Press Release-94-001, NRC Modifies Requirements Governing Licensee FITNESS-FOR-DUTY Testing
| ML003703814 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/06/1994 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-94-001 | |
| Download: ML003703814 (1) | |
Text
No.
94-1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tel. 301/504-2240 (Thursday, January 6, 1994)
NRC MODIFIES REQUIREMENTS GOVERNING LICENSEE FITNESS-FOR-DUTY TESTING The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has amended its fitness-for-duty rule which requires licensees to randomly test their employees for substance abuse.
The present requirement calls for random testing at an annual rate of 100 percent of a licensee's work force.
As amended, licensees will be permitted to reduce the annual rate to 50 percent of all workers.
The action is based on the Commission's review of the experiences gained from its fitness-for-duty rule since it first became effective in 1989 including the fact that the rate of substance abuse detected as a result of the NRC-mandated program has been low--about 0.33 percent for the power reactor work force over the past three years.
The amendments to Part 26 of the Commission's regulations became effective on January 1, 1994.