Nuclear Safety, Research, Demonstration, and Development Act of 1980
PL 96-567 (H.R.7865), enacted 12/22/1980

PUBLIC LAW 96-567—DEC. 22, 1980 
94 STAT. 3329 
Public Law 96-567 
96th Congress 
An Act 
To provide for an accelerated and coordinated program of light water nuclear 
reactor safety research, development, and demonstration, to be carried out by the 
Department of Energy. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of 
America in Congress assembled. That this Act may be 
cited as the "Nuclear Safety Research, Development, and Demonstra-
tion Act of 1980". 
FINDINGS AND PURPOSE 
SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that— 
(1) nuclear ener^ is one of the two major energy sources 
available for electric energy production in the United States 
during the balance of the twentieth century; 
(2) continued development of nuclear power is dependent upon 
maintaining an extremely high level of safety in the operation of 
nuclear plants, and on public recognition that these facilities do 
not constitute a significant threat to human health or safety; 
(3) it is the responsibility of 
utilities, as owners and operators of 
nuclear powerplants, to assure that such plants are designed and 
operated safely and reliably; and 
(4) a proper role of the Federal Government in assuring 
nuclear powerplant safety, in addition to its regulatory function, 
is the conduct of a research, development, and demonstration 
program to provide important scientific and technical informa-
tion which can contribute to sound design and safe operation of 
these plants. 
(b) It is declared to be the policy of the United States and the 
purpose of this Act to establish a research, development, and demon-
stration program for developing practical improvements in the 
generic safety of nuclear powerplants during the next five years, 
beginning in the fiscal year 1981. The objectives of such program 
shall be— 
(1) to reduce the likelihood and severity of potentially serious 
nuclear powerplant accidents; and 
(2) to reduce the likelihood of disrupting the population in the 
vicinity of nuclear powerplants as the result of nuclear power-
plant accidents. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the Secretary 
from undertaking projects or activities, in addition to those specified 
in this Act, which appropriately further the purpose and objectives 
set forth in this subsection. Nothing in this Act shall authorize the 
Secretary to assume responsibility for the management, cleanup or 
repair of any commercial nuclear powerplant. Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed as limiting the authority of the Secretary under 
any other law. 
DEFINITIONS 
SEC. 3. For purposes of 
this Act— 
Dec. 22, 1980 
[H.R. 7865] 
Nuclear Safety 
Research, 
Development, 
and 
Demonstration 
Act of 1980. 
42 use 9701 
note. 
42 use 9701. 
42 use 9702. 
94 STAT. 3330 
PUBLIC LAW 96-567—DEC. 22, 1980 
(1) the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Energy; 
(2) the term "Government agency" means any department, 
agency, commission, or independent establishment in the execu-
tive branch of the Federal Government, or any corporation, 
wholly or partly owned by the United States, which is an 
instrumentality of the United States, or any board, bureau, 
division, service, office, officer, authority, administration, or 
other establishment in the executive branch of the Federal 
Government; 
(3) the term "Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission; and 
(4) the term "Advisory Committee" means the Advisory Com-
mittee on Reactor Safeguards established by section 29 of the 
42 use 2039. 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. 
ESTABUSHMENT OP RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION 
PROGRAM FOR IMPROVING THE SAFETY OP NUCLEAR POWERPLANTS 
42 use 9703. 
SEC. 4. (a) The Secretary shall establish a research, development, 
and demonstration program to carry out the purpose of this Act. As 
part of such program, the Secretary shsdl at a minimum— 
(1) refine further the assessment of risk factors associated with 
the generic design and operation of nuclear powerplants to 
determine the degree and consequences of propagation of fail-
ures of systems, subsystems, and components, including consider-
ation of the interaction between the primary and secondary 
systems; 
(2) develop potentially cost-beneficial changes in the generic 
design and operation of nuclear powerplants that can (A) signifi-
cantly reduce the risks from unintentional release of radioactive 
material from the various engineered barriers of nuclear power-
plants and (B) reduce the radiation exposure to workers during 
plant operation and maintenance; 
(3) develop potentially cost-beneficial generic methods and 
designs that will significantly improve the performance of opera-
tors of nuclear powerplants under routine, abnormal, and acci-
dent conditions; 
(4) identify the effect of total or partial automation of generic 
plant systems on reactor safety, operation, reliability, economics, 
and operator performance; 
Experimental 
(5) conduct 
further 
experimental 
investigations 
under 
investigations. 
abnormal operational and postulated accident conditions pri-
marily for light water reactors to determine the consequences of 
such conditions. These investigations shall include, but not be 
limited to, the following: 
(A) fuel failure at higher than standard burn-up levels; 
(B) fuel-cladding interactions; 
(C) fuel and cladding interactions with coolant under 
various temperatures and pressures; 
(D) thermohydraulic behavior in the reactor core; 
(E) mechanisms to suppress and control the generation of 
hydrogen gas; 
(F) improved instrumentation for monitoring reactor 
cores; 
(G) engineered-barrier failure modes; and 
(H) fission product release and transport from failed fuel; 
(6) provide for the examination and analysis of any nuclear 
powerplant fuel, component, or system which the Secretary 
PUBLIC LAW 96-567—DEC. 22, 1980 
94 STAT. 3331 
deems to offer significant benefit in safety analysis and which is 
made available to the Secretary for a nominal cost, such as $1: 
Provided, however. That the Secretary shall accept only the 
number of samples of such fuel, component, or system necessary 
to carry out such examination and analysis; and 
(7) identify the aptitudes, training, and manning levels which 
are necessary to assure reliable operator performance under 
normal, abnormal, and emergency conditions. 
O
b
) In carrying out the generic safety research, development, and 
demonstration program established under this Act, the Secretary— 
(1) shall coordinate with the Commission and, to the extent 
necessary, enter into a new memorandum of understanding or 
revise existing memoranda for the purpose of eliminating unnec-
essary duplication and avoiding programmatic conflict with any 
reactor safety research program of the Commission, including 
the Improved Safety Systems Research program; 
(2) shall, to the extent practical, coordinate his activities with 
such other Government agencies, foreign governments, and 
industry as he deems appropriate to utilize their expertise, to 
minimize duplication of effort, and to ensure that information 
useful for improved concepts applicable to nuclear powerplant 
safety can be applied in a timely manner. The Secretary may 
enter into agreements and memoranda of understanding to 
accomplish these ends, but no such agreement shall have the 
effect of delaying the development and implementation of pro-
grams authorized under this Act; 
(3) shall utilize, to the extent feasible, underutilized federally 
owned research reactors and facilities, along with the associated 
personnel, to maintain existing capabilities and to ensure that 
the research is generic in nature; and 
(4) shall make such recommendations as are practical to 
minimize the complexity of nuclear powerplant systems, includ-
ing secondary systems, and operations. 
NATIONAL REACTOR ENGINEERING SIMULATOR 
SEC. 5. (a) The Secretary, in consultation with the Commission and 
42 USC 9704. 
the Advisory Committee, shall initiate a study of the need for and 
feasibility of establishing a reactor engineering simulator facility at a 
national laboratory, for the primary purpose of fostering research in 
generic design improvements and simplifications through the simula-
tion of the performance of various types of light water reactors under 
a wide variety of abnormal conditions and postulated accident condi-
tions. 
Gt)) In performing the study, the Secretary shall consider relevant 
factors including, but not limited to— 
(1) the potential advantages that would accrue from the estab-
lishment of such a facility; 
(2) the extent to which such a facility would further the generic 
safety research and development program established by this 
Act; 
(3) the extent to which such a facility can be established by 
nongovernmental entities; 
(4) the opportunities for cost sharing by nongovernmental 
entities in the construction and operation of such a facility; 
(5) the importance of such a facility in emergencies to limit the 
extent of any future nuclear powerplant excursions; 
94 STAT. 3332 
PUBLIC LAW 96-567—DEC. 22, 1980 
Report to 
congressional 
committees. 
(6) the potential for international cooperation in the establish-
ment and operation of 
such a facility; and 
(7) the appropriate national laboratory for siting such a 
facility. 
(c) The Secretary shall, by January 1,1982, submit to the Commit-
tee on Science and Technology of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a 
report characterizing the study and the resulting conclusions and 
recommendations. 
Study. 
42 u s e 9705. 
Report to 
Congress. 
FEDERAL NUCLEAR OPERATIONS CORPS 
SEC. 6. (a) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Nuclear Regula-
tory Commission, sheill initiate a study as to the sufficiency of efforts 
in the United States to provide specially trained professionals to 
operate the controls of nuclear powerplants and other facilities in the 
back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle. In carrying out the study, the 
Secretary shall coordinate his activities with the ongoing programs of 
the utility industry and other Federal governmenteil agencies for 
obtaining high standards of operator performance. 
(bXl) In conducting the study the Secretary shall assess the 
desirability and feasibility of creating a Federal Corps of such 
professionals to inspect and supervise such operations. 
(2) The assessment shall consider the establishment of an academy 
to train Corps professionals in all aspects of nuclear technology, 
nuclear operations, nuclear regulatory and related law, and health 
science. 
(3) The assessment shall include the appropriate organizational 
approach for the establishment of a Federal Corps within the execu-
tive branch. 
(c) The Secretary shall complete the study within one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act and shall submit a report along with his 
recommendations to the Congress. 
REPORTS AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION 
42 use 9706. 
SEC. 7. The Secretary shall assure that full and complete safety-
related information resulting from any project or other activity 
conducted under this Act is made available in a timely manner to 
appropriate committees of Congress, Federal, State, and local 
authorities, relevant segments of private industry, the scientific 
community, and the public. 
COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT PLAN 
42 use 9707. 
SEC. 8. (a) The Secretary is authorized and directed to prepare a 
comprehensive program management plan for the conduct of 
research, development, and demonstration activities under this Act 
consistent with the provisions of section 4. In the preparation of such 
plan, the Secretary shall consult with the Commission and the 
Advisory Committee and with the heads of such other Government 
agencies and such public and private organizations as he deems 
appropriate. 
(b) The Secretary shall transmit the comprehensive program man-
agement plan along with any comments by the Commission on the 
plan to the Committee on Science and Technology of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of 
PUBLIC LAW 96-567—DEC. 22, 1980 
94 STAT. 3333 
the Senate within twelve months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. Revisions to the plan shall be transmitted to such commit-
tees whenever deemed appropriate by the Secretary. 
(c) Concurrently with the submission of the President's annual 
budget to the Congress for each year after the year in which the 
comprehensive plan is initially transmitted under subsection (b), the 
Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a detailed description of the 
comprehensive plan as then in effect. The detailed description of the 
comprehensive plan under this subsection shall include, but need not 
be limited to, a statement setting forth any change in— 
(1) the program strategies and plans, including detailed mile-
stone goals to be achieved during the next fiscal year for all 
major activities and projects; 
(2) the economic, environmental, and societal significance 
which the program may have; 
(3) the total estimated cost of individual program items; and 
(4) the estimated relative financial contributions of the Federal 
Government and non-Federal participants in the program. 
Such description shall also include a detailed justification of any such 
changes, a description of the progress made toward achieving the 
goals of 
this Act, a statement on the status of interagency cooperation 
in meeting such goals, and any legislative or other recommendations 
which the Secretary may have to help attain such goals. 
Revisions, 
transmittal 
to congressional 
committees. 
Plan description. 
AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 
SEC. 9. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to 
carry out this Act such sums as may be authorized by legislation 
hereafter enacted. 
SEC. 10. Project 78-3-b, authorized by section 102 of Public Law 
95-238, the fusion materials irradiation test facility, is hereby desig-
nated as the "Mike McCormack Fusion Materials Test Facility". Any 
reference in any law, regulation, map, record, or other document of 
the United States to the fusion materials irradiation test facility shall 
be considered a reference to the "Mike McCormack Fusion Materials 
Test Facility". 
Approved December 22, 1980. 
42 u s e 9708. 
92 Stat. 49. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 96-1242 (Comm. on Science and Technology). 
SENATE REPORT No. 96-941 accompanying S. 2884 (Comm. on Energy and Natural 
RGSOU 
rc6s) 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 126 (1980): 
Aug. 25, considered and passed House. 
Sept. 26, considered and passed Senate, amended, in lieu of S. 2884. 
Dec. 4, House concurred in Senate amendment with an amendment. 
Dec. 12, Senate agreed to House amendment with amendments. 
Dec. 13, House agreed to Senate amendments. 
79-194 O—81—pt. 3 
44 : QL3