Safety Culture
- 2012 Safety Culture Survey Employee Briefing
- Regulatory Issue Summary 2012-01, "Availability of Safety Culture Policy Statement."
- Regulatory Issue Summary 2006-13, "Information on the Changes Made to the Reactor Oversight Process to More Fully Address Safety Culture."
- Federal Register Notice (74 FR 57525), "Draft Safety Culture Policy Statement: Request for Public Comments."
- Federal Register Notice (75 FR 1656), "Draft Safety Culture Policy Statement: Request for Public Comments; Extension of Comment Period."
- Federal Register Notice (74 FR 66387), "Development of NRC's Safety Culture Policy: Public Workshops; Request for Nomination of Participation in Round Table Discussions and Stakeholder Participation."
- Federal Register Notice (75 FR 20009), "Development of NRC's Safety Culture Policy: Public Workshops; Cancellation of Public Workshops Scheduled for April 13-15, 2010 and October 27-28, 2010."
- Federal Register Notice (75 FR52046), “Development of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Safety Culture Policy Statement: Public Meeting”
- Federal Register Notice (75 FR 57081), “Revised Draft Safety Culture Policy Statement: Request for Comments”
On this page:
- The Safety Culture Policy Statement
- The Safety Culture Policy Statement and our Regulatory Programs
- Background on the Safety Culture Policy Statement
- NRC-Developed Safety Culture Case Studies
- Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE)
- NRC's Internal Safety Culture
- Public Meetings and Materials
- Historical Documentation:
- 2005- Safety Culture Public Meetings and Materials
- 2006- Safety Culture Public Meetings and Materials
- Training on Safety Culture and Changes to the ROP
The Safety Culture Policy Statement
The Safety Culture Policy Statement defines nuclear safety culture as the core values and behaviors resulting from a collective commitment by leaders and individuals to emphasize safety over competing goals to ensure protection of people and the environment. In addition to the Federal Register Notice containing the Final Safety Culture Policy Statement, a brochure and poster are also available.
- Federal Register Notice English Version | Spanish Version
- Brochure (NUREG/BR-0500) - available in English, Spanish, and Printer-Friendly Versions
- Poster (11x17)
The Safety Culture Policy Statement and our Regulatory Programs
The Policy Statement clearly communicates the Commission’s expectations that individuals at organizations performing or overseeing regulated activities establish and monitor a positive safety culture commensurate with the safety and security significance of their activities and the nature and complexity of their organizations and functions. The education and communication activities described in “Activities and Initiatives Associated with the Safety Culture Policy Statement,” SECY-12-0008, dated January 19, 2012, seek to achieve the vision that safety culture within the regulated nuclear sector will improve by the involved organizations understanding the Commission’s expectations. On February 9, 2012, the staff briefed the Commission on the activities described in SECY-12-0008.
Background on the Safety Culture Policy Statement
The 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.
On February 28, 2008, the Commission issued a Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) SRM-(COMGBJ-08-0001), "A Commission Policy Statement on Safety Culture." SECY-09-0075, "Safety Culture Policy Statement," dated May 18, 2009, provides staff's response to the SRM. The SECY included a draft Safety Culture policy statement in Enclosure 1. In response to SECY-09-0075, the Commission issued SRM-SECY-09-0075 on October 16, 2009, that provided additional guidance to the staff on the development of the Safety Culture policy statement. As part of that guidance, the Commission directed the staff to publish the Draft Safety Culture Policy Statement in the Federal Register. The document was published on November 6, 2009 for a 90-day public comment period, which was subsequently extended 30 days until March 1, 2010, in response to requests by several stakeholders. After evaluation of the public comments that were received and the staff's additional outreach efforts, including public workshops, public meetings and teleconferences, and participation in various industry forums, the staff published a Revised Draft Safety Culture Policy Statement in the Federal Register on September 10, 2010, for a 30-day comment period. In SECY-11-0005, dated January 5, 2011, the staff provided the Proposed Final Safety Culture Policy Statement to the Commission. On January 24, 2011, the staff briefed the Commission on the Safety Culture Policy Statement. Access the Video Archive Webcast to view this briefing. On March 7, 2011, the Commission voted to approve the Safety Culture Policy Statement. The Safety Culture Policy Statement was published in the Federal Register on June 14, 2011.
NRC-Developed Safety Culture Case Studies
The NRC has developed Safety Culture Case Studies to provide real-life events where review of the circumstances surrounding the event and the results of the investigations found clear examples of the role that safety culture played in contributing to or in lessening the causes and consequences of the event.
These case studies are learning tools. Those of us that are responsible for regulating or using radioactive material in a safe and secure manner should not become complacent and should be open to learning from the mistakes and the problems others have faced in an effort to prevent recurrences. The case studies that will be selected for this initiative represent a breadth of industries, including energy, medical, and transportation.
The NRC has also developed a Safety Culture Case Study User Guide to help individuals and organizations use the various case studies more effectively, providing them with a better understanding of why a strong safety culture and safety-first focus are critically important. It is recommended that you review the User Guide prior to reviewing the case studies.
Currently available Case Studies:
- Collision of Two Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail Trains
- US Airways Flight 1549: Forced Landing On the Hudson
- Partial Collapse of the Willow Island Cooling Tower
- Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion - 29 Lives Lost
- [Additional case studies are under development and will be added as they are completed.]
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.
NRC's Internal Safety Culture
The NRC has a longstanding history of promoting a positive safety culture to ensure the agency achieves its mission.
For the past several years, the agency has been emphasizing the importance of fostering and maintaining an Open, Collaborative Work Environment (OCWE) that encourages all employees and contractors to promptly speak up and share concerns and differing views without fear of negative consequences. OCWE evolved from Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) which is used within the industry, and is applied specifically to the environment within the NRC. OCWE is a very important element of the agency’s internal safety culture.
In 2008, in response to Commission direction in SRM-M080317B to identify potential improvements that could improve NRC’s internal safety culture, the staff established the Internal Safety Culture Task Force from October 2008 to May 2009. Based on the results from a range of data collection activities and the experience and knowledge of its members, the Task Force developed a set of recommendations. These recommendations, which are under implementation, aim to create effective and lasting improvements for supporting a positive safety culture throughout the agency.
Separately, the NRC’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducts an independent Safety Culture and Climate Survey every 3 years, with the next one planned for the fall of 2012. The agency is taking a combination of agency wide and office-specific actions to focus on areas of continuous improvement from the survey results.
As NRC’s external safety culture activities evolve, the agency will continue evaluating its internal safety culture activities and initiatives and make enhancements and adjustments to ensure the NRC remains proactive and appropriately focused in this important area.
Related documents:
- SECY 09-0068 Report of the Task Force on InternalSafety Culture
- SECY 10-0009 Internal Safety Culture Update
- OIG-09-A-182009 NRC Safety Culture and Climate Survey
Public Meetings and Materials
The NRC holds public meetings to discuss agency activities related to safety culture initiatives. Handouts from the meetings are included below. If you have any questions about our public meetings and materials, please contact us.
This page includes links to files in non-HTML format. See Plugins, Viewers, and Other Tools for more information.
| Safety Culture Public Meeting | |
|---|---|
| Date | Locations and Documents |
February 9, 2012 Commission Briefing on the status of outreach and education efforts with external stakeholders related to the Safety Culture Policy Statement Sponsored Office: OE |
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June 16, 2011 Stakeholders / NRC Meeting Regarding Updates to the Draft Safety Culture Policy Statement Sponsored Office: OE |
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September 28, 2010 Stakeholders / NRC Meeting Regarding the Draft Safety Culture Policy Statement Sponsored Office: OE |
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September 16, 2010 Public Meeting Between NRC and Stakeholders Regarding Safety Culture Sponsored Office: OE |
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July 28, 2010 Public Meeting Summary and Slides Between NRC and NEI Sponsored Office: NRR |
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July 15, 2010 Conference Call - Safety Culture Panelists Sponsored Office: OE |
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June 30, 2010 Health Physics Society / NRC Special Joint Session on Safety Culture - Health Physics Society Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT |
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| March 30, 2010 Commission Meeting: Briefing on Safety Culture |
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| February 2-4, 2010 |
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February 3, 2009 (rescheduled from January 28) Sponsored Office: OE |
The majority of the workshop discussions were recorded through Webinar. For instructions on how to access the workshop recording, please contact June Cai at 301-415-5192. |
| December 4, 2008 |
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June 17-19, 2008 Sponsored Office: NMSS |
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May 14, 2008 Sponsored Office: NRR |
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May 13, 2008 Sponsored Office: NRO |
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| April 17, 2008 Sponsored Office: NRR |
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| April 2-3, 2008 Sponsored Office: NRO |
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Historical Documentation:
- 2005 - Safety Culture Public Meetings and Materials
- 2006 - Safety Culture Public Meetings and Materials
- Training on Safety Culture and Changes to the ROP
