Advisory Activities

The two principal advisory committees for NRC programs are the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards and the Advisory Committee on Medical Uses of Isotopes. In addition, the NRC has established an ad hoc Licensing Support Network Advisory Panel. The operations of these committees are governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

The former Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials, established in 1988, was merged into the ACRS on June 1, 2008.

In addition, an advisory committee to the NRC's Executive Director for Operations (EDO), the Committee to Review Generic Requirements (CRGR), primary responsibilities are to recommend either approval or disapproval of the staff's proposed backfits, and to guide and assist the NRC's program offices in implementing the Commission's backfit policy.

For more information on each committee, see the following:

• The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) advises the Commission on the safety aspects of proposed and existing nuclear facilities and the adequacy of proposed reactor safety standards and performs such other duties as the Commission may request.
• The Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) considers medical questions referred to it by the NRC staff and gives expert opinions on the medical uses of radioisotopes.
• The Licensing Support Network Advisory Review Panel advises the NRC and the Department of Energy (DOE) on selected aspects of the design, development, and operation of the Licensing Support Network (LSN). The LSN is a document management system to support the agency's hearing process for licensing of a high-level waste repository. The Chief Administrative Judge of NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel administers this panel.

• The Committee to Review Generic Requirements (CRGR) reviews proposed generic backfits that are to be imposed on all power reactors and/or selected nuclear materials facilities that are licensed by the NRC.