NRC SEEKS COMMENT ON PROPOSED RULE TO CERTIFY

GE-HITACHI ESBWR REACTOR DESIGN

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking comments on a proposed rule that

would certify GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s Economic Simplified Boiling-Water Reactor 

(ESBWR) design for use in the United States.

The design certification process provides for early public participation and resolution of 

safety issues for proposed reactor designs. NRC certification, in the form of a final rule, means 

the design meets the agency’s applicable safety requirements. If an applicant for a nuclear power 

plant license references a certified design, the applicant need not submit safety information for 

the design. Instead, the license application and the NRC’s safety review would address the 

remaining safety issues for the proposed nuclear power plant.

The design to be certified is fully described in a “design control document,” which would 

be approved (incorporated by reference) in the design certification rule. The NRC has also 

prepared an environmental assessment of the design to support the rulemaking. The 

environmental assessment discusses possible design alternatives that could be included in the 

design certification to mitigate potential severe accidents. The NRC invites public comments on 

the design control document and environmental assessment as part of this rulemaking. These 

documents are available through the Federal e-Rulemaking web site at 

http://www.regulations.gov by searching under Docket ID NRC-2010-0135.

GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy submitted an application for certification of the ESBWR

standard plant design on Aug. 24, 2005. The ESBWR is a 1,594 megawatt electric, natural 

circulation reactor. The ESBWR includes passive safety features that would cool down the 

reactor after an accident without the need for human intervention. These passive features 

include:

• enhanced natural circulation via a taller reactor vessel, a shorter core and 

improved water flow through the vessel;

• an isolation condenser system to control water levels and remove decay heat 

while the reactor is pressurized, and;

• a gravity-driven cooling system to maintain water levels when the reactor 

pressure has dropped.

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. 11-056 March 24, 2011
The NRC conducted an extensive technical evaluation of the design and issued a final 

safety evaluation report (FSER) in March 2011. The FSER provides the basis for the design 

certification now being considered for addition to NRC’s regulations at 10 CFR Part 52. The 

FSER is available through http://www.regulations.gov by searching under Docket ID 

NRC-2010-0135.

The NRC is currently reviewing a Combined License application, referencing the 

ESBWR design certification application, from the Detroit Edison Company for Fermi Unit 3. 

The NRC has certified four other standard reactor designs: the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor 

(ABWR), System 80+, AP600, and AP1000, and the agency has published proposed rules to 

amend the ABWR and the AP1000.

The public can view the NRC’s Federal Register notice at

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-6839.pdf. Comments may be submitted for 75 days 

following publication. Comments may be submitted via http://www.regulations.gov under 

Docket ID NRC-2010-0135; by e-mail to Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov; by mail to 

Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, ATTN: 

Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff; or by fax to Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, at 301-492-3466.

More information about the ESBWR design review can be found on the NRC’s website

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

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