The NRC may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of the regulations of this part, that are—

Authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security; or

Coincidental with one or more of the following:

An application of the regulation in the particular circumstances conflicts with other rules or requirements of the NRC;

An application of the regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule;

When compliance would result in undue hardship or other costs that are significantly in excess of those contemplated when the regulation was adopted, or that are significantly in excess of those incurred by others similarly situated;

When the exemption would result in benefit to the common defense and security that compensates for any decrease in security that may result from the grant of the exemption;

When the exemption would provide only temporary relief from the applicable regulation and the licensee or applicant has made good faith efforts to comply with the regulation;

When there is any other material circumstance not considered when the regulation was adopted for which it would be in the public interest to grant an exemption. If such a condition is relied on exclusively for satisfying paragraph (b) of this section, the exemption may not be granted until the Executive Director for Operations has consulted with the Commission.