Reactor Licensing
Assuring safe and efficient
facility siting, licensing,
and environmental assessments
PNNL’s research—including in nondestructive examination (NDE), radiation measurements, mechanical and microstructural characterizations—supports the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and nuclear power industry. Here, a materials scientist is evaluating the mechanical properties of nuclear materials using a test frame with an atmosphere-controlled high-temperature furnace.
Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Since the 1980s, PNNL has provided scientifically credible, legally defensible, and consistently useful documentation for siting and licensing U.S. and international nuclear power reactor facilities.
PNNL scientists conduct environmental reviews for new and existing nuclear reactors as well as fossil and renewable energy facilities. They work on behalf of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) at the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense, and other agencies.
PNNL can call upon hundreds of scientists and engineers, in every technical specialty necessary, to complete the scientifically challenging and legally demanding National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document. This includes experts in health physics, waste management, ecology, hydrology, geology, meteorology, air quality, land use, socioeconomics, cost benefit, environmental justice, alternative sites and alternative energy, need for power, human health and safety, transportation, accident analysis, cultural and historic resources, public relations, technical writing and editing, document production, project management, and quality assurance.
PNNL’s experience in environmental impact statements, safety analysis, and licensing includes:
Its diversified team gives PNNL a depth of expertise to support the siting of nuclear facilities. The PNNL team recently provided technical support to the NRC by updating Regulatory Guide 4.2, which defines the standards for siting and preparing environmental reports for nuclear power plants.
PNNL staff skillfully bring in stakeholders. They have arranged and facilitated hundreds of public meetings, including those about contentious environmental issues. They also track stakeholder comments and incorporate them into the record of these complex decisions. PNNL developed the Comment Response Database (CRD), a knowledge-management tool developed for the NRC to support the NEPA public comment process.
This internet-accessible, multi-user system has processed tens of thousands of comments. It provides a central location for storing correspondence, tracking comments and responses, managing document changes, and exporting data reports. The CRD also provides simultaneous access for all authorized users and archives past project records, which are easily searchable.
