Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material; Possession of a Critical Mass of Special Nuclear Material

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations governing the domestic licensing of special nuclear material (SNM) for licensees authorized to possess a critical mass of SNM, that are engaged in one of the following activities: enriched uranium processing; fabrication of uranium fuel or fuel assemblies; uranium enrichment (other than certified existing gaseous diffusion plants); enriched uranium hexafluoride conversion; plutonium processing; fabrication of mixed-oxide fuel or fuel assemblies; scrap recovery of SNM; or any other activity involving a critical mass of SNM that the Commission determines could significantly affect public health and safety or the environment. The amendments establish performance requirements, require affected licensees to perform an integrated safety analysis (ISA) to identify potential accidents at the facility and the items relied on for safety necessary to prevent these potential accidents and/or mitigate their consequences; require the implementation of measures to ensure that the items relied on for safety are available and reliable to perform their function when needed; require the safety bases to be maintained, and changes reported to NRC; allow for licensees to make certain changes to their safety program and facilities without prior NRC approval; require reporting of certain events; and require the NRC to perform a backfit analysis under specified circumstances.