The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued two final rules aiming at streamlining its new reactor environmental impact statement process while maintaining environmental compliance under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The NRC said that the first rule would cover the packaging and transportation of radioactive material and would harmonise regulations with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s standards and meet US Department of Transportation regulations.

The second final rule relates to new nuclear environmental impact statements. It would implement a technology neutral framework and performance-based values to identify environmental impacts that would be the same for new nuclear reactor designs. The NRC said this would help to simplify future reviews.