NUREG-1537, Part 2 - NRC

AU reactors (power and non-power) are licensed to operate as utiization facilities
under Title 10 in accordance with the Atomic Eergy Act (AEA or Act) of 1954,
as amended. The AEA was written to promote the development and use of atomic
energy for peaceful purposes and to control and limit its radiological hazards to the
public. These purposes are expressed in paragraph 104 of the Act, which states
that utilization facilities for research and development should be regulated to the
minimum extent consistent with protecting the health and safety of the public and
promoting the common defense and security. These concepts are promulgated in
10 CFR 50.40, 50.41, and in other parts of Title 10 that deal with non-power
reactors. The licensed thermal power levels of non-power reactors are several
orders of magnitude lower than current power reactors. Therefore, the
accumulated inventory of radioactive fission products in the fuel (in core) of nonpower
reactors is proportionally less and requires less stringent and less
prescriptive measures to give equivalent protection to the health and safety of the
public. Thus, even though many of the regulations of Title 10 apply to both power
and non-power reactors, the regulations will be implemented in a different way for
each category of reactor consistent with protecting the health and safety of the
public, workers, and the environment. Because the potential hazards may also
vary widely among non-power reactors, regulations also may be implemented in a
different way within the non-power reactor category.
Section 50.34 of Title 10 requires that each application for a construction permit
for a nuclear reactor facility include a preliminary safety analysis report (PSAR)
and that each application for a license to operate such a facility include a final
safety analysis report (FSAR). A single SAR document may be acceptable for
non-power reactors, but it must be sufficiently detailed to permit the NRC staff to
determine whether or not the facility can be built and operated consistent with
applicable regulations.
Most of the design, operation, and safety considerations for non-power reactors
apply to both test and research reactors. The guidance herein for reviewing
submittals and the criteria for acceptability should be followed for all non-power
reactors. Differences for test reactors will be discussed in the applicable chapters.
The issue of what standards to use in evaluating accidents at a research reactor
was discussed in an Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board (ASLAB) decision
issued May 18, 1972, for the research reactor at Columbia University in New York
City. ASLAB stated that "as a general proposition, the Appeal Board does not
consider it desirable to use the standards of 10 CFR Part 20 for evaluating the
effects of a postulated accident in a research reactor inasmuch as they are unduly
restrictive for that purpose. The Appeal Board strongly recommends that specific
standards for the evaluation of an accident situation in a research reactor be
formulated." The staff has not found it necessary to conform to that
recommendation to develop separate criteria for the evaluation of research reactor
NTJREG-1537, PART 2 xiv REV 0,2/96
NUREG 1537,PART2 Slav REV 0, 2/96
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