Safety Culture

Policy Statement 

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enforcement/safety-culture.html

Purpose and Ap

This Statement of Policy (SOP) sets 

forth the Commission’s expectation that 

individuals and organizations establish 

and maintain a positive safety culture 

commensurate with the safety and 

security significance of their activities 

and the nature and complexity of their 

organizations and functions. 

This SOP applies to all licensees, 

certificate holders, permit holders, 

authorization holders, holders of 

quality assurance program approvals, 

vendors and suppliers of safetyrelated components, and applicants 

for a license, certificate, permit, 

authorization, or quality assurance 

program approval, subject to 

the authority of the U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission (NRC). 

Nuclear Safety Culture

Defi

Nuclear safety culture is defined as the 

core values and behaviors resulting from 

a collective commitment by leaders and 

individuals to emphasize safety over 

competing goals to ensure protection of 

people and the environment. Individuals 

and organizations performing regulated 

activities bear the primary responsibility 

for the safe and secure use of nuclear 

materials. 

Consideratio

Safety and Secur

Organizations should ensure that 

personnel in the safety and security 

sectors appreciate the importance 

of each, emphasizing the need for 

integration and balance to achieve both 

safety and security in their activities. 

It is important that consideration of 

these activities be integrated so as not 

to diminish or adversely affect either, 

and that mechanisms be established to 

promptly identify and effectively resolve 

these differences. 

The C

Expec

The Commission expects that 

all individuals and organizations 

performing or overseeing 

regulated activities involving 

nuclear materials should take 

the necessary steps to promote 

a positive safety culture by 

fostering these traits as they 

apply to their organizational 

environments. 

Additional 

If you have questions, 

comments, or suggestions 

regarding safety culture, 

the Policy Statement, this 

document, or other aspects 

of the NRC’s safety culture 

outreach activities, please 

contact us at: External_Safety_

Culture.Resource@nrc.gov. For 

more information on safety 

culture, please go to: www.

nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/

enforcement/ safety-culture.

html.

This document was adapted from, 

the NRC’s Final Safety Culture 

Policy Statement, published in 

the Federal Register on June 14, 

2011 (76 FR 34773).

Traits of a Positive Safety

Experience has shown that certain personal 

and organizational traits are present in a 

positive safety culture. A trait, in this case, is a 

pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving that 

emphasizes safety, particularly in goal conflict 

situations (e.g., production, schedule, and the 

cost of the effort versus safety). 

The following are traits of a positive safety culture:

1. Leadership Safety Value

and Action

Leaders demonstrate a commitment to safety 

in their decisions and behaviors.

2. Problem Identification 

and Resolutio

Issues potentially impacting safety are 

promptly identified, fully evaluated, 

and promptly addressed and corrected 

commensurate with their significance.

3. Personal Accountabilit

All individuals take personal responsibility 

for safety.

4. Work Processes

The process of planning and controlling 

work activities is implemented so that safety 

is maintained.

5. Continuous Learnin

Opportunities to learn about ways to ensure 

safety are sought and implemented.

6. Environment for Raising Concer

A safety conscious work environment is 

maintained where personnel feel free to raise 

safety concerns without fear of retaliation, 

intimidation, harassment, or discrimination.

7. Effective Safety Communicatio

Communications maintain a focus on safety.

8. Respectful Work Environme

Trust and respect permeate the organization.

9. Questioning Attitud

Individuals avoid complacency and 

continuously challenge existing conditions and 

activities in order to identify discrepancies that 

might result in error or inappropriate action.

There may be traits not included in this 

SOP that are also important in a positive 

safety culture. It should be noted that these 

traits were not developed to be used for 

inspection purposes.