Safety Significance and Discussion About Important Matters
HPPOS-125 PDR-9111210295
Title: Safety Significance and Discussion About Important
Matters
See the memorandum from V. Stello, Jr. to all IE Technical
Personnel dated October 1, 1980. This memo defines IE
policy in two important matters. First, the consideration
of safety significance always precedes noncompliance in
evaluating any concern, and second, inspectors are expected
to communicate promptly to their supervisors all concerns
involving public safety and national security.
The first IE policy statement asserts that the
consideration of safety significance always precedes
noncompliance in evaluating any concern. During an
inspection, an NRC inspector apparently became diverted
from the safety significance of control room operators
sleeping while on duty by his belief that noncompliance
could not be substantiated using his word against that of
the operators. The inspector should have concluded that a
sleeping control room operator is a matter of safety
significance and then promptly and firmly followed this
through up to the plant superintendent. The inspector was
mistaken about the requirement for verification by someone
else of his observation. In precedent cases, it has been
established that when it comes down to an inspector's word
against the word of the licensee or its employee, the
inspector's word will be accepted, all other things being
equal.
The second IE policy statement asserts that inspectors are
expected to communicate promptly to their supervision all
concerns involving public safety and national security.
This policy is complementary to the first and serves as a
backup line of defense to minimize the chance of either
under-reacting or overreacting to safety issues. Failure
of inspectors to notify management is contrary to the above
policies and severely hampers NRC's ability to respond to
safety issues and public concerns.
Regulatory references: None
Subject codes: 12.18, 12.19
Applicability: All