Safety Culture in nuclear power industry

SafetyCultureintheNuclearPowerIndustry:AttributesforRegulatoryAssessmentbyErinL.AlexanderSUBMITTEDTOTHEDEPARTMENTOFNUCLEARENGINEERINGINPARTIALFULFILLMENTOFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOFBACHELOROFSCIENCEINNUCLEARENGINEERINGATTHEMASSACHUSETTSINSTITUTEOFTECHNOLOGYSEPTEMBER2004©2004ErinL.Alexander.Allrightsreserved.TheauthorherebygrantstoMITpermissiontoreproduceandtodistributepubliclypaperandelectroniccopiesofthisthesisinwholeorinpart.,*AAMASSACHU-SINS'EOFECHNOOyOCT12005lLIBRARIESARCHISignatureofAuthor:(DepartmentofNuclearEngineeringAugust20,2004Certifiedby:Acceptedby:-/-,o-~GeorgeE.ApostolakisProfessorofNuclearEngineeringThesisSupervisorAndrewC.KadakProfessorofthePractice,NuclearEngineeringChairman,NEDCommitteeforUndergraduateStudentsSafetyCultureintheNuclearPowerIndustry:AttributesforRegulatoryAssessmentbyErinL.AlexanderSubmittedtotheDepartmentofNuclearEngineeringonAugust20,2004inPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeofBachelorofScienceinNuclearEngineeringABSTRACTSafetyculturereferstotheattitudes,behaviors,andconditionsthataffectsafetyperformanceandoftenarisesindiscussionsfollowingincidentsatnuclearpowerplants.Asitinvolvesbothoperationalandmanagementissues,safetycultureisasensitivetopicforregulatorswhoseroleistoensurecompliancewithsafetyrequirementsandnottointerveneinmanagementdecisions.Thisreportprovidesanoverviewofproposedsafetycultureattributesandworldwideapproachestosafetycultureassessmentandidentifiesthoseattributesthatshouldbeofhighprioritytoaregulatordecidingtoassesssafetyculture.ThesisSupervisor:GeorgeE.ApostolakisTitle:ProfessorofNuclearEngineeringTableofContents1.Introduction...................................................................................................................62.Historicalperspectiveson'safetyculture'..................................................................73.Attributesofsafetyculture.............................................................103.1Previousstudiesonsafetycultureattributes....................................................103.1.1Organizationalfactorsthataffectsafetyperformance......................103.1.2Symptomsofdecliningsafetyperformanceandsafetyculture........123.2Fundamentalsafetycultureattributes............................................................133.2.1Selectionofattributes.......................................................................133.2.2Definitionsofattributes.............................................................173.3Importantattributesinoperationalexperience................................................184.Assessmentofsafetyculture.......................................................................................204.1Industryinitiatives.............................................................204.2Internationalregulatorybodies.............................................................224.3Obstaclestosafetycultureassessment............................................................255.Conclusion.............................................................27Appendix.............................................................28References.......................................................................................................................32Tables1.ImportantorganizationalfactorsspecifiedbyWeilandApostolakis....................112.Morefrequentlycitedsafetycultureattributes.......................................................14Figures1.Relationshipbetweensafetycultureattributes........................................................16AcknowledgmentsThisthesiswouldnothavebeencompleted(andprobablynotevenstarted)withoutthesupportandaidofmanyindividuals.IwouldfirstliketothankProfessorApostolakisfortakingonanundergraduateandsuggestingthistopic.Hehasofferedjusttherightamountofattentionandpushingoverthepasteightmonths.IamespeciallygratefulfortheopportunityheprovidedforthisthesistobecompletedattheNRC.EveryoneintheACRSofficeofferedfriendlyfacesandconstantencouragement,andmanyprovidedfeedbackandeditorialhelpbetweenthemanyrevisions.Inparticular,IthankHosseinNourbakhshforhisinterestintheprojectandallofthetimehedonated.Lastly,Iwouldliketoacknowledgethecontributionsofmyfamily;withouttheirhelp,thisthesisandmyMITdegreewouldneverhavebeenrealized.AcronymsACRSAdvisoryCommitteeonReactorSafeguardsAECBAtomicEnergyControlBoardASCOTAssessmentofSafetyCultureinOrganizationsTeamGuidelinesBARSbehavioralanchoredratingscalesCAMMCanadianAdaptiveMachineModelCNSCCanadianNuclearSafetyCommissionCRDMcontrolroddrivemechanismFENOCFirstEnergyNuclearOperatingCompanyIAEAInternationalAtomicEnergyAgencyINPOInstituteofNuclearPowerOperationsINSAGInternationalNuclearSafetyAdvisoryGroupLOCAlossofcoolantaccidentNEANuclearEnergyAgencyNEINuclearEnergyInstituteNRCUnitedStatesNuclearRegulatoryCommissionNRROfficeofNuclearReactorRegulationOECDOrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopmentRESOfficeofNuclearRegulatoryResearchSCWEsafetyconsciousworkenvironmentSKiSwedishNuclearPowerInspectorateSRMStaffRequirementsMemorandumSTUKFinni