Advanced Nuclear Reactor Framework Needed, Industry Says

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to develop a regulatory framework specifically for advanced nuclear reactors and review applications for them efficiently, vendors that are developing the next-generation nuclear reactors told the agency.

The current regulatory process for all 100 operating nuclear reactors in the U.S. is meant for light water reactor technology. Companies developing advanced non-light reactors say the current framework doesn’t apply to their technologies, which are cooled by substances other than water—such as sodium, gas, molten salt and lead—and have safer profiles than existing reactors.

According to Eric Loewen, chief consulting engineer at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, which ...