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The Nuclear ilates U.S. commercial nuclear oower plants and the civilian use of nuclear materials

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 

which is empowered to protect public health and 

safety as it regulates the various commercial and 

institutional uses of nuclear energy, has redesigned 

its Web site (www.nrc.gov) to provide a consistent, 

easy-to-understand presentation of information 

about the agency and its activities. 

The redesigned Web site has two major objectives: 

Increase Public Confidence by providing 

information that: 

" Enhances the ability of stakeholders to 

participate effectively in the regulatory 

process. Examples include public meeting 

notices, documents for comment, rulemaking 

information, enforcement actions, reportable 

events, and much more. 

" Broadens the public's understanding of 

NRC's mission, goals and performance. 

Examples include information about the 

Commission's activities, the agency's strategic 

and performance plans, its organization and 

functions, and educational materials about 

nuclear topics. 

Make Doing Business with the NRC Easier by: 

" Enhancing access to site information 

through an improved search engine, consistent 

page design, expanded site topic indices, 

standardized navigational capabilities, and 

improved access for users with disabilities. 

" Making tools available for conducting 

business electronically at www.nrc.gov. 

For instance, the site permits secure electronic 

transmittal of documents, lists job vacancy

announcements, procurement plans for prospective Major Site Content 

contractors, licensing information for applicants,

and NRC forms for submitting information. 

Redesign Highlights 

Overview 

The new Web site's consistent look and feel 

throughout make navigation simple and enhance 

access to the multitude of agency documents and 

information available at the site. Information about 

the agency and its regulatory activities is arranged 

in a general-to-specific pattern. Diagrams, maps, 

and photographs augment the text to aid clarity. 

The timeliness and accuracy of information at the 

site are monitored to keep our commitment to the 

quality and integrity of the site. 

Home Page 

The redesigned home page permits one-click 

access to topics of high stakeholder interest. For 

example, a Key Topics box highlights site-wide 

topics of current interest. The buttons across the 

top of the home page include drop-down menus 

with direct access to more than 50 pages at the 

site. On the left side of the home page, you will 

find short cuts for accessing important links and in 

the center you'll find links to 'What's Happening" 

and recent press releases. 

The site also provides real-time Webcasts of 

Commission meetings open to the public. This 

feature is designed to foster familiarity with the 

agency and its scope of responsibilities, as well as 

to encourage increased public participation in the 

regulatory process.

The redesigned site is organized into seven major 

areas to help users find agency information of 

interest quickly: 

Who We Are - describes the NRC's mission, 

functions, organization, history, office locations, 

and funding, as well as information for those who 

wish to apply for employment or compete for NRC 

contracts. 

What We Do - provides details about NRC's 

regulatory activities, Congressional and public 

affairs programs, and programs of nuclear safety 

involving States and the international community. 

Nuclear Reactors - features a wealth of 

information on the types of nuclear power plants 

regulated by the NRC, the oversight process used 

to ensure safe plant operations, plant performance 

data, and agency licensing requirements to 

operate a reactor or to close a plant permanently. 

Nuclear Materials - provides information on 

the nuclear materials regulated by the NRC that 

are used in industry, medicine, and academic 

settings and the regulations for using, transporting, 

and storing these materials. 

Radioactive Waste - describes the types of 

radioactive waste regulated by the agency including 

low-level waste (such as contaminated protective 

clothing, tools, filters, rags, medical tubes), high

level waste (such as "irradiated" or used nuclear 

reactor fuel), and uranium mill tailings (the residue 

that remains after the processing of natural ore to 

extract uranium and thorium). It also includes

Site Help Site Index I Contact Us (**** Search] Advanced Search 

f7, T7,71W 7",. "SW Nula Reuatr CMmiso L_
information about the storage, transportation, and 

disposal of these wastes. 

Public Involvement - tells users about how to 

become involved in the agency's regulatory 

process. This section conveniently links to pages 

on the site that provide opportunities to comment 

on documents, request enforcement action by the 

agency, or request that the NRC change or 

establish a regulation. Site users can find notices 

of public meetings and ways to contact someone 

at the NRC. 

Electronic Reading Room - provides 

access to collections of current and archived 

documents pertinent to NRC's regulatory activities. 

(The NRC releases several hundred documents to 

the public each work day.) Many of these 

documents are available directly on the Web while 

the rest are available either from the NRC's 

document retrieval system, ADAMS, or from the 

agency's Public Document Room. This site also 

contains information on obtaining documents in 

accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA), as well as an index to all Frequently Asked 

Questions pages throughout the site. 

These seven areas, as well as the home page, can 

be accessed from virtually every Web page. In 

addition, there are a series of links at the top of each 

page that show users where they are on the site and 

provide a path back to the NRC home page. 

For example, the links at the top of the Operating 

Reactors page would read: 

Home > Nuclear Reactors > Operating Reactors 

Found at the top of each page above the site 

banner, the Contact Us, Site Help, and Site Index 

links and the Search box provide additional aids 

for locating information and getting help from NRC 

staff. Users will also find helpful icons throughout 

the site, such as exit FEX-TI, to inform them they 

are leaving the site, and PDF).- to indicate that 

they will need to download a "portable document 

format" reader (free of charge) to read the linked 

document.

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