The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted license extensions for 81 nuclear reactors that allow them to operate for up to 60 years – 20 years past their original expiration dates.
This week, the NRC said it was preparing for the possibility of extending the commercial viability of commercial nuclear reactors beyond that 60 year mark. The agency said it is seeking public comment on two drafts designed to guide the agency's staff in reviewing applications to extend operation to eight decades.
The agency said it expects to receive the first application for “subsequent license renewal” (SLR) sometime in 2019.
The draft guidance documents, once finalized, will describe methods and techniques acceptability to the agency for review of SLR applications. As such, commercial operators will have documents available to serve as guidelines when making their applications.
The new documents, Generic Aging Lessons Learned for Subsequent License Renewal (GALL-SLR) Report and Standard Review Plan for Review of Subsequent License Renewal Applications for Nuclear Power Plants (SRP-SLR), will use the templates of documents covering the initial license renewal application. This will put operators on familiar ground when seeking to renew licenses for their power plants a second time.
The documents will describe aging management programs acceptable to the NRC for operations up to 80 years.
The regulatory agency will hold public meetings at the NRC headquarters in Rockville, MD. On Jan 21 Jan. 22 and Feb. 23, 2016, to present the guidance, answer questions and receive comments. Written comments may be submitted, as well. These may be submitted over the federal government’s rulemaking website at www.regulations.gov, using Docket ID NRC-2015-0251.
The online comment option is not available just yet. It is to be opened upon publication of a Federal Register notice, which is expected to occur Dec. 22.
Comments can be submitted through Feb. 29, 2016.
Information about reactor license renewal is available on the NRC’s website. The draft GALL-SLR Report (NUREG-2191) and draft SRP-SLR (NUREG-2192) are available on the NRC license renewal guidance webpage.
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