The Small Modular Reactor Regulators’ Forum (SMR RF) is a regulator-to-regulator entity established in 2014 as an international forum for regulatory bodies driven by its members to specifically address regulatory challenges related to SMRs.
The SMR RF acts as a peer-to-peer platform, where experienced regulators work together on the development of consensus-based documents on SMR-related technical and regulatory issues of interest to Forum’s Members.
SMR RF Opening Plenary – 11 December 2023 (Photo: IAEA)
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The SMR RF works cooperatively with other regulatory forums and organizations. The OECD/NEA and the WNA-CORDEL, along with the European Commission, act as permanent observers for the Forum. The SMR RF also collaborates on topics of relevance with the Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF) and Generation IV International Forum (GIF), among others.
The Forum may, on occasion, invite selected representatives of these organizations or any other relevant ones to participate in its activities.
Furthermore, in accordance with the
SMR RF Terms of Reference, the SMR RF may engage in other activities under its co-ordination or with its participation or contribution, upon a proposal from an international organization or by the SMR RF Steering Committee or individual Forum Member(s).
The scope of the SMR Regulators' Forum (SMR RF) is to identify, enhance understanding of, and address key regulatory challenges that are emerging in SMR regulatory and licensing discussions to develop common regulatory positions and inform changes, if necessary, to existing requirements and regulatory practices.
The
objectives of the SMR RF are to:
- develop common positions based on identification and discussion of key safety issues that may challenge regulatory reviews associated with SMRs, including, if possible, approaches for their resolution;
- encourage enhanced nuclear safety and security;
- facilitate international cooperation among regulators performing SMR-related assessments;
- facilitate efficient, robust and thorough regulatory decisions;
- advise the IAEA on the need for revision or development of new publications on safety and security of SMRs.
The SMR RF activities result in the following
outcomes:
- common position statements on regulatory (policy and technical) issues;
- suggestions for revisions to, or drafting of, IAEA publications, especially the IAEA Safety Standards regarding SMRs;
- generation and sharing of information that regulators can use to enhance their regulatory framework and regulatory activities;
- description of regulatory challenges and discussions on paths forward
- suggestions for high level issues to be raised before international codes and standards organizations.
Importantly, the outcomes of the Forum do not replace responsibility of national regulatory bodies for making regulatory decisions.
Membership
The SMR RF membership is open to all IAEA Member States able to contribute in a meaningful manner to the work of its Working Groups (WGs). The work being conducted is generally of a complex nuclear safety nature with a focus on SMRs that requires experience in:
- multidisciplinary technical assessment across various areas of nuclear safety;
- application of defence in depth in design and safety analysis; and
- use of risk informed methodologies in regulatory decision making.
Membership presupposes a commitment to devote adequate resources, with appropriate experience and knowledge base, to ensure that the Forum's purpose and objectives can be fully achieved.
If a Member State is a SMR technology holder or developer, has operating experience or already has commitments for new build or firm plans to have commitments for licensing in the near future, it may apply for the membership of the Forum, which will then be subject to an approval process.
Observers
The SMR RF Steering Committee (SC) may grant the status of Observer to the international and regional organizations that have expressed an interest. These organizations, as Observers, may participate in the Forum's WGs and have a read-only access to the Forum's restricted website. Their participation in the SC's activities is limited to the SMR RF Plenaries only.
The IAEA Member States can participate as Observers to a single combined meeting of the SMR RF SC and WGs prior to submitting a membership request to join the Forum.
The list of Forum Members and Observers is available
here.
According to the
SMR RF Terms of Reference, the Forum is financed by its Members through annual extra-budgetary contributions. The contributions are used to provide the Scientific Secretariat and to support the Forum's activities, including its regular meetings and educational workshops, and to promote Forum's work and its outputs. The SMR RF SC may accept, on a case-by-case basis, proposals from respective Forum Members of contributions in-kind.
This Forum is comprised of the Steering Committee (SC), the Working Groups (WGs) and the Scientific Secretariat.
The SC, among other responsibilities, manages and approves the detailed programme of work, the establishment and closure of WGs, the appointment of WGs Chairs and Co-chairs, the reports and position statements developed by the WGs, reviews, the membership and observer applications, reviews progress to ensure that WGs and the Forum are achieving their goals according to the programme plan. The SC is composed of:
- one representative of each Forum Member, capable of fully representing their regulatory body's position in technical matters and decision-making;
- one Chairperson and one Vice-Chairperson, elected by the SMR RF SC from its membership for the three-year term.
The task-specific technical SMR RF Working Groups (WGs) are composed of:
- a WG Chair (and Co-chair(s)) appointed by the SC to coordinate the group’s activities;
- experts from the Forum Members, capable of fully representing their regulatory body’s position in technical matters; and
- experts from the IAEA staff, approved by the SC, to provide WG experts with information related to IAEA publications that may be useful for ongoing discussions and learn from experts about their needs and the gaps they identify in the IAEA standards and guidance.
Provided by the Regulatory Activities Section of the Division of Nuclear Installation Safety (RAS/NSNI) of the IAEA, the Scientific Secretariat is responsible for supporting the Steering Committee (SC) and the Working Groups (WGs) in achieving the Forum’s objectives.
To develop the topics defined by the SC for the current working phase, three SMR RF WGs were established as follows:
Licensing Issues (LI) WG addresses issues related to regulatory approaches for the licensing of SMRs, including key regulatory interventions and international regulatory cooperation.
Design and Safety Analysis (DSA) WG addresses issues related to the safety demonstration of designs, including the consideration of fundamental safety functions and key design requirements, the integration of safety, security and safeguards and the safety analysis approaches for SMRs.
Manufacturing, Construction, Commissioning and Operation (MCCO) WG addresses issues related to the manufacturing, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance of SMRs, including long-lead procurement items and the organizational capability of stakeholders involved in the deployment of SMRs.
The SMR RF SC and WGs hold combined biannual meetings, usually in spring and autumn, organized by the Scientific Secretariat.
