Licensing Modernization Project for Advanced Reactor Technologies: FY 2018 Project Status Report

Abstract

The promise of new nuclear technology and the future of commercial power in the United States (U.S.) are linked to the existence of an efficient and safetyfocused regulatory review and licensing process. With an appropriate regulatory framework, reactor suppliers and regulators can design, license, and build advanced reactor units more efficiently and thereby help meet the growing need for clean and reliable energy.To help address the challenge of maintaining compatibility between the regulatory environment and new commercial nuclear plant designs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is supporting an industry-led effort called the Licensing Modernization Project (LMP). This cost-shared initiative, started in 2016 and scheduled to complete in 2019, targets amendment to key elements of the U.S. nuclear power reactor regulatory framework to specifically address licensing barriers in advanced reactor concepts. The project focused on updating guidance for certain technical licensing requirements that are largely incompatible with non-light-water reactors (non-LWR) and establish a new pathway for design-safety evaluations and license-application development. Upon completion, the project will have created a new pathway, founded on modern probabilistic assessment techniques, that offers developers, suppliers, regulators, and owner-operators greater clarity and assurance in design and licensing decisions.The LMP employs a team of advanced reactor technology and licensing subject matter experts working closely with U.S. regulators, affected industries, and interested members of the public.

Comparative Study of Algae-Based Measurements of the Toxicity of 14 Manufactured Nanomaterials

“…To determine the toxicity of manufactured nanomaterials, we chose 14 types of manufactured nanomaterials among those proposed by OECD, although the sizes of these materials were not prescribed. The nanomaterials were chosen for this experiment due to their frequency of use in the industry and research [3,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. The 14 types are Al 2 O 3 (99%), CeO 2 (>99.9%), gold (>99.9%), iron (>99%) silver (>99.9%), SiO 2 (>99.5%), and ZnO (99%), all purchased from KoreaNano (Gwangmyeong, Korea), as well as MWCNTs (>98% carbon basis), dendrimers (G4-PAMAM dendrimer, 10wt.% in methanol), nanoclays (bentonite), and TiO2 (P25, >99.5%) purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA).…”

“…In addition, carbon black (>99%) was purchased from Uninanotech (Yongin, Korea), SWCNTs (>95%) from Carbon Nanotech (Pohang, Korea), and fullerene (C60, 99%) from Alfa Aesar (Haverhill, MA, USA). Additionally, physical and chemical properties of manufactured nanomaterials used in this study are shown in Table 1 [3,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

What can wildlife-detection dogs offer for managing small mammalian predators?

“…However, as the mongoose population declined, annual trap catch fell from 946 animals in 2008 to a single animal in 2018. During the same period, 102 mongooses were tracked by dog-handler teams to their dens, where they were captured by the dog handlers (Abe 2013;Glen and Hoshino 2020;MoE 2021).…”

Cost Efficient-by-Design Microreactors: Trade-offs between cost, technical, and regulatory factors

“…The NRC describes a "functional containment" approach as the full set of barriers designed to prevent any release of radioactive material into the environment. Hence, the functional containment approach can shift the nuclear plant design from satisfying rigid LWR-style prescriptive requirements toward considering multiple possible solutions in a TI-RIPB manner (Moe 2018).…”