Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: 9c99a4b7-8619-41f0-b716-262bfdb03941
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: Developing Principal Design Criteria for Non-Light Water Reactors + HISTORY - HISTORY 02/2017 – DG-1330 , Proposed Revision 0
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 1
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1630/ML16301A307.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-1.232
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
C requirements support the design of the current nuclear power plants and are addressed in 10 CFR 50.34, “Contents of Applications; Technical Information.” Because the current GDC are based on LWR technology, the NRC developed the non-LWR design criteria, included as appendices to this RG, to provide guidance for developing PDC for non-LWR technology. The nuclear power plants presently operating in the United States were licensed under the process described in 10 CFR Part 50. The NRC and its predecessor, the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), approved construction permits for these plants between 1964 and 1978 and granted the most recent operating license under 10 CFR Part 50 in 2015. The regulations in 10 CFR Part 50 evolved over the years to address specific safety issues discovered as a result of operating experience and industry events. Some examples include fire protection in 10 CFR 50.48, emergency plans in 10 CFR 50.47, and aircraft impact assessment in 10 CFR 50.150. The NRC applied some of these new regulations retroactively to operating reactors while applying others only to new reactors. The NRC used its experience in licensing the current nuclear power plants to develop 10 CFR Part 52, which it issued in 1989 and has used for the most recent new reactor licensing reviews, reactor design certifications, and early site permits. The regulations in 10 CFR Part 52 apply lessons learned from licensing the operating reactors, provide an alternative to the current process described in 10 CFR Part 50, and increase the standardization of the next generation of nuclear power plants. For many years, new nuclear power plant licensing and guidance development activities have focused on the licensing processes in 10 CFR Part 52, rather than those in 10 CFR Part 50. For this reason, some Commission decisions regarding new nuclear power plant licensing issues have been incorporated into 10 CFR Part 52, without similar requirements consistently being incorporated