NRC Perspectives on a U. S. Nuclear Renaissance The Honorable Peter B. Lyons Commissioner U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commis

1. NRC Perspectives on a U. S. Nuclear Renaissance The Honorable Peter B. Lyons Commissioner U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 19th Annual RETS-REMP Workshop South Bend, Indiana June 23, 2009

2. Some U.S. Statistics • Number of Plants Operating 104 • Number of Plants Under Construction 1 • (Watts Bar Unit 2) • Number of Plant Orders Canceled 120 • (following TMI and Chernobyl) • Last Industry Order for a New Plant 1973 • Last Construction Permit Issued 1978 • Today • COL Applications with NRC for Review 17 • Number of New Plants 26 • Number of New Plant Designs 5

3. Possible New Plants

4. Nuclear Renaissance ? Favorable Outlook for Increased Safe and Secure Utilization of Nuclear Energy…… Depends on a foundation of…. Demonstrated Continued Safe Operations

5. Historical Trend in Indicators of Safety Since 1985

6. Safety Performance Trends continued

7. Significant Events Can and Do Still Occur Significant Events

8. Davis-Besse Reactor Vessel Head Corrosion Photos: Davis-Besse Head Corrosion Model at USNRC HQ, Rockville, MD

9. Some Images Don’t Instill Confidence in Nuclear Plant Maintenance and Aging Management

10. Minor Issues Also Erode Public Confidence • Groundwater Contamination Events • Oyster Creek • Indian Point • Braidwood • Callaway • Dresden • Byron • Palo Verde • Quad Cities

11. Selected Challenges NRC Faces • License Application Reviews • New Construction Techniques • Construction Inspection • Technology Changes • Global Supply Chain • Safety and Security • Communications • Workforce

12. 10 CFR Part 52 Licensing Process

13. Design-Centered Reviews • NRC staff’s parallel review of multiple standardized COL applications • Dependent on extent of industry standardization of COL applications • Principle: One Issue One Review One Position

14. Construction Inspection

15. Modular Construction

16. Module Fabrication and Assembly Facility Shaw – Lake Charles Facility

18. Digital Technology ABWR EPR AP1000 APWR

19. Global Environment • Global marketplace a reality – ABWR, EPR, AP1000, APWR • International partnerships of regulators • Multi-National Design Evaluation Program (MDEP) • International Nuclear Regulators Association (INRA) • Need for research: • International Test Facilities • Provide sound technical bases for decisions • Limited United States manufacturing base • U.S. dependence on global marketplace • Global renaissance challenges global production

20. ASME Nuclear Certificate Holders

21. Safety and Security Security Features Emergency Planning Improved Passive Designs Trained Guard Force

22. To be Seen as a Strong, Consistent, and Credible Regulator by our Stakeholders…. • Effective Communication is the Key • External Stakeholders • Internal Stakeholders

23. The Strength of Open Discussion “One must create the ability in his staff to generate clear, forceful arguments for opposing viewpoints as well as for their own. Open discussions and disagreements must be encouraged, so that all sides of an issue will be fully explored.” H. G. Rickover

24. The Challenge of Informing the Public “The professional person’s standing in the community depends, in the final analysis, on the public’s insight of his work, that is, on the educational level of the man in the street. When specialized knowledge of professional people is incomprehensible to the average man, he is apt to flounder between frustrated suspicion and excessive awe, leading him either to interfere unduly with professional independence or to accept naively every claim made by anyone who calls himself a professional.” H. G. Rickover

25. Public Openness • Essential to Regulatory Strength • Opportunities for Public Comment • Public Comments Addressed Openly • Opportunities for Public Hearings • Licensing New Reactors • Amending Licenses for Existing Reactors • Balanced with Security Needs

26. “Risk” is perceived in many different ways We must COMMUNICATE how NRC requirements adequately MANAGE the risk to acceptable levels – and how NRC ensures licensees are meeting those requirements We must communicatewith both internal and external stakeholders the assumptions underlying our risk analyses We must communicate risk concepts to the publicin understandable terms

27. Types of “risk” evaluated at NRC • Public radiation exposure and health effects • Occupational radiation exposure • Reactor safety core damage • Release to environment of damaged core • Inadvertent criticality of materials • Medical events • Environmental contamination

28. Radiation Doses in Perspective 1000 millirem (1 rem) 900 CT Chest NRC Annual limit for the public 800 100 millirem 90 Transpolar flight 700 Nuclear brain scan Annual terrestrial dose in Denver 80 10 600 Annual dose from building materials 9 70 Apollo XVI astronauts & NRC requires dosimeter 8 Annual dose from medical exams 1980 500 60 previous 7 Annual dose from natural background 50 400 6 From your body 40 5 Annual cosmic rays 300 Chest x-ray 4 30 Trans-Atlantic flight Annual dose from medical exams 2006 Annual terrestrial dose in Maryland 3 200 20 Dental x-ray 2 1-week dose in US-all sources Leg/Arm x-ray 10 1 millirem 100

29. ANOTHER EXTERNAL CHALLENGE-THE NATION’S TECHNICAL WORKFORCE WORKING TOGETHER, WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE THE SATISFACTION AND EXCITEMENT OF A TECHNICAL CAREER

30. Societal Importance of Education “If you can solve the education problem, you don’t have to do anything else. If you don’t solve it, nothing else is going to matter all that much.” ALAN GREENSPAN, 2006

31. INTERNATIONAL MATH SCORE RANKINGS • Top Five performers with the US ranking • Grade 4 • Hong Kong • Singapore • Taiwan • Japan • Kazakhstan • 11th United States • Grade 8 • Taiwan • South Korea • Singapore • Hong Kong • Japan • 9th United States Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007

32. ENGINEERINGFirst University Degree Thousands Source: Science and Engineering Indicators 2008

33. Source: DOE Survey, J. Gutteridge (2008)

34. Goal – Retain Qualified Staff NRC Hiring Trends Accomplishments

35. NRC’s Challenge Maintain recognition as one of the best U.S. Federal agency workplaces! 2007 2008 Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation (ISPPI) at American University Best Places to Work in Federal Government

36. Keys to the Future ContinuedSafe Operation Strong Regulator Qualified Workforce Open Communications Security Culture of Safety Quality Design and Construction Global Cooperation Appropriate use of New Technologies

37. BACKUP SLIDES

38. NRC Oversight Uranium Mining Uranium Conversion Uranium Enrichment Power Reactors Transportation Storage Waste Disposal Medical/Industrial New Reactors

39. NRC Commissioners Commissioner Kristine Svinicki Commissioner Peter Lyons Chairman Gregory Jaczko Commissioner Dale Klein Sworn In: 3/28/08 Term Ends: 6/30/12 Sworn In: 1/21/05 Term Ends: 6/30/13 Sworn In: 7/01/06 Term Ends: 6/30/11 Sworn In: 1/25/05 Term Ends: 6/30/09

40. COL Applications Expected & Received Valid as of May, 2009

41. Regulatory Issuesof Interest • For New Reactor Designs • Aircraft Crash Assessment • Digital Instrumentation and Controls • Small Reactors • For Operating Reactors • Inattentive Security Guards • Underground Pipe Failures and monitoring • Fire Protection Closure • Digital Instrumentation and Controls • Materials Licensing • Medical Isotope Supply • Cesium-137 Chloride continued use • Spent Fuel Management Policy • Waste Confidence Policy/Rule • Repository Licensing • Security

42. NE Enrollment Trends (2004-2009)