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Frequently Asked Questions About the Allegations ProgramOn this page:
Index to All Frequently Asked Questions Pages Can I raise nuclear safety concerns directly to the NRC? Yes. Workers have the option of reporting nuclear safety concerns directly
to the NRC. (See NUREG/BR-0240,
"Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC": Introduction How do I contact the NRC to report a nuclear safety concern? You may contact any NRC employee, including a resident inspector, or call
the NRC's toll-free Safety Hotline: 1-800-695-7403. (See NUREG/BR-0240,
"Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC": How to Report Nuclear Safety
Concerns to NRC What kinds of issues can the NRC address? The NRC will address all nuclear safety or regulatory concerns involving
NRC regulated facilities and licensed nuclear material. (See NUREG/BR-0240,
"Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC": Allegation Process What kinds of issues can the NRC not address? The NRC cannot address concerns that are outside of the NRC's regulatory
purview. The following is a sample of some of the subject areas that are outside
of the NRC's regulatory purview. (See NUREG/BR-0240,
"Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC": Concerns Outside NRC's Jurisdiction
What if my concerns are not under the jurisdiction of the NRC? Concerns outside the NRC's jurisdiction will be transferred to the appropriate Federal or State agency along with information on how to contact you. You will be notified of this action and provided with a point of contact at the appropriate agency. Concerns related to the performance of an Agreement State or an Agreement
State licensee must be transferred by the NRC to the Agreement State
for resolution
since the state has regulatory jurisdiction over these matters. Agreement
States are states that have been given the authority by the NRC to regulate
the use of radioactive material in the state (except for commercial power
operation). If you want to deal directly with Agreement State personnel,
the
NRC can provide you with a point of contact at the state agency or transfer
your concerns to the state. If you do not want your name provided to
the Agreement
State, the NRC will transfer your concern to the Agreement State without
your name and supply you with a copy of the Agreement State's response.
(See NUREG/BR-0240,
"Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC": Concerns Outside NRC's
Jurisdiction If I raise a concern to the NRC, do I have to provide my name? No, an individual raising concerns to the NRC is not required to
provide his or her name. The NRC performs the same type of review regardless
of
whether
you provide your name. However, we prefer to have your name, address,
and telephone number so that we can contact you to obtain additional
information
that may be required to properly conduct a review of your concern(s).
In addition, providing your name and contact information will allow
the NRC to provide
you with our findings on how each concern was reviewed and addressed.
The NRC provides identity protection to individuals who report nuclear
safety
concerns and has provisions for granting confidentiality. (See NUREG/BR-0240,
"Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC": Identity Protection What if I don't want my identity released? It is NRC policy to protect the identities of individuals who report
nuclear safety concerns. If resolution of a concern does not require
disclosure of
an individual's identity, his or her identify will not normally be disclosed.
However, if you publicly disclose that you submitted concerns to the
NRC (e.g.,
discuss your concerns with a news reporter), the NRC may confirm your
identity and the concerns you submitted in responding to requests for
information concerning
NRC's actions to resolve your concerns. (See NUREG/BR-0240,
"Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC": Identity Protection How specific should I be in the concern(s) that I raise to the NRC? You should provide as much specific information as possible for each concern
you raise. (See NUREG/BR-0240,
"Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC": How to Report Nuclear Safety
Concerns to the NRC What if I am being harassed, intimidated, or discriminated against for raising a safety concern? If you are an employee, contractor, or subcontractor of a facility licensed
by the NRC, acts of harassment, intimidation, or discrimination against
you
for raising NRC-related safety or regulatory concerns are against the
law. (See NUREG/BR-0240,
"Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC": Handling Discrimination
Against Workers Can the NRC provide medical advice? No, the NRC cannot provide medical advice. If you feel that you have received excessive exposure to radiation and are experiencing medical symptoms, you should consult a physician immediately. The NRC can evaluate the circumstances that may have caused the radiation exposure and, where appropriate, take enforcement action against the facility involved. What if I have a concern about the performance of the NRC in general or NRC employees in particular? The NRC Office of the Inspector General (IG) conducts audits of NRC programs and operations and investigations of alleged misconduct on the part of NRC employees and contractors. If you have concerns in this area, you may contact the IG directly at 1-800-233-3497. If you have concerns about the performance of NRC employees that you do not consider misconduct, you should contact the responsible office or regional management. What if I am concerned about the environment for raising concerns at a particular NRC licensed facility? The NRC encourages the facilities it licenses to establish a work environment
in which employees are encouraged and feel free to raise safety concerns
without fear of retaliation.
(See NUREG/BR-0240,
"Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC": Licensee Responsibility Will the NRC notify my employer of my concerns? No, it is NRC’s policy not to notify employers of the receipt of concerns. However, because licensees have the primary responsibility for ensuring safe operation of the facility and, in most cases, can promptly address issues through ready access to site personnel and documentation related to the concerns raised, it is the NRC’s policy to consider requesting from the licensee an evaluation of a technical allegation. In such cases, the NRC will try to inform you of the intent to request such information from your employer, in advance, and give you an opportunity to indicate whether this approach to resolution is of concern to you. Names and any other personal identifying information will be excluded from the information that is provided to your employer. How will the NRC handle my concern, if it involves sensitive security information? If your concern involves security-related information, the NRC staff member receiving your concern will remind you of the proper protocol for transmitting classified or Safeguards Information. If the setting is inappropriate for transmitting such information, separate arrangements will be made to enable proper transmittal. The NRC has revised the process for responding to security-related allegation concerns to provide more information to allegers, particularly security officers, about the staff’s evaluation and conclusions with regard to their concerns. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, restrictions were placed on the dissemination of sensitive security-related information outside the agency in an effort to preclude the release of information useful to potential adversaries. These controls were also applied to the information that is provided to allegers raising security-related concerns to the NRC. The restrictions, however, made it difficult for the staff to assure allegers that their concerns were addressed. On March 28, 2007, the Commission approved revised guidance, described below and in SECY-07-0032, which the staff believes will allow a more responsive answer to an alleger’s concern, while continuing to protect any information that could be used by an adversary to exploit a potential security vulnerability. Effective immediately, security-related allegation concerns received by the NRC will be grouped into three categories:
The staff will continue to provide limited information for both substantiated and unsubstantiated security-related concerns that involve potential generic industry vulnerabilities (Category I). While we are fully committed to our goal of ensuring openness in our regulatory process, we must balance that goal with ensuring the continued safety and secure operation of nuclear facilities in our country. Normally, when we have completed our review of an allegation, we provide the alleger with information as to whether his or her concern was substantiated and details on the actions taken by the NRC to evaluate the concern. However, due to the nature of the security-related issues that fall into Category I, to ensure that the agency is not unnecessarily releasing information that would reveal any potential security-related vulnerabilities, the staff will not provide specific details regarding the NRC's evaluation of the concerns. For those security-related concerns that, if true, would constitute more than a minor finding or violation, as determined by applicable guidance or review panels (Category II), the staff will provide a response to the alleger once required compensatory actions, if any, are in place. The response will indicate that a security-related assessment was conducted, including a review of the specific concern raised, and will indicate whether any findings were identified. To ensure that we do not unnecessarily release information that would reveal potential security-related vulnerabilities, the staff will not indicate whether any finding was specifically associated with the concerns raised by the alleger. If, however, the alleger requests additional information and the staff can verify that he or she is currently employed at the NRC-licensed facility that is associated with the allegation concerns as a member of the security force with normal access to such information, the staff will offer to discuss the specifics of the agency's actions and conclusions with the alleger. Employment and position verification will not be sought without prior permission from the alleger. Finally, for those security-related concerns that, if true, would, at most, constitute a minor finding or violation, as determined by applicable guidance and review panels (Category III), the staff will provide a complete response to the alleger, once required compensatory actions, if any, are in place. The response to both substantiated and unsubstantiated concerns will include a description of the actions taken by the staff to evaluate the concern and the staff's conclusion regarding the validity of the concern, but would not include a description of the compensatory actions taken. If follow up of a security-related concern results in a minor finding or violation requiring compensatory actions, and if the alleger requests additional information and the staff can verify that he or she is currently employed at the NRC-licensed facility that is associated with the allegation concerns as a member of the security force with normal access to such information; the staff will offer to discuss the compensatory actions with the alleger. Again, employment and position verification will not be sought without prior permission from the alleger. Questions regarding this process change can be directed to the NRC’s
Allegation Coordinators by calling the Safety Hotline: 1-800-695-7403. What if I have additional questions about the NRC allegation process or if I want to obtain data about the allegations that are received by the NRC? If you have questions concerning the allegation process, you can reach the NRC's Allegation Coordinators by calling the Safety Hotline: 1-800-695-7403. The NRC's Agency Allegation Advisor (AAA) oversees the integrity and implementation of the NRC allegation process. If you are dissatisfied with the allegation process or answers provided by the Allegation Coordinators, you can contact the AAA by calling 1-800-368-5642. Data on allegations received by the NRC are posted on this Web site. If you have any questions concerning the data, you should contact the AAA. |
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for additional details.) However, the NRC encourages employees to raise concerns
to their employers because the employer has the primary responsibility for
ensuring safe operations and is in the best position to address concerns directly
and promptly. (See