Regulatory Update

Guidance for Developing Principal Design Criteria for Non-Light-Water Reactors

April 2018

This document provides fundamental guidance that will reduce regulatory risk for the advanced non-LWR design community.

Cooperation between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has culminated in the issuance of significant licensing aid for developers of advanced non-light-water (non-LWR) reactors. The NRC’s new Regulatory Guide 1.232, “Guidance for Developing Principal Design Criteria for Non-Light-Water Reactors,” helps developers of these technologies align their concepts with relevant NRC regulations and forms a key portion of the NRC’s advanced reactor regulatory framework.

The Regulatory Guide’s generic set of Advanced Reactor Design Criteria covers most non-LWR technologies. The guide also includes technology-specific criteria for sodium-cooled fast reactors and high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Revision 0 to RG 1.232 (ADAMS Accession No. ML17325A611) was made available to the public on April 9, 2018.