The Expert Group on Emergency Preparedness for Small Modular Reactors (EGEPSMR) was established under the Working Party on Nuclear Emergency Matters (WPNEM) during the 82nd meeting of the Committee on Radiological Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) to explore how a graded approach can be applied to emergency planning, ensuring that protection strategies are appropriately tailored to the unique characteristics and deployment scenarios of small modular reactors (SMRs). The EGEPSMR will continue the work of the Task Force on SMRs (TFSMR) which was established to assess and report on whether there are areas of added value for CRPPH-led work concerning radiological protection issues of SMRs.

The EGEPSMR will design and carry out a couple of surveys, the first to determine whether the implementation of existing emergency preparedness and response (EPR) requirements adequately cover SMRs and the second for the identification and implementation of a graded approach on protection strategies for emergencies. The survey data will be assessed by SMR technology to identify EPR aspects that can be considered in the SMR design phase. The EGEPSMR will work closely with other expert groups including the Expert Group on Small Modular Reactors (EGSMR) and the Focus Group on the Back End of Advanced Reactors (FG-BEAR).