INTERACTIONS WITH APPLICANTS AND REVIEW PROCESS FOR U.S. NRC TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE CERTIFICATION

The Spent Fuel Project Office of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certifies transportation package designs under the provisions of 10 CFR Part 71. The Spent Fuel Project Office (SFPO) also conducts technical reviews for foreign-approved designs for import and export shipments to the standards in International Atomic Energy Agency transportation regulations. In an effort to improve the certification and review processes, SFPO developed policies and procedures for interactions with applicants for package approval and a Standard Review Plan for transportation package design review. These were developed to facilitate the certification process and to improve the predictability and efficiency of design certification and review activities. An SFPO protocol was developed to provide structure and consistency in the interactions between the NRC staff and applicants for package review and certification. The elements of the protocol were developed to ensure that applicants provide complete, high-quality applications and the staff provides a technical review and determination that are timely and consistent with regulatory requirements. A key element in the certification and review process was the development of Standard Review Plans (SRPs) for transportation packages. Two SRPs were developed for transportation package design reviews: one for spent fuel (NUREG-1617) and one for other radioactive materials (NUREG-1609). The SRPs summarize the regulatory requirements for package approval, describe the procedures by which the staff determines that these requirements have been satisfied, and document the practices developed by the staff in previous reviews of package applications. Certification and review activities for transportation package designs have been performed using the internal protocol for several years.