[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52046-52047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20966]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Development of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Safety Culture 
Policy Statement: Public Meeting

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The NRC plans to hold a public meeting on September 28, 2010, 
in its Las Vegas, Nevada hearing facility to solicit comments on the 
revision of its draft safety culture policy statement, including the 
revised definition and traits. The revision has been developed as a 
result of the NRC staff's evaluation of the public comments submitted 
in response to the draft policy statement (74 FR 57525, November 6, 
2009; ML093030375), the results of the NRC's February 2010 workshop 
(February workshop) on safety culture, and additional comments that 
stakeholders and other interested parties have provided to the staff at 
the various outreach activities that have occurred since February. The 
draft policy statement focuses on the unique aspects of nuclear safety 
and security and highlights the Commission's expectations that the 
policy applies to individuals and organizations performing or 
overseeing NRC-regulated activities.
    As part of the NRC staff's outreach activities which have focused 
on engaging a broad range of stakeholders including the Agreement 
States, the NRC held a 3-day Safety Culture Workshop in February 2010 
at NRC headquarters in which participants were asked to reach alignment 
on (1) a common definition of safety culture and (2) high level 
descriptions or traits of areas important to safety culture. The 
February workshop also provided an additional venue for interested 
parties to provide comments on the draft policy statement that had been 
published in the Federal Register. Workshop panelists successfully 
aligned on a common definition of safety culture and developed a list 
of traits that they believe exist in a positive safety culture. 
Following the February workshop, the NRC staff participated in various 
industry forums in order to obtain

[[Page 52047]]

additional input from stakeholders and other interested parties to 
confirm that the draft definition and traits developed at the February 
workshop reflect a broad consensus view.
    In preparation for the February workshop, the NRC staff noted that 
some stakeholders and interested parties who reside in the Western half 
of the US were unable to attend the workshop or participate remotely. 
Thus, the NRC hearing facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, with its excellent 
broadcast capabilities was chosen as the site for the upcoming meeting. 
Additionally, the meeting will be simultaneously broadcast to a 
location at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md., and webstreamed so that 
individuals may participate remotely from their own personal computers 
(PCs). Please check the following NRC Web sites for any updates to the 
workshop schedules and/or information regarding this event: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm and/or http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/safety-culture.html.
    The goal of the meeting is to provide an opportunity for 
stakeholders and other interested parties to offer their thoughts on 
the revised draft policy statement including the revised definition and 
traits. The revised draft policy statement has benefitted from public 
comments, the results of the February workshop, and additional comments 
that stakeholders and other interested parties have provided to the 
staff at the various outreach activities and will be used to focus much 
of the discussion at the September meeting. It will be published for a 
30-day public comment period prior to the meeting on both the NRC's 
Safety Culture website at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/enforcement/safety-culture.html and in the Federal Register.

DATES: The meeting is planned for September 28, 2010. Additional 
information will be available on the NRC Public Meeting Schedule Web 
site at http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm at 
least ten days prior to the meeting.
    Locations: The public meeting will be held at the NRC's hearing 
facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will be simultaneously broadcast to 
a location at NRC headquarters at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 
20852. Additionally, the meeting will be webstreamed so that 
individuals may participate remotely from their own PCs. Regarding the 
NRC headquarters' location, because parking is extremely limited, the 
most convenient transportation to this location is via Metro's Red Line 
to the White Flint Station, which is directly across Marinelli Rd. from 
NRC headquarters. Please allow time at both locations to register with 
building security upon entering the buildings. The public meeting 
notice will provide specific details.
    Document Accessibility: The documents referenced in this notice are 
publicly available. NRC's Public Document Room (PDR): The public may 
examine and have copied for a fee, publicly available documents at the 
NRC's PDR, Public File Area O-1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852-2738.
    NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): 
Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC after 
November 1, 1999, are available electronically at the NRC's Electronic 
Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this 
site, the public can gain entry into ADAMS, which provides text and 
image files of NRC's public documents. If you do not have access to 
ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in 
ADAMS, contact the PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 
or by e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jose Ibarra, telephone (301) 415-2581, 
or by email to [email protected], or Catherine Thompson, telephone 
(301) 415-3409, or by email to [email protected]. Both of 
these individuals can also be contacted by mail at the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Office of Enforcement, Concerns Resolution 
Branch, Mail Stop O-4 A15A, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Prior to the 
meeting, attendees are requested to register with one of the contacts 
listed in the meeting notice, so that sufficient accommodations can be 
made for their participation. Please let the contact know if special 
services are necessary, such as services for the hearing impaired, etc.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Purpose of the Public Meeting

    The NRC is working towards increasing the attention that is given 
to safety culture as part of its efforts to ensure the safe and secure 
possession and use of radioactive material within the NRC's 
jurisdiction. Additionally, the NRC has been working with the Agreement 
States to facilitate their consideration and support of this effort in 
their oversight programs for their materials licensees. The goal of 
this meeting is to provide an opportunity for stakeholders and other 
interested parties to offer their thoughts on the proposed revisions, 
including the revised definition and traits. The revised draft policy 
statement, definition and traits have benefitted from public comments, 
the results of the February workshop, and additional comments that have 
been provided to the staff at the various outreach activities.

2. Topics of Discussion

    The NRC staff is planning to cover the following topics: (1) What 
is Safety Culture; (2) The NRC's Safety Culture Initiative; (3) The 
February Workshop; (4) Staff's Review of the Public Comments Received 
on the November 2009 Federal Register Notice; (5) Revisions to the 
Draft Policy Statement Including the Definition and Traits; (6) Update 
on INPO's Validation Study; and (7) Questions Regarding Next Steps.

3. Draft Agenda

    The meeting is currently planned to begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude 
at 4:15 p.m. The agenda will include introductory remarks briefly 
addressing the draft safety culture policy statement, the revised draft 
safety culture policy statement which will be published prior to the 
meeting including how the definition and traits have been revised, and 
the activities the NRC has engaged in to arrive at this point as well 
as what the next steps will be. This will be followed by sessions that 
address the topics provided in section 2 of this notice, in more depth.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 17th day of August, 2010.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Roy P. Zimmerman,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2010-20966 Filed 8-23-10; 8:45 am]
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