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Safety CultureOn this page:
IntroductionThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recognizes the importance of nuclear plant operators establishing and maintaining a strong safety culture -- a work environment where management and employees are dedicated to putting safety first. In a January 24, 1989 policy statement (Federal Register), the Commission described its expectations for such a safety culture and how it supports the agency’s mission to protect public health and safety. Following an event at a nuclear power plant where the licensee determined that the causes that led to the event were indicative of a weak safety culture, NRC lessons learned pointed toward the need for additional NRC efforts to evaluate a licensee’s safety culture (SECY-04-0111 and Staff Requirements Memoranda (SRM), and SECY-05-0187 and SRM). As part of this effort, the NRC reviewed the agency’s Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) to determine how it can be enhanced to more fully address safety culture and engaged stakeholders through Public Meetings and through this Web page. The Commission issued SECY-06-0122, dated May 24, 2006, which describes the safety culture initiative activities and the outcomes of those activities, including the changes made to the ROP to more fully address safety culture. A Regulatory Issue Summary 2006-13, "Information on the Changes Made to the Reactor Oversight Process to More Fully Address Safety Culture," was issued on July 31, 2006 to provide information to nuclear power reactor licensees on the revised ROP. In February, 2008, the Commissioners issued an SRM (COMGBJ-08-0001) "A Commission Policy Statement on Safety Culture." What Is Safety Culture?The Commission’s “Policy Statement on the Conduct of Nuclear Power Plant Operations,” Federal Register notice, January 24, 1989, refers to safety culture as “the necessary full attention to safety matters” and the “personal dedication and accountability of all individuals engaged in any activity which has a bearing on the safety of nuclear power plants. A strong safety culture is one that has a strong safety-first focus.” The Commission has referenced the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group's (INSAG) definition of safety culture as follows: “Safety Culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance.” What Is Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE)?The Commission’s policy statement “Freedom of Employees in the Nuclear Industry to Raise Safety Concerns Without Fear of Retaliation,” May 14, 1996, describes SCWE as "a work environment where employees are encouraged to raise safety concerns and where concerns are promptly reviewed, given the proper priority based on their potential safety significance, and appropriately resolved with timely feedback to the originator of the concerns and to other employees." SCWE is described as an attribute of safety culture in SECY-04-0111, “Recommended Staff Actions Regarding Agency Guidance in the Areas of Safety Conscious Work Environment and Safety Culture,” August 30, 2004. The NRC has developed Guidance for Establishing and Maintaining a Safety Conscious Work Environment. Related Documents
Public Meetings and MaterialsThe NRC holds public meetings to discuss agency activities related to safety culture initiatives. Handouts from the meetings are included below: Some links on this page are to documents in our Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), and others are to documents in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). ADAMS documents are provided in either PDF or Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). To obtain free viewers for displaying these formats, see our Plugins, Viewers, and Other Tools page. If you have questions about search techniques or problems with viewing or printing documents from ADAMS, please contact the Public Document Room staff.
Historical Documentation:Public Meetings and MaterialsThe NRC held public meetings to discuss agency activities related to safety culture initiatives. Handouts from the meetings are included below: Final Inspection Manual Chapters and Inspection Procedures and Resolution of Stakeholder Comments TableFinal Inspection Procedure 95003
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