The main criteria are those which relate to the release of radioactivity to the environment, 10 CFR 20 and 10 CFR 100, which refer to sections of the Federal Register. They are detailed in Chapter 5.

The 1967 General Criterion 70 states:

Control of Releases of Radioactivity to the Environment. The facility design shall include those means necessary to maintain control over the plant radioactive effluents whether gaseous, liquid or solid. Appropriate holdup capacity shall be provided for retention of gaseous, liquid or solid effluents, particularly where unfavorable environ­mental conditions can be expected to require operational limitations upon the release of radioactive effluents to the environment. In all cases, the design for radioactivity control shall be justified (a) on the basis of 10 CFR 20 requirements for normal operations and for any transient situation that might reasonably be anticipated to occur, and (b) on the basis of 10 CFR 100 dosage level guidelines for potential reactor accidents of exceedingly low probability of occurrence.

This has been replaced by the 1971 General Criterion 60:

The nuclear power unit design shall include means to maintain suitable control over radioactive materials in gaseous and liquid effluents and in solid wastes produced during normal reactor operation, including anticipated operational occurrences. Sufficient holdup capacity shall be provided for retention of gaseous and liquid effluents containing radio­active materials, particularly where unfavorable site environmental conditions can be expected to impose unusual operational limitations upon their release to the environment.

Regulations 10 CFR 20 and 10 CFR 100 still apply by law although they have been omitted from the wording of the latest criterion. They are the minimum requirements for “suitable control.”

Other principal criteria deal with redundancy in protective systems and emergency safety features and these are dealt with specifically in Section 3.3. These criteria too are subject to debate.