257 



SELECTION OF A REACTOR SITE 



The selection of a reactor site is the responsibility of the company proposing to 

 build the reactor. To assist prospective applicants, the Atomic Energy Commis- 

 sion has published criteria which it uses as guides in the safety evaluation of 

 proposed sites for stationary licensed power and test reactors. 



Factors considered by the Commission in .iudging the safety of proposed sites 

 for power reactors include dimensions and characteristics of the site under the 

 operator's control ; population density in the area surrounding the proposed site, 

 and the uses which are made of this area, such as industrial, farming or resi- 

 dential ; and the seismology, meteorology, geology and hydrology of the area. 

 Other factors considered are the characteristics of the proposed reactor, including 

 maximum power level, and the particular safeguards to be engineered into the 

 plant either to prevent accidents or to limit their consequences ; and the extent 

 to which the design of the reactor incorporates unique or imusual features that 

 may have a significant bearing on the probability or consequences of an accident. 



Before formally filing an application for construction and operation of a power 

 reactor a prospective applicant is encouraged to discuss informally the possible 

 sites for the reactor with the Commission's regulatory staff. In this way an 

 applicant can receive additional guidance as to the acceptability of a site and the 

 information which must be included in the applieatioai for a license to construct 

 and operate a reactor. 



APPLICATION FOR A CONSTRUCTION PERMIT 



Before a company can begin to build a power reactor at a particular site, it 

 must obtain a construction permit from the Commission. Such things as site 

 exploration, site excavation, procurement or manufacture of components and 

 construction of non-nuclear facilities may be done before an AEC construction 

 permit is received. 



As a major part of the application, the company files a preliminary safety 

 analysis report. This report presents the preliminary design and safety features 

 of the proposed reactor, as well as comprehensive data on the proposed site. 

 The report discusses various accident situations and the safeguards which will be 

 provided to prevent accidents or, if they should occur, to prevent overexposure 

 of the public and employees to radiation. 



Copies of the application are sent to the Commission's Advisory Committee 

 on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). The ACRS is a committee established by 

 law to advise the Commission on safety aspects of reactors. It is composed 

 of scientists and engineers who are eminently qualified in the various fields 

 related to reactor technology. Copies also are sent to the state and local oflScials, 

 and are placed in the AEC's Public Document Room. A public announcement 

 of the receipt of the application is issued by AEC and a notice is published 

 in the Federal Register and in trade and news publications which will give 

 reasonable notice to municipalities, public bodies, private utilities and corpora- 

 tions which might have a potential interest in the facility. Copies of all cor- 

 respondence and filings relating to the application are placed in the public records 

 of the Commission, which are available to any member of the public at the 

 Commission's Washington office. 



REVIEW AND SAFETY EVALUATION 



The application is reviewed by technical experts of the Commission's regu- 

 latory staff. This staff is headed by the Director of Regulation, who reports 

 directly to the Commission. There are seven divisions under the Director of 

 Regulation. They are the Divisions of Reactor Licensing, Reactor Standards, 

 Materials Licensing, Radiological & Environmental Protection, Compliance, State 

 and Licensee Relations and Nuclear Materials Safeguards." The review includes 



2 The Division of Reactor Licensing handles AEC staff review of applications to construct 

 and operate nuclear reactors. The Division of Reactor Standards develops standards, 

 criteria and guides for location, design, construction and operation of reactors. The Divi- 

 sion of Materials Licensing issues licenses for the use of radioactive materials and reviews 

 applications to build and operate reactor fuel reprocessing plants. The Division of Radio- 

 logical and Environmental Protection develops and recommends to the Commission regu- 

 lations to limit exposures of persons to radiation from licensed activities ; and develops, as 

 required by the National Environmental Policy Act, statements which evaluate the environ- 



