An independent team of nuclear safety experts is set to release today the findings of a study conducted on the safety culture at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant. The team was commissioned by WTP project contractor Bechtel National earlier this year in response to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board recommendation urging improvements to the safety culture at the project. The team is chaired by former NRC Executive Director for Operations Luis Reyes and includes former NRC Chairman Nils Diaz; former NFS, Parsons and CH2M Hill executive Dave Amerine; former NRC Executive Director for Operations Joe Callan; Day Pitney LLP’s Gerald Garfield; and former NRC official Roger Mattson.
According to the team’s charter, its purpose was to “determine if DOE, contractor project management and personnel behaviors deter the timely reporting, acknowledgment and ultimate resolution of technical safety concerns, and if so to what extent. The assessment will address whether the NSQC [Nuclear Safety and Quality Culture] and other programs established and implemented at WTP measure up to the safety norms of the nuclear industry, both commercial and government, and, if not, the assessment will suggest an action plan to bring them into conformance.” The team’s study, which got underway in August, included interviews with both contractor and Department of Energy employees, as well as an all-employee survey. A copy of the team’s report will be available later today at: www.ISQCAT.com.
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