NRC is (sort of) getting rid of "as low as reasonably achievable" standard - Ars Technica Skip to content Ars Technica home Sections Forum Subscribe Search AI Biz & IT Cars Culture Gaming Health Policy Science Security Space Tech Feature Reviews AI Biz & IT Cars Culture Gaming Health Policy Science Security Space Tech Forum Subscribe Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Pin to story Theme HyperLight Day & Night Dark System Search Sign In Sign in dialog... Sign in The more things change… NRC is (sort of) getting rid of “as low as reasonably achievable” standard Its issues with current nuclear safety standards are termed semantic, not physical. John Timmer – Jul 6, 2026 1:48 pm | 166 Credit: SOPA Images Credit: SOPA Images Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Last week, just before the US started its break for the July Fourth holiday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposed a new rule that would change how it regulated exposure to radiation. The Trump administration has been pushing to restart construction of nuclear power plants in the US, and many pro-nuclear advocates have been complaining about the US’s existing regulations, portraying them as the main barrier to the flourishing of the industry. So, it had seemed likely that major revisions were coming. Instead, the NRC’s proposed new rules endorse the science behind its current rules and suggest that any problems are largely in the vagueness of the terminology that it has been using.
So, instead, it’s endorsing standards that are meant to accomplish the same thing, but avoid using some of the language it had relied on. Probably the clearest indication of the evolutionary change at play is that the NRC estimates the changing rules will save industry—not just power, but also medical and research applications—only about $9.5 million a year. LNT and ALARA There are two technical abbreviations at the center of US nuclear regulations. The first is LNT, which stands for “linear non-threshold.” It’s in reference to the issue of whether there’s any level of radiation that is so low that it no longer produces harmful biological effects—the “threshold” in LNT.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/07/nuclear-regulatory-commission-plans-really-minor-changes-to-safety-regs/
So, instead, it’s endorsing standards that are meant to accomplish the same thing, but avoid using some of the language it had relied on. Probably the clearest indication of the evolutionary change at play is that the NRC estimates the changing rules will save industry—not just power, but also medical and research applications—only about $9.5 million a year. LNT and ALARA There are two technical abbreviations at the center of US nuclear regulations. The first is LNT, which stands for “linear non-threshold.” It’s in reference to the issue of whether there’s any level of radiation that is so low that it no longer produces harmful biological effects—the “threshold” in LNT.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/07/nuclear-regulatory-commission-plans-really-minor-changes-to-safety-regs/