Press Release-IV-15-010, NRC Says Wolf Creek Nuclear Plant Has Improved Work Environment
| ML15099A286 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Wolf Creek  |
| Issue date: | 04/08/2015 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs Region IV |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-IV-15-010 | |
| Download: ML15099A286 (1) | |
Text
No: IV-15-010 April 8, 2015 CONTACT: Victor Dricks, 817-200-1128 Lara Uselding, 817-200-1519 NRC Says Wolf Creek Nuclear Plant Has Improved Work Environment The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a letter to Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp.
(WCNOC) officials saying they have adequately addressed safety conscious work environment concerns at the Wolf Creek nuclear plant, located north of Burlington, Kan.
On Aug. 19, 2013, the NRC sent WCNOC a chilling effect letter following identification of two safety culture concerns. First, the U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety & Health Administration issued a discrimination finding to Enercon, a contractor, for firing a worker who raised concerns with how work was being performed at the plant. The NRC determined that the firing might affect the willingness of other workers to raise safety concerns on safety-related work at the plant.
Second, NRC found that a chilled work environment existed within the plants quality assurance group that performs audits of safety-related work. A chilled work environment is one in which workers are hesitant to raise safety concerns for fear of retaliation. In response to the NRCs chilling effect letter, WCNOC officials implemented a range of corrective actions and conducted safety culture surveys at the site to assess the effectiveness of those actions, which yielded positive results.
In January and February of this year, NRC inspectors reviewed WCNOCs corrective actions and interviewed plant employees to verify actions taken were effective. The report documents NRCs inspection results verifying that the new site-wide programs aimed at improving the work environment have been successful in addressing the issues that led to a chilled work environment.
Today, NRC also issued a letter to Enercon saying the contract company has successfully implemented corrective actions to ensure workers feel free to raise concerns without fear of retaliation.
NRC will continue to monitor the plant operators ongoing activities to ensure they are effective in maintaining a long-term healthy work environment.