NRC PROPOSES $36,400 CIVIL PENALTY ON CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON,

CITES POOR SAFETY CULTURE AT SHAW GROUP SUBSIDIARIES

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a notice of violation and proposed a civil 

penalty of $36,400 against Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I) for discrimination by one of its newly 

purchased Shaw subsidiaries against an employee who raised a safety concern. The NRC also

requested CB&I take action to improve safety culture at a second former Shaw subsidiary.

CB&I completed a takeover of the Shaw Group of companies in February. These separate 

actions, issued April 18, stem from complaints filed with the NRC before the takeover was 

effective.

The notice of violation, issued by NRC’s Office of Enforcement, describes two violations 

of NRC employee protection requirements at Shaw Nuclear Services. A quality assurance 

supervisor was fired in May 2011 for notifying Shaw and Louisiana Energy Services, an NRC 

licensee, of some potentially faulty rebar that may have been shipped to its National Enrichment 

Facility in New Mexico by a third-party vendor. The second violation related to language in 

Shaw’s Corporate Code of Conduct that could prohibit, restrict, or otherwise discourage 

employees from participating in protected activities, including providing information to the 

NRC.

Because Shaw did not identify the violations or take corrective action once the NRC 

identified them, the NRC doubled the normal civil penalties, for a total fine of $36,400. The 

company is to respond within 30 days describing corrective actions it intends to implement, and 

it may request alternative dispute resolution to explore settlement options.

In a separate letter to Philip K. Asherman, president and chief executive officer of CB&I, 

the NRC cited a “chilled work environment” at CB&I’s facility in Lake Charles, La., formerly 

known as Shaw Modular Solutions. Workers hesitant to raise safety concerns through company 

channels have reported them directly to the NRC. 

While there are more than 600 vendors supplying safety-related goods and services to the 

nuclear industry, approximately 35 percent of all vendor-related safety allegations received by 

the NRC from January 2010 through January 2013 involved the Lake Charles facility. The 

NRC’s review of these complaints did not identify any specific quality issues with parts supplied 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. 13-031 April 19, 2013
by Shaw or CB&I; however, the significant number of employee concerns reported to the NRC 

suggests a poor environment for raising safety concerns within the company. 

The NRC’s expectations in this area are described in policy statements addressing safety 

culture and maintenance of a safety-conscious work environment.

“The NRC takes seriously the ability of employees to raise safety concerns without fear 

of retaliation, and employee protection from discrimination,” Glenn M. Tracy, director of the 

Office of New Reactors, said in the letter. He acknowledged that CB&I was already 

implementing management changes at the former Shaw companies and said, “It is vital to assess 

the work environment and address unresolved conflicts.”

Tracy requested CB&I respond within 30 days and explain corrective actions it intends to 

take to improve the safety-conscious work environment at the Lake Charles facility. The 

company is also to inform employees about the letter and corrective actions.

NRC licensees are ultimately responsible for the safety of their facilities and the quality 

of the safety-related goods and services they procure for their sites. The NRC inspects licensee 

and vendor performance to assure that licensees are verifying the quality of goods and services 

they receive.

###

News releases are available through a free Listserv subscription or by clicking on the EMAIL UPDATES 

link on the NRC homepage (www.nrc.gov). E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are 

posted to NRC's website. For the latest news, follow the NRC on www.twitter.com/NRCgov.