# 2025-20707: NRC Downgrades Some Nuke Leaks to 'Worse Than Planned' Status

2025-20707, Draft Interim Staff Guidance: Treatment of Certain Loss-of-Coolant Accident Locations as Beyond-Design-Basis Accidents, is a Federal Register notice from Nuclear Regulatory Commission published 2025-11-24, effective Submit comments by December 24, 2025. (as of 2026-06-08).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20707
- As of: 2026-06-08
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2025-20707
- Title: Draft Interim Staff Guidance: Treatment of Certain Loss-of-Coolant Accident Locations as Beyond-Design-Basis Accidents
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Citation: 90 FR 53009
- Published: 2025-11-24
- Effective: Submit comments by December 24, 2025.
- Comments close: 2025-12-24
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-06-08

## In one line

NRC Downgrades Some Nuke Leaks to 'Worse Than Planned' Status

## Summary

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is updating how it treats certain leaks in nuclear reactors, calling some of these leaks 'beyond-design-basis accidents' instead of regular ones. This change affects nuclear plant operators and aims to boost safety by focusing on tougher accident scenarios. People have until December 24, 2025, to share their thoughts, and this could influence future safety rules and costs.

## Abstract

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting public comment on its draft Interim Staff Guidance (ISG), DSS-ISG-XX, "Treatment of Certain Loss-of-Coolant Accident Locations as Beyond- Design-Basis Accidents." The purpose of the ISG is to communicate the key safety principles that would enable the NRC staff to determine that certain break locations that would normally be analyzed as design-basis loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs) for light-water reactors can be treated as beyond-design-basis accidents.

## Effects PRIA read

- Some LOCA Locations Reclassified: benefit, medium. The NRC's draft Interim Staff Guidance says certain loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) break locations for light-water reactors can be treated as beyond-design-basis accidents instead of as design-basis LOCAs. The guidance explains mechanistic considerations the NRC staff may use to decide that applic…
- Rulemaking on Relaxed LOCA Methods: benefit, medium. The NRC states it has begun rulemaking efforts to apply relaxed analytical methods to certain classes of LOCAs. The draft guidance and rulemaking work together to consider design-specific information (for example reduced penetrations, larger water volume above the core, extended coping times, or pa…

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## Sources
- [2025-20707 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/24/2025-20707/draft-interim-staff-guidance-treatment-of-certain-loss-of-coolant-accident-locations-as)
- [2025-20707 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-11-24/pdf/2025-20707.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2025-20706, Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20706)
- [Next: 2025-20708, Notice of OFAC Sanctions Actions](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20708)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-20707 (as of 2026-06-08).