Conventional prescriptive regulatory approaches to nuclear safety, while effective in managing the current light-water reactor fleet, fail to adequately regard and consider the innovative capabilities of next-generation advanced reactor designs. Adoption of a risk-informed, performance-based framework to nuclear regulatory activities, as opposed to adherence to traditional regulatory paradigms, may be a critical step towards unleashing nuclear energy innovation in the U.S. and facilitating progress in the many advanced, non-LWR technologies presently in development. There are practices currently in place that can serve as a template for expanded application and implementation of risk-informed, performance-based regulation, ultimately allowing the nuclear industry greater leeway in meeting objective safety criteria.
