SMRs will be licensed and deployed in the global market. However, the deployment of SMRs as a global enterprise is not supported by an international licensing/certification framework that permits a ‘plug and play’ environment similar to electronics such as TVs, computers and smart phones. The current nuclear licensing strategy requires any SMR design, regardless of the pedigree and robustness of licensing in country of origin, to be licensed in the country of deployment. Contrast this licensing process with that of aircraft approval. In essence, an aircraft approved for air-worthiness by a competent approval authority is recognized worldwide through an international convention. While the international community has recognized the need to harmonize licensing processes and practices to the extent practicable, the reactor design in the country of origin still is licensed with significant reference to and adoption of that country’s approved industry codes and standards.

The nuclear energy community and standards development organizations (SDOs) (e. g., American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), American Nuclear Society (ANS), American Concrete Institute (ACI), ASTM International, American Welding Society (AWS))

recognize that the development of international nuclear codes and standards through the consensus process will facilitate worldwide licensing and deployment of SMRs. SDOs are spending much time and resources to support the development of international standards for all industries. The intent for world-wide consensus standards supporting SMR designs is that licensing authorities will adopt or reference these standards in the licensing basis for the designs. Adoption or reference of international standards as acceptable methods to meet a country’s licensing requirements will streamline the licensing process and facilitate the end goal of a global enterprise for SMRs.

A framework of international licensing based in part on the adoption and use of international codes and standards is a laudable goal. The NRC references approximately 520 standards in its regulations, regulatory guides, and the staff’s SRP. Over 160 NRC staff members participate in approximately 300 committees of SDOs. The NRC regularly reviews consensus standards developed by these SDOs and, if appropriate, endorses them in its regulations, regulatory guides, and the SRP. On a 5-year cycle, approximately 425 regulatory guides, the most common source of referenced consensus standards, are re-evaluated to determine whether they need updating, including the endorsement of new or revised consensus standards. More frequent revisions may occur based on technical evolutions and users’ needs.

The development of new and revised nuclear industry codes and standards was stalled over the past several decades commensurate with the hiatus of new NPP deployment. If new nuclear designs and technologies are not deployed commercially, SDOs have little business incentive to expend time and resources on new nuclear standards. However, new technologies that were applicable to the nuclear industry (digital instrumentation, wireless sensors, new materials and fabrication techniques, laser welding, etc.) were being developed and supported by new industry standards that were adopted worldwide.

In the US, the nuclear industry, NRC and DOE recognized the need to identify (a) what new industry standards were developed or being developed that supported new nuclear technologies, (b) what new or revised nuclear standards were needed, (c) what industry codes and standards were referenced in NRC licensing documents and whether those references were up to date, and (d) how nuclear industry codes and standards referenced by NRC should be incorporated in a web-based database to support international use and licensing of nuclear technologies.

In 2009, the Nuclear Energy Standards Coordination Collaborative (NESCC) was established under the sponsorship and coordination of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST), with the sponsorship of DOE and the NRC. NESCC provides a cross­stakeholder forum to bring together representatives of the nuclear industry, SDOs, subject matter experts, academia, and national and international governmental organizations to facilitate and coordinate the timely identification, development, or revision of standards that support new nuclear designs, licensing, operation, fabrication, and deployment. In addition, there are codes and standards activities in cross-cutting areas that are relatively technology-neutral in that the standards involve new materials, techniques, or methods that are applicable to essentially all reactor technologies for use in new design or construction. Examples include high-density polyethylene piping, digital instrumentation and controls, composite concrete construction, and risk methodologies for advanced reactors. The NRC also recognized that its regulatory guidance documents needed review and revision to ensure that they appropriately referenced current codes and standards. It proposed to develop a database of referenced standards. A high priority for the NESCC was to support the NRC in the development of its web-based database of standards for worldwide use. This database is expected to be published in mid-2014.