, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has not asserted regulatory control over commercial fusion energy devices.
However, last year, in a memorandum dated July 16, 2009, the NRC stated that it would assert regulatory control over fusion energy devices that relate “the common defense or security.” However, the NRC went on to say that it “will wait until commercial deployment of fusion technology is more predictable… before expending significant resources to develop a regulatory framework for fusion technology.”
So it seems that commercial fusion energy research and development can presently proceed unregulated by the NRC. Fusion technology developments like the Super-X divertor that focuses on a hybrid fusion-fission process brings the commercial viability of fusion energy devices closer to a reality, and closer to ultimate regulation of the field.