The Rulemaking Process and Its Effect on the Use of ASME Nuclear Codes and Standards in the USA

The ASME Board on Nuclear Codes & Standards (BNCS) has a standing Task Group on Regulatory Endorsement (TG-RE) that is actively involved with obtaining endorsement of ASME Nuclear Codes and Standards (NC&S) used in the USA. However, all ASME NC&S that are required to be met by law in the USA must first be endorsed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), specifically in Title 10, Section 50.55a, “Codes and standards.” Similarly, all Code Cases permitted by law to be used, as alternatives, must be approved for use in other United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) documents such as NRC Regulatory Guides endorsed in the NRC rules. The NRC uses a rulemaking process to amend Section 50.55a to endorse and approve new or updated NC&S, and thus controls and mandates the use of ASME NC&S in the USA. The rulemaking process is very structured and is not very flexible. This paper describes how the TG-RE is working to improve and expedite the process by which the NRC endorses our ASME NC&S. Because the NRC influences international regulatory action, this paper is written to inform the international nuclear engineering community about the process by which endorsement of NC&S occurs in the USA and what actions are being taken to improve that process.