Abstract: This paper introduced the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) revision plans for the population-related siting considerations for advanced small modular reactors. Four options including their pros and cons which were developed by NRC for consideration to address siting questions for small advanced reactors had been analyzed in detail. The problems that should be paid attention to during site evaluation process for small modular reactors in China are put forward: (1) Considering the overall social risks and from the perspective of plant site comparison, it is necessary to establish an appropriate distance between the reactor and the boundary of the densely populated center (population center). In addition, taking the defense-in-depth concept into account, the small modular reactor site still needs to keep a proper distance from the densely populated center; (2) based on the radiological consequences and influence scope of the accident of small reactors, it is beneficial to develop an evaluation index with the equivalent social risk between small modular reactors and typical large LWR can be developed such as the collective effective dose around the plant site under accident conditions; (3) the public acceptance and siting policy are the important factors for whether the small modular reactors can be located near the densely populated center.

Key words: small modular reactor, population center, densely populated center, societal risk