Nuclear Safety, Research, Demonstration, and Development Act of 1980, 42 U.S.C. § 9701, established nuclear safety policy for nuclear power plants supplying electric energy and electricity generation within the United States. The Act authorized a five-year demonstration program simulating conditions with light water nuclear reactors for the observation of control monitoring and phases of operation for nuclear reactor cores. The U.S. Department of Energy was authorized by the Act of Congress to conduct the nuclear reactor demonstration study while establishing a reactor engineering simulator facility at a United States national laboratory. The nuclear safety demonstration program was to provide research data regarding reactor design and simplification improvements given thermal power station simulations subjecting nuclear reactors to hypothesized calamity and customary operating conditions. The H.R. 7865 legislation was passed by the 96th U.S. Congressional session and enacted by the 39th President of the United States Jimmy Carter on December 22, 1980.
Proclamation of the Act
Congressional Objectives 42 U.S.C. Chapter 104 § 9701
(a) Congress finds that — (1) Nuclear energy is one of the two major energy sources available for electric energy production in the United States during the balance of the 20th century. (2) Continued development of nuclear power is dependent upon maintaining an extremely high level of safety in the operation of nuclear plants, and on public recognition that these facilities do not constitute a significant threat to human health or safety. (3) It is the responsibility of utilities, as owners and operators of nuclear powerplants, to assure that such plants are designed and operated safely and reliably. (4) A proper role of the Federal Government in assuring nuclear powerplant safety, in addition to its regulatory function, is the conduct of a research, development, and demonstration program to provide important scientific and technical information which can contribute to sound design and safe operation of these plants. (b) It is declared to be the policy of the United States and the purpose of this Act to establish a research, development, and demonstration program for developing practical improvements in the generic safety of nuclear power plants during the next five years, beginning in the fiscal year 1981. The objectives of such program shall be — (1) To reduce the likelihood and severity of potentially serious nuclear power plant accidents (2) To reduce the likelihood of disrupting the population in the vicinity of nuclear power plants as the result of nuclear power plant accidents. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the Secretary from undertaking projects or activities, in addition to those specified in this Act, which appropriately further the purpose and objectives set forth in this Act. Nothing in this Act shall authorize the Secretary to assume responsibility for the management, cleanup or repair of any commercial nuclear power plant. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting the authority of the Secretary under any other law.
Definitions 42 U.S.C. Chapter 104 § 9702
For the purposes of this Act — (1) "Secretary" means the Secretary of U.S. Department of Energy (2) "Government agency" means any department, agency, commission, or independent establishment in the United States federal executive departments, or any corporation, wholly or partly owned by the United States, which is an instrumentality of the United States, or any board, bureau, division, service, office, officer, authority, administration, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Federal Government (3) "Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (4) "Advisory Committee" means the Advisory Committee on reactor safeguards established by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954
Establishment of Research, Development, and Demonstration Program for Improving the Safety of Nuclear Power Plants 42 U.S.C. Chapter 104 § 9703
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