Skip to main content

PNNL

  • About
  • News & Media
  • Careers
  • Events
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
      • Biology
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Human Health
          • Cancer Biology
        • Integrative Omics
          • Advanced Metabolomics
          • Instrument Development & Deployment
          • Nanoscale Proteomics
        • Microbiome Science
          • Human Microbiome
          • Soil Microbiome
      • Chemistry
        • Catalysis
        • Chemical Physics
      • Computational Research
        • Artificial Intelligence
        • Computational Mathematics & Statistics
        • Graph and Data Analytics
        • High-Performance Computing
        • Software Engineering
        • Visual Analytics
      • Earth & Coastal Sciences
        • Atmospheric Science
        • Coastal Science
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Plant Science
        • Subsurface Science
        • Terrestrial Aquatics
      • Materials Science
        • Solid Phase Processing
        • Science of Interfaces
        • Precision Materials by Design
        • Materials in Extreme Environments
      • Nuclear & Particle Physics
        • Dark Matter
        • Neutrino Physics
        • Flavor Physics
        • Fusion Energy Science
      • Quantum Information Science
    • Energy Resiliency
      • Electric Grid Modernization
        • Distribution
        • Transmission
        • Grid Architecture
        • Grid Analytics
          • AGM Program
        • Grid Cybersecurity
        • Emergency Response
      • Energy Efficiency
        • Building Technologies
          • Advanced Building Controls
          • Building-Grid Integration
          • Advanced Lighting
        • Residential Buildings
          • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
          • Home Energy Score
          • Building America Solution Center
        • Commercial Buildings
        • Federal Buildings
          • Federal Performance Optimization
          • Resilience and Security
        • Building Energy Codes
        • Appliance and Equipment Standards
      • Energy Storage
        • Grid Energy Storage
        • Vehicle Energy Storage
      • Environmental Management
        • Environmental Remediation
        • Waste Processing
        • Radiation Measurement
      • Fossil Energy
        • Carbon Management
          • Carbon Capture
          • Carbon Storage
          • Carbon Utilization
        • Subsurface Energy Systems
        • Advanced Hydrocarbon Conversion
      • Nuclear Energy
        • Reactor Licensing
        • Reactor Operations
        • Fuel Cycle Research
        • Advanced Reactors
      • Renewable Energy
        • Hydropower
          • Environmental Performance of Hydropower
          • Hydropower and the Electric Grid
          • Hydropower Cybersecurity and Digitalization
          • Materials Science for Hydropower
          • Water + Hydropower Planning
        • Marine Energy
          • Environmental Monitoring for Marine Energy
          • Marine Biofouling and Corrosion
          • Marine Energy Resource Characterization
          • Testing for Marine Energy
          • The Blue Economy
        • Wind Energy
          • Distributed Wind
          • Offshore Wind
          • Uncertainty Quantification
          • Wildlife and Wind
          • Wind Data Archive and Portal
          • Wind Resource Characterization
        • Geothermal Energy
        • Solar Energy
      • Transportation
        • Vehicle Technologies
          • Emission Control
          • Energy-Efficient Mobility Systems
          • Lightweight Materials
          • Vehicle Electrification
        • Bioenergy Technologies
          • Algal Biofuels
          • Aviation Biofuels
          • Waste-to-Energy and Products
        • Hydrogen & Fuel Cells
    • National Security
      • Computing & Analytics
        • Artificial Intelligence
        • Computational Mathematics & Statistics
        • Graph and Data Analytics
        • High-Performance Computing
        • Software Engineering
        • Visual Analytics
      • Cybersecurity
        • Discovery and Insight
        • Proactive Defense
        • Trusted Systems
      • Nuclear Nonproliferation
        • Stakeholder Engagement
        • Technical Training
      • Weapons of Mass Effect
        • Explosives Detection
        • Chemical & Biological Signatures Science
        • Radiological & Nuclear Detection
    • Publications & Reports
    • S&T Capabilities
  • People
    • Inventors
    • Diversity
    • Lab Leadership
    • Lab Fellows
    • Staff Accomplishments
  • Partner with PNNL
    • Academia
      • Distinguished Graduate Research Programs
      • Internships
      • Visiting Faculty Program
      • Joint Appointments
      • Joint Institutes
      • Linus Pauling Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship
    • Community
      • STEM Education
        • Resources
        • STEM Ambassadors in the Classroom
      • Philanthropy
      • Volunteering
      • Economic Impact
    • Industry
      • Available Technologies
      • Industry
      • Industry Partnerships
      • Licensing & Technology Transfer
      • Entrepreneurial Leave
  • Facilities & Centers
    • All Facilities
      • Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility
      • Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Lab
      • Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
      • Institute for Integrated Catalysis
      • Marine and Coastal Research Laboratory
      • Radiochemical Processing Laboratory
      • Shallow Underground Laboratory
      • Systems Engineering Building
      • Wasteform Development Laboratory
      • PNNL Seattle Research Center
      • PNNL 5G Innovation Studio

Breadcrumb

  1. Research
  2. Energy Resiliency
  3. Nuclear Energy
  4. Reactor Licensing

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

  • Electric Grid Modernization
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Energy Storage
  • Environmental Management
  • Fossil Energy
  • Nuclear Energy
    • Reactor Licensing
    • Reactor Operations
    • Fuel Cycle Research
    • Advanced Reactors
  • Renewable Energy
  • Transportation
  • News & Updates
  • Attend a Reactor Licensing Event
  • Projects

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.

Licensing and standards

PNNL’s experience in environmental impact statements, safety analysis, and licensing includes:

  • Assisting the NRC in developing NEPA-compliant standards for new nuclear plant designs
  • Assisting the NRC in developing new standards for safety reviews and evaluating safety of plant designs
  • Drafting design-specific review standards for small modular reactors (SMRs)
  • Leading the NRC environmental review for Watts Bar 2 (the first new operating license in 20 years)
  • Evaluating Tennessee Valley Authority's Clinch River SMR site, and the Vogtle and V.C. Summer plants (the first U.S. builds in more than 34 years)
  • Leading safety analysis and probabilistic risk assessment for the DOE-NE Next Generation Nuclear Plant project, designed to demonstrate a high temperature gas-cooled reactor
  • Supporting DOE in addressing options for mitigating contaminated water in Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant
  • Updating NRC fire protection standards for nuclear power plants.

Facility siting

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.

Public involvement

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.

Recent News

APRIL 16, 2021
Web Feature

Protecting Special Places through Tribal Relations

Read
TribalEngagement
MARCH 22, 2021
Web Feature

Environmental Justice Fueled by Social Science, Engagement

Read
An illustration shows different colored hands united over an image of the earth
FEBRUARY 25, 2021
Web Feature

A Faster Path to Carbon-Free Power

Read
PPE
SEE MORE RELATED NEWS

Key Capabilities

Nuclear & Radiochemistry
Decision Science & Analysis
Earth Systems Science & Engineering
SEE ADDITIONAL CAPABILITIES

Related Research

Nuclear & Particle Physics Radiation Measurement Materials Science

Facilities

Radiochemical Processing Laboratory 318 Building

Related Links

New Reactor LicensingReactor DecommissioningRisk-Informed License Amendment ReviewsEnvironmental Assessment & Engineering technical group

Contact

Tara O'Neil
Manager, Nuclear Regulatory Subsector; Advisor, Earth Systems Science
tara.oneil@pnnl.gov
541-738-0362

PNNL

  • Get in Touch
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Doing Business
    • Environmental Reports
    • Security & Privacy
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
    • Energy Resiliency
    • National Security
Subscribe to PNNL News
Department of Energy Logo Battelle Logo
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is managed and operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn