Before construction, the main design features are assessed and approved. At this point the potential regulatory uncertainties need to be clarified. The regulatory body needs detailed construction plans, clear schedules, outlines of responsibilities of parties and information on resources required and how the licensee is to assess its own work. It is also necessary to review the way in which the licensee will promote a safety culture to its subcontractors. Significant regulatory effort is necessary during inspections to verify that new manufacturing techniques and new types of equipment meet the speci­fications set by the designer. The regulatory body has to review, assess and inspect, on a systematic basis, the development of the design of the instal­lation as demonstrated in the safety documentation, in accordance with an agreed programme.

During construction, the regulatory body assesses and verifies the follow­ing: the management system of the applicant or licensee and the vendors and its subcontractors; the documentation relating to demonstration of compliance of the selected design with safety objectives and criteria, includ­ing validated results from experiments and research programmes; and the organizational and financial arrangements for decommissioning and for management of radioactive waste and spent fuel.