Spent Fuel Storage Regulations, Guidance, and Communications
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Regulations
NRC's regulations are found in Chapter I of Title 10, "Energy," of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Chapter I is divided into Parts 1 through 199. The regulations that apply to independent spent fuel storage installations are shown below.
- Part 20 - Standards for protection against radiation
- Part 50 - Domestic licensing of production and utilization facilities
- Part 51 - Environmental protection regulations for domestic licensing and related regulatory functions
- Part 72 - Licensing requirements for the independent storage of spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste, and reactor-related greater than class C.
- Part 73 - Physical protection of plants and materials
See also, information on all NRC Rules and Petitions.
The NRC welcomes Public Involvement in Rulemaking, and invites the public to comment on proposed rules and policies, licensing actions, and draft technical documents. We announce public comment opportunities in the Federal Register and on our Documents for Comment page.
Guidance
Regulatory guides are issued in 10 divisions and are intended to aid licensees in implementing regulations. The guides most applicable to spent fuel storage are in—
Web (HTML) versions of some regulatory guides are available for viewing or downloading. Those available are highlighted in the index to our Document Collection/Regulatory Guides. All active final and draft guides are also available in NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS).
Interim staff guidance documents are used by the staff to provide guidance to the staff concerning issues not currently addressed in a standard review plan (SRP) or issues where clarification of SRP text is necessary. This guidance is intended to ensure consistent reviews by staff and will be incorporated into the next periodic update of the applicable SRP.
Other guidance documents that may be useful to licensees and other stakeholders are—
- Standard Review Plan for Dry Cask Storage Systems (NUREG-1536)
- Standard Review Plan for Spent Fuel Dry Storage Facilities (NUREG-1567)
- Standard Review Plan for Renewal of Specific Licenses and Certificates of Compliance for Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel (NUREG-1927)
- Managing Aging Processes in Storage (MAPS) Report (NUREG-2214)
Web (HTML) versions of some guidance documents are available in our NRC Formal Publication Collection. Some are also are available in ADAMS (see our table listing their availability).
Communications
Generic communications are NRC's primary method of sending information to specific classes of licensees. There are several types:
Newsletters are another way of sending information to NRC licensees. The NMSS Quarterly Newsletter (NUREG/BR-0117) is published quarterly and contains information about spent fuel storage.