Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: 239cc7c1-f2cb-46cc-945d-8009db28aa6c
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: General Site Suitability Criteria for Nuclear Power Stations + HISTORY - HISTORY 12/2023 – DG-4034 , Proposed Revision 4 12/2011 – DG-4021 , Proposed Revision 3 02/1995 – DG-4004, Second Proposed Revision 2 11/1992 – DG-4003, Proposed Revision 2 (Rev. 4)
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 4
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2312/ML23123A090.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-10
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-4.7
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
); • preferential flow in the subsurface and other physiographic conditions (to evaluate the most severe impact on people and the environment and to conservatively estimate contaminant travel time); • ground water velocity if ground water is affected; • dispersion and dilution processes in surface water bodies if surface water is affected; • distance to the nearest offsite point of entry to a surface water body or ground water resources; and DG-4034, Page 36 • environmental transport mechanisms and exposure pathways leading to direct uses (e.g., as drinking water) or indirect uses (e.g., crop and pasture irrigation, livestock watering, or use of water as a food ingredient) of surface water, ground water, or both. Aquifers that are or could be used by large populations for domestic, municipal, industrial, or irrigation water supplies provide potential pathways for the transport of radioactive material to people in the event of an accident or of chronic leaks. When choosing sites within an area that the EPA has designated (or could designate in the future) as a sole source aquifer, applicants should provide detailed justification based on potential community impact. To identify potential migration and ground water transport pathways for events that could cause environmental contamination, a conceptual ground water site model should be developed. If a surface water body is assumed to be impacted, the evaluation should consider the characteristics and associated parameters of the receiving water body. These characteristics include, among others, direction and flow rate of currents, near- and far-field mixing and dispersion patterns, thermal differences between the assumed release event and the receiving water body, tidal effects (if applicable), types and rates of surface water use, and location downstream from the point of entry. Alternate conceptual models should be developed that reasonably bound hydrogeological conditions at the site. A bounding set of