[United States Government Manual]
[June 15, 2003]
[Pages 481-485]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20555

Phone, 301-415-7000. Internet, www.nrc.gov.
Chairman                                          Richard A. Meserve

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Commissioners                                     Greta Joy Dicus, Nils 
                                                          J. Diaz, 
                                                          Edward 
                                                          McGaffigan, 
                                                          Jr., Jeffrey 
                                                          S. Merrifield
Chief Administrative Judge, Atomic Safety and     G. Paul Bollwerk III
        Licensing Board Panel
Director, Office of Commission Appellate          John F. Cordes
        Adjudication
Director, Office of International Programs        Janice Dunn Lee
General Counsel                                   Karen D. Cyr
Secretary of the Commission                       Annette Vietti-Cook
Chairman, Advisory Committee on Medical Uses of   Manuel Cergueira
        Isotopes
Chairman, Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste     B. John Garrick
Chairman, Advisory Committee on Reactor           Dana A. Powers
        Safeguards
Chief Financial Officer                           Jesse L. Funches
Chief Information Officer                         Stuart Reiter
Director, Office of Congressional Affairs         Dennis K. Rathbun
Director, Office of Public Affairs                William M. Beecher
Inspector General                                 Hubert T. Bell, Jr.

[For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission statement of organization, see 
        the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 10, Part I]

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses and regulates civilian use of 
nuclear energy to protect public health and safety and the environment. 
This is achieved by licensing persons and companies to build and operate 
nuclear reactors and other facilities and to own and use nuclear 
materials. The Commission makes rules and sets standards for these types 
of licenses. It also carefully inspects the activities of the persons 
and companies licensed to ensure compliance with the safety rules of the 
Commission.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was established as an 
independent regulatory agency under the provisions of the Energy 
Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.) and Executive Order 
11834 of January 15, 1975. All licensing and related regulatory 
functions formerly assigned to the Atomic Energy Commission were 
transferred to the Commission.
    The Commission's major program components are the Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation, the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards, and the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. Headquarters 
offices are located in suburban Maryland, and there are four regional 
offices.
    The Commission ensures that the civilian uses of nuclear materials 
and facilities are conducted in a manner consistent with the public 
health and safety,environmental quality,national security, and the 
antitrust laws. Most of the Commission's effort is focused on regulating 
the use of nuclear energy to generate electric power.

Activities

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is primarily responsible for the 
following functions:
    --licensingthe construction, operation, and closure of nuclear 
reactors and other nuclear facilities, such as nuclear fuel cycle 
facilities, low-level radioactive wastedisposal sites under NRC 
jurisdiction, the geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste, 
and nonpower test and research reactors;
    --licensingthe possession, use, processing, handling, and export of 
nuclear material;
    --licensing the operators of nuclear power and nonpower test and 
research reactors;

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    --inspecting licensed facilities and activities;
    --conducting the U.S. Government research program on light-water 
reactor safety;
    --developing and implementing rules and regulations that govern 
licensed nuclear activities;
    --investigatingnuclear incidents and allegations concerning any 
matter regulated by the NRC;
    --maintaining the NRC Incident Response Program;
    --collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information about the 
operational safety of commercial nuclear power reactors and certain 
nonreactor activities;
    --and developing effective working relationships with the States 
regarding reactor operations and the regulation of nuclear material, and 
assuring that adequate regulatory programs are maintained by those 
States that exercise regulatory control over certain nuclear materials 
in the State.

Sources of Information

Freedom of Information Act Requests  Requests for copies of records 
should be directed to the FOIA/Privacy Act Officer, Mail Stop T-6 D8, 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Phone, 301-
415-7169. Requests may also be submitted using the form on our Web site 
at www.nrc.gov.
Publications  NRC publishes scientific, technical, and administrative 
information dealing with licensing and regulation of civilian nuclear 
facilities and materials, as well as periodic reports including the 
annual Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences, the annual 
Accountability and Performance Report, the quarterly Licensee, 
Contractor, and Vendor Inspection Status Report, the annual NRC 
Information Digest, the NRC Strategic Plan, and Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission Issuances.
    Some publications and documents are available on the Internet, at 
www.nrc.gov. The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) and the National 
Technical Informations Service (NTIS) sell single copies of, or 
subscriptions to, NRC publications. To obtain prices and order NRC 
publications, contact the the Superintendent of Documents, GPO, Mail 
Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-0001 (phone, 202-512-1800; Internet, 
bookstore.gpo.gov) or NTIS, Springfield, VA 22161-0002 (phone, 703-605-
6000; Internet, www.ntis.gov).
    Active Regulatory Guides may be obtained without charge by faxed 
request to 301-415-2289, by e-mail request to [email protected], or 
by written request to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop O-P1 
37, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Distribution. They may also be 
purchased, as they are issued, on standing orders from NTIS. These 
Regulatory Guides are published in 10 subject areas: power reactors, 
research and test reactors, fuels and materials facilities, 
environmental and siting, materials and plant protection, products, 
transportation, occupational health, antitrust and financial review, and 
general.
    Draft Regulatory Guides are issued for public comment. These drafts 
may be downloaded from or commented on through the Internet, at http://
ruleforum.llnl.gov. They may also be obtained, to the extent of supply, 
by faxed request to 301-415-2289, by e-mail request to 
[email protected], or by written request to the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Mail Stop O-P1 37, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Distribution.
Reading Rooms  The Headquarters Public Document Room maintains an 
extensive collection of documents related to NRC licensing proceedings 
and other significant decisions and actions. Documents issued prior to 
October 1999 are available in paper or microfiche. Documents issued 
after October 1999 are also available from the NRC's full-text document 
management system, ADAMS, which is accessible from the NRC Web site at 
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The Headquarters Public Document Room 
is located at One White Flint North, first floor, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, MD, and is open Monday

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through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., except on Federal holidays.
    Documents from the collection may be reproduced, with some 
exceptions, on paper, microfiche, or CD-ROM for a nominal fee. For 
additional information regarding the Public Document Room, go to 
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/pdr.html or contact the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Public Document Room, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Phone, 301-
415-4737 (Washington, DC, area), or 800-397-4209 (toll free). E-mail, 
[email protected]. Fax, 301-415-3548.
    Selected regional libraries of the Government Printing Office 
Federal Depository Library Program maintain permanent microfiche 
collections of NRC documents released between January 1981 and October 
1999. For further information, contact the Public Document Room at the 
phone number above.

For further information, contact the Office of Public Affairs, Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Phone, 301-415-8200. 
Internet, www.nrc.gov. E-mail, [email protected].

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