The first priority should be the development of international nuclear codes and standards that can be adopted and referenced by sovereign licensing authorities. The NRC database of codes and standards can be used as a starting point for this effort. Also it is crucial for each country with existing nuclear power and every embarking nation with nuclear power aspirations, to participate in the development of consensus nuclear standards that may provide a solid foundation for agreement on an international strategy and framework for licensing.

11.4.1 International regulatory guidance for SMRs

IAEA and member states recognize the need to develop international guidance on how to license new SMR designs more effectively. IAEA recommended in its 6th INPRO Dialogue Forum, ‘Licensing and Safety Issues for Small and Medium — Sized Reactors’ (29 July-2 August 2013), that guidance on the application of a graded approach for the licensing and regulation of SMRs be developed. All sovereign nations embarking on SMR deployment must have a licensing process and capabilities that provide reasonable assurance that the operation of a nuclear power plant in the country will be safe and secure. This process must be open and transparent to all stakeholders. However, licensing capabilities to fully review the safety basis may be limited in many countries. Therefore, IAEA guidance on the appropriate grading of the scope and depth of a licensing safety review, particularly with a previously approved/certified SMR, is a high priority. Licensing authorities should not and need not ‘reinvent the wheel’ in the safety review of a previously approved reactor. Licensing authorities must review the complete license application, but the scope and depth of a reactor safety review may be graded based on considerations such as:

• margins of safety in the design;

• unique safety considerations of the site and region;

• operational interaction of the SMR with other industrial applications at the site;

• risk to public at remote locations;

• interactions with the approving regulatory authority to better understand and assess the licensing basis; and

• interactions with the SMR manufacturer to better understand and assess safety, quality, and ITAAC issues.