Reactor Oversight 

PROCESS Photo courtesy of Florida Power & Light Company
AVAILABILITY OF REFERENCE MATERIALS

IN NRC PUBLICATIONS

NRC Reference Material

As of November 1999, you may electronically access 

NUREG-series publications and other NRC records at 

NRC’s Library at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. Publicly 

released records include, to name a few, NUREG-series

publications; Federal Register notices; applicant, 

licensee, and vendor documents and correspondence; 

NRC correspondence and internal memoranda; bulletins 

and information notices; inspection and investigative 

reports; licensee event reports; and Commission papers 

and their attachments.

NRC publications in the NUREG series, NRC regulations, 

and Title 10, “Energy,” in the Code of Federal Regulations

may also be purchased from one of these two sources.

1. The Superintendent of Documents

U.S. Government Publishing Office

Mail Stop IDCC

Washington, DC 20402-0001

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov

Telephone: (202) 512-1800

Fax: (202) 512-2104

2. The National Technical Information Service

5301 Shawnee Rd., Alexandria, VA 22312-0002

www.ntis.gov

1-800-553-6847 or, locally, (703) 605-6000

A single copy of each NRC draft report for comment is

available free, to the extent of supply, upon written

request as follows:

Address: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Administration

Publications Branch

Washington, DC 20555-0001

E-mail: distribution.resource@nrc.gov

Facsimile: (301) 415-2289

Some publications in the NUREG series that are posted 

at NRC’s Web site address www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/

doc-collections/nuregs are updated periodically and may 

differ from the last printed version. Although references to 

material found on a Web site bear the date the material 

was accessed, the material available on the date cited 

may subsequently be removed from the site.

Non-NRC Reference Material

Documents available from public and special technical 

libraries include all open literature items, such as books, 

journal articles, transactions, Federal Register notices, 

Federal and State legislation, and congressional reports. 

Such documents as theses, dissertations, foreign reports 

and translations, and non-NRC conference proceedings 

may be purchased from their sponsoring organization.

Copies of industry codes and standards used in a

substantive manner in the NRC regulatory process are 

maintained at—

The NRC Technical Library

Two White Flint North

11545 Rockville Pike

Rockville, MD 20852-2738

These standards are available in the library for reference 

use by the public. Codes and standards are usually 

copyrighted and may be purchased from the originating 

organization or, if they are American National Standards, 

from—

American National Standards Institute

11 West 42nd Street

New York, NY 10036-8002

www.ansi.org

(212) 642-4900

Legally binding regulatory requirements are stated only in 

laws; NRC regulations; licenses, including technical specifications; or orders, not in NUREG-series publications. The 

views expressed in contractorprepared publications in this 

series are not necessarily those of the NRC.

The NUREG series comprises (1) technical and administrative reports and books prepared by the staff (NUREG–

XXXX) or agency contractors (NUREG/CR–XXXX), (2) 

proceedings of conferences (NUREG/CP–XXXX), (3) reports 

resulting from international agreements (NUREG/IA–XXXX), 

(4) brochures (NUREG/BR–XXXX), and (5) compilations of 

legal decisions and orders of the Commission and Atomic 

and Safety Licensing Boards and of Directors’ decisions 

under Section 2.206 of NRC’s regulations (NUREG–0750).

DISCLAIMER: This report was prepared as an account 

of work sponsored by an agency of the U.S. Government. 

Neither the U.S. Government nor any agency thereof, nor 

any employee, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, 

or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for any third 

party’s use, or the results of such use, of any information, 

apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this publication, 

or represents that its use by such third party would not 

infringe privately owned rights.
R E A C T O R O V E R S I G H T P R O C E S S 

CONTENTS

 Page

INTRODUCTION 1

REACTOR OVERSIGHT PROCESS 1

REACTOR OVERSIGHT PROCESS CORNERSTONES 2

CROSS-CUTTING AREAS 3

MEASURING AND INSPECTING NUCLEAR PLANT PERFORMANCE 4

ASSESSMENT OF PLANT PERFORMANCE 6

NRC RESPONSE TO PLANT PERFORMANCE 7

VIOLATIONS OF NRC REQUIREMENTS 8

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC 8

CONTACT US 8

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION ON NRC WEB PAGES 9

GLOSSARY 10
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
R E A C T O R O V E R S I G H T P R O C E S S 

1

INTRODUCTION

The mission of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is to license and regulate 

the Nation’s civilian use of radioactive 

materials to protect public health and 

safety, promote the common defense and 

security, and protect the environment. The 

agency regulates commercial nuclear power 

plants and other uses of nuclear materials 

(such as in nuclear medicine) through 

licensing, inspection, and enforcement of its 

requirements. 

The agency does not operate nuclear power 

plants. Rather, it establishes requirements 

for the design, construction, operation, and 

security of commercial nuclear power plants 

in the United States. The agency ensures the 

plants are operated safely and securely within 

these requirements by licensing the plants 

to operate, licensing control room personnel, 

establishing technical specifications for 

operating each plant, and inspecting plants on 

a daily basis.

The NRC uses the Reactor Oversight 

Process (ROP) to assess a licensee’s ability 

to safely operate a nuclear power plant in 

accordance with the NRC rules, regulations, 

license requirements, and adopted licensee 

standards. If the ROP identifies problems, the 

NRC can provide additional inspections and 

other actions in order to protect public 

health and the environment. The ROP 

benefits from what the NRC has learned from 

30 years of improvements in nuclear industry 

performance, as well as improved approaches 

to inspecting and evaluating the safety and 

security performance of NRC-licensed plants.

Additional information about the NRC is available 

on its website: http://www.nrc.gov

REACTOR OVERSIGHT PROCESS

The ROP is the agency’s program to inspect, 

measure, and assess operating commercial 

nuclear power plant licensees’ safety and 

security, and to predictably respond to declining 

performance. The program was implemented 

in 2000 with the goal of providing an objective, 

risk-informed, understandable, and predictable 

approach to nuclear power plant oversight. 

The ROP supports the 

agency’s strategic goals 

for safety and security, and 

displays the cross-cutting 

strategies of openness 

and effectiveness. 

The process spells out 

clearly what a nuclear 

plant operator and the 

public can expect from the 

NRC when performance 

is good and what can 

be expected from the 

NRC when performance 

declines.

Commercial nuclear power plants in the United States

Nuclear power plant

Photo courtesy of Progress Energy

2

2

2

Licensed to Operate (100)

REGION I

CONNECTICUT

Millstone 2 and 3

Calvert Cliffs 1 and 2

MASSACHUSETTS

REGION II

ALABAMA

Browns Ferry 1, 2,

and 3

Farley 1 and 2

FLORIDA

St. Lucie 1 and 2

Turkey Point 3 and 4

REGION III

Braidwood 1 and 2

Byron 1 and 2

Clinton

Dresden 2 and 3

LaSalle 1 and 2

Quad Cities 1 and 2

REGION IV

ARKANSAS

Arkansas Nuclear 1 and 2

ARIZONA

Palo Verde 1, 2, and 3

CALIFORNIA

Diablo Canyon 1 and 2

= 2 units

= 1 units

= 3 units

MARYLAND

Pilgrim

ILLINOIS

2

3

2

2

2

2

3

2

2 2

2 2

2 2

2

2

2 2

2

2

2

2

2

3

3

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

U.S. Operating Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors

2

CA

NV

OR

WA

ID

UT

WY

MT

CO

NM AZ

TX

OK

KS

NE

SD

ND

MN WI

IA

IL

MO

AR

LA

MS AL

TN

KN

VA WV

OH

MI

PA

NY

ME

VT

NH

IN

GA

FL AK

HI

SC

NC

MD

DC

DE

NJ

RI

CT

MA
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

2

The oversight process calls for:

• Focusing inspections on activities 

where the potential risks are greater.

• Increasing regulatory attention to 

nuclear power plants as performance 

declines, while maintaining a normal 

level of regulatory attention on facilities 

that perform well.

• Using objective measurements of 

nuclear power plant performance.

• Providing a timely and understandable 

assessment of plant performance to 

both the public and nuclear industry.

• Responding to violations of regulations 

in a predictable and consistent manner 

that reflects the potential safety impact 

of the violations.

REACTOR OVERSIGHT PROCESS 

CORNERSTONES

The ROP contributes to the NRC’s mission of 

ensuring public health and safety, promoting 

the common defense and security, and 

protecting the environment during the 

operation of commercial nuclear power 

plants by monitoring plant performance in 

three strategic performance areas:

• Reactor Safety—avoiding accidents and 

reducing the consequences of accidents if 

they occur

• Radiation Safety—for both plant workers 

and the public from unnecessary radiation 

exposure during routine operations, and 

• Safeguards—protection of the plant 

against sabotage or other security threats.

To monitor and measure performance, 

the oversight process focuses on seven 

“cornerstones” that support the safety of plant 

operations in the three strategic performance 

areas. These are described below. 

Reactor Safety Area

#1 Initiating Events: Any potential occurrence 

that could disrupt plant operations and 

challenge safety functions is an initiating 

event. This cornerstone focuses on limiting 

the occurrence of these type of events. These 

events could include equipment failures 

leading to a plant shutdown, shutdowns with 

unexpected complications, or large changes in 

the plant’s power output.

#2 Mitigating Systems: These are safety 

systems designed into each plant that alleviate 

the effects of initiating events. Mitigating 

systems can prevent an accident or reduce 

the consequences of a possible accident. This 

cornerstone monitors the function of these 

safety systems through periodic testing and 

actual performance.

#3 Barrier Integrity: There are three important 

barriers between the highly radioactive fuel 

inside the reactor and the public and the 

environment outside the plant. These barriers 

are: (1) the sealed rods containing the fuel 

pellets, (2) the heavy steel reactor vessel 

and associated piping, and (3) the reinforced 

concrete containment structure surrounding 

the reactor. The integrity of the fuel rods, the 

vessel, and the piping Licensees continuously 

monitor these barriers to ensure their integrity 

is maintained. 

#4 Emergency Preparedness: Each nuclear 

plant is required to have a comprehensive 

emergency plan to effectively respond to 

accidents. This cornerstone measures the 

effectiveness of the plant staff in carrying out 

the emergency plan. The plant staff frequently 

conducts emergency exercises with local, 

State, and, in some cases, Federal agencies. 

The NRC evaluates these exercises every 

two years.
R E A C T O R O V E R S I G H T P R O C E S S 

3

Radiation Safety Area

#5 Occupational Radiation Safety: NRC 

regulations set a limit on radiation doses 

received by plant workers. Exposures can 

originate from from poorly controlled or 

uncontrolled radiation areas or radioactive 

materials located at the plant. This 

cornerstone monitors the effectiveness of the 

plants’ program to control and minimize those 

doses.

#6 Public Radiation Safety: NRC regulations are 

designed to protect public health and safety from 

exposure to radioactive materials that may be 

released into the public domain. This cornerstone 

measures the procedures and systems designed 

to minimize radioactive releases from a nuclear 

plant during normal operations and to keep those 

releases within Federal limits.

Safeguards Area

#7 Security: Nuclear plants are required to 

have well-trained security personnel and a 

variety of protective systems to guard vital 

plant equipment, as well as programs to 

assure that employees are constantly fit for 

duty through drug and alcohol testing. This 

cornerstone measures the effectiveness of the 

security and fitness-for-duty programs.

Although the NRC actively oversees the security 

and safeguards activities and facilities at 

nuclear plants, the inspection and assessment 

information is not publicly available to ensure 

that potentially useful information is not 

provided to a possible adversary (only the cover 

letter is publicly available).

CROSS-CUTTING AREAS

In addition to the cornerstones, the ROP features 

three “cross-cutting” areas, so named because 

they can affect each of the cornerstones across 

all the strategic performance areas. 

These cross-cutting areas are as follows:

• Human Performance—This area monitors 

the licensee’s decisionmaking process, 

availability and adequacy of resources to 

ensure nuclear safety, coordination of work 

activities, and personnel work practices.

• Problem Identification and Resolution—

This area monitors the licensee’s 

corrective action and operating experience 

programs, and the licensee’s self and 

independent assessments. 

• Safety-Conscious Work Environment—

This area monitors an environment 

in which workers feel free to raise 

nuclear safety concerns without fear of 

harassment, intimidation, retaliation, or 

discrimination.

The review and assessment of these 

cross-cutting areas have an important role 

in the ROP. They are considered during all 

NRC inspections and are covered during 

periodic plant assessments.

Reactor Oversight Framework

Protect Public Health and Safety in the Use of Nuclear Power

Reactor Safety

Initiating

Events

Mitigating

Systems

Barrier

Integrity

Public 

Radiation

Security

Human Performance Problem Identification and Resolution Safety-Conscious Work Environment

Mission

Strategic 

performance 

areas

Cornerstones

Cross-Cutting 

Areas

Occupational

Radiation

Emergency 

Preparedness

Radiation Safety Safeguards
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

4

Safety Cornerstone Performance Indicators

#1 Initiating Events • Unplanned reactor shutdowns, or “scrams” (automatic and manual)

• Complicated unplanned shutdown

• Unplanned events that result in significant changes in reactor power

#2 Mitigating Systems • Safety system availability and reliability 

• Safety system failures

#3 Barrier Integrity • Fuel cladding (measured by radioactivity in reactor cooling system)

• Reactor cooling system leak rate

#4 Emergency Preparedness • Emergency response organization drill performance

• Readiness of emergency response organization

• Availability of notification system for area residents

#5 Occupational Radiation Safety • Unplanned radiation exposures to workers

#6 Public Radiation Safety • Effluent releases requiring reporting under NRC regulations and 

 license conditions

#7 Security • Security system equipment availability

MEASURING AND INSPECTING 

NUCLEAR PLANT PERFORMANCE

Nuclear plant performance is measured and 

assessed by a combination of objective 

performance indicators reported by the 

licensee and by NRC inspection findings. 

They are both closely focused on those plant 

activities having the greatest impact on safety 

and overall risk. While performance indicators 

can provide insights into plant performance 

for selected areas, the NRC’s inspection 

program provides greater depth and breadth 

of information for consideration by the NRC in 

assessing plant performance.

In addition, the NRC conducts both periodic 

and annual reviews of the effectiveness of 

each utility’s programs to identify and correct 

problems. These programs, and their inputs 

and products, are described in more detail in 

the following sections. 

Performance Indicators

Each performance indicator has criteria for 

measuring acceptable performance. As in all 

industrial activities, nuclear power plants are 

not error free or risk free. Equipment problems 

and human errors will occur. Each performance 

indicator determines acceptable levels of 

operation within substantial safety margins. 

The NRC designed the criteria to be objective 

and reflect risk according to established 

safety margins. Performance indicators 

for each cornerstone are shown in the 

following table. 

Inspection 

Findings

Performance 

Indicators + =

Plant 

Assessment
R E A C T O R O V E R S I G H T P R O C E S S 

5

Example of a Performance Indicator

Use of Performance Indicators

Each indicator is measured against the criteria 

using a color-coded system for safety 

performance.

The indicators are compiled by the licensee and 

reported to the NRC on a quarterly basis; the NRC 

validates the licensees’ reported performance 

indicators for accuracy. The performance indicators 

are posted on the NRC’s website: http://

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/

pi_summary.html.

Inspection Program

The Reactor Oversight Process includes 

inspections by NRC staff with a variety of 

backgrounds and skills – among them are 

plant operations, engineering, radiation 

protection, emergency preparedness, and 

security.

Baseline inspections represent the minimum 

level of inspection required to ensure plant 

safety and security, and are common to all 

operating nuclear plants. The baseline inspection 

program is aligned to seven cornerstones and 

focuses on activities and systems that are “risk 

significant.” Risk significant activities and systems 

have a potential to trigger an accident, can 

mitigate the effects of an accident, or increase the 

consequences of a possible accident. Performance 

is assessed through information gained from 

performance indicators and NRC inspections.

The inspection program uses a 

“risk-informed” approach to select areas 

to inspect within each cornerstone. The 

inspection areas were chosen because of their 

importance to potential risk, past operational 

experience, and regulatory requirements. 

The baseline inspection program has three parts:

1. Inspection of areas not covered by 

performance indicators or where a 

performance indicator does not fully cover 

the inspection area 

2. Inspections to verify the accuracy of 

a licensee’s reports on performance 

indicators, and 

3. A thorough review of the licensee’s 

effectiveness in finding and resolving 

problems on its own

Inspections beyond the baseline program are 

performed in response to specific events at a 

plant or changes in the plant’s performance. For 

Green: indicates performance within an 

expected performance level where the 

associated cornerstone objectives are met.

White: represents performance outside 

an expected range of nominal utility 

performance but related cornerstone 

objectives are still being met.

Yellow: indicates related cornerstone 

objectives are being met, but with a 

minimal reduction in the safety margin.

Red: signals a significant reduction in 

safety margin in the area measured by 

the performance indicator. The NRC will 

evaluate the red performance indicator 

data and integrate this data with findings 

from the NRC’s inspection program in 

order to provide a broad assessment of 

the plant’s safety performance.
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

6

Significance Determination Process, to 

determine the safety or security significance of 

inspection findings. This process first employs 

an initial screening to identify those inspection 

findings that do not result in a significant 

increase in plant risk (a green finding). 

Remaining inspection findings—which may 

be more than very low safety or security 

significance—are subjected to a more thorough 

risk assessment, using a more detailed 

evaluation. This detailed assessment may 

involve NRC risk experts from the appropriate 

regional office and further review by the utility’s 

plant staff. The final outcome of the review—

evaluating whether the finding is green, white, 

yellow, or red—is used to determine further 

NRC actions that may be needed.

Quarterly Plant Assessments

Each calendar quarter (every 3 months), the 

resident inspectors and regional inspection 

staff review the performance of all nuclear 

power plants in that region, as measured by 

the performance indicators and by inspection 

findings. Once each year, the regular quarterly 

review includes a more detailed assessment 

of plant performance with involvement from 

NRC headquarters staff, regional staff, and 

resident inspectors. The staff prepares a 

performance report at the end of this special 

yearly review. Every 6 months the NRC examines 

plant performance reviews to determine each 

reactor’s customized inspection plan for the next 

24 months.

example, if a performance indicator or inspection 

finding shows increased safety significance, the 

NRC may conduct a special or supplemental 

inspection to review the situation and assess the 

effectiveness of the plant operator’s response. 

For more complicated situations, the agency 

may dispatch an augmented inspection team, 

bringing in additional experts from other NRC 

regions or headquarters staff. For more serious 

events, the NRC may form a high-level incident 

investigation team. 

The inspection program also includes reviews 

of cross-cutting areas of human performance, 

the presence of a safety-conscious work 

environment, and the way plant operators find 

and fix problems. By reviewing these areas, the 

ROP can detect a decline in safety culture. 

The inspections are performed by NRC 

resident inspectors stationed full time at 

each nuclear power plant and by inspectors 

based in one of the four NRC regional offices 

or in NRC headquarters in Rockville, MD. The 

regional offices are located in King of Prussia, 

PA; Atlanta, GA; Lisle, IL; and Arlington, TX.

The NRC issues inspection reports for all 

inspections. Baseline inspection reports, 

compiled by the resident inspectors and 

inspection specialists, are issued at the 

close of each calendar quarter. Special and 

supplemental inspection reports are issued 

several weeks after completion of those 

inspections. The inspection reports are 

available on the NRC’s website (http://www.

nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/listofrpts_

body.html), in the NRC’s online document 

collection, Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System (ADAMS), and from the 

Public Document Room at NRC headquarters. 

ASSESSMENT OF PLANT 

PERFORMANCE

Significance Determination Process

The staff uses a process, called the 

Green: indicates a finding of very low 

safety or security significance

White: represents a finding of 

low-to-moderate safety or 

security significance

Yellow: indicates a finding of substantial 

safety or security significance

Red: is a finding of high safety or 

security significance
R E A C T O R O V E R S I G H T P R O C E S S 

7

Annual Performance Reports and 

Public Meetings

Annual performance reports are available on 

the agency’s website at: http://www.nrc.gov/

NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/listofasmrpt.html. 

In addition, each year the NRC staff holds a 

public meeting with the licensee at each plant 

to discuss the previous year’s performance. 

This provides individuals living near the plant 

an opportunity to find out the status of a plant’s 

safety performance and talk with NRC staff.

Additionally, NRC senior management reviews 

the adequacy of agency actions for plants with 

a significant decrease in safety performance. 

The managers also take a wider view both 

of the overall industry performance and of 

the performance of the agency’s regulatory 

programs. The performance of plants requiring 

heightened agency scrutiny is then discussed 

during a public meeting with the NRC 

Commissioners at the agency’s Rockville, MD, 

headquarters.

NRC RESPONSE TO PLANT 

PERFORMANCE

The quarterly reviews of plant performance, 

using both the plant operator’s reported 

performance indicators and NRC inspection 

findings, determines what additional action, 

if any, the NRC will take if there are signs 

of declining performance. This approach 

is defined by the ROP’s Action Matrix. This 

matrix objectively ranks performance based 

on the significance of inspection findings 

and performance indicators. The Action 

Matrix provides consistent, predictable, and 

understandable agency responses to licensee 

performance. As illustrated below, the NRC 

increases oversight as licensee performance 

declines. 

The process uses five levels of regulatory 

response with NRC regulatory review 

increasing as plant performance declines. 

The first three levels involve response by 

the appropriate regional office. The next two 

levels call for an agency response, involving 

senior management attention from both 

headquarters and regional offices. 

The ROP uses various tools for dealing with 

declining performance. These tools are used 

in a predictable manner that is commensurate 

with the decreased safety performance. NRC 

actions may begin with meetings with the plant 

operator and additional inspections and escalate 

to stronger actions like issuing an NRC Order or 

even suspending the plant’s operating license. 

(See below)

Response at Agency Level 

• Meeting with NRC Executive Director for Operations and senior 

plant management 

• Order to modify, suspend, or revoke license

Response at Agency Level 

• Meeting with NRC Executive Director for Operations and senior plant 

management 

• Plant operator improvement plan with NRC oversight 

• NRC team inspection focused on performance issues at the site 

• Demand for Information, Confirmatory Action Letter, or Order 

Response at Regional Level 

• Meeting with NRC regional management and senior plant management

• Plant operator self-assessment with NRC oversight 

• Additional NRC inspections focused on cause of degraded performance

Response at Regional Level 

• Meeting with NRC and plant management 

• Plant operator corrective actions to address WHITE inputs 

• NRC inspection to follow up on WHITE inputs and corrective actions

Normal Regional Oversight 

• Routine inspector and staff interaction

• Baseline inspection program 

• Annual assessment public meeting

NRC Response

Column 5. Unacceptable Performance

Column 4. Multiple/Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone

Repetitive degraded cornerstone, multiple 

degraded cornerstones, or multiple YELLOW

inputs, or one RED input 

Column 3. Degraded Performance 

One degraded cornerstone (three WHITE inputs 

or one YELLOW input in a cornerstone) or three 

WHITE inputs in any strategic area 

Column 2. Regulatory Response

No more than two WHITE inputs in a 

strategic area 

Column 1. Licensee Response

All performance indicators and cornerstone 

inspection findings GREEN

ROP Action Matrix Asessment of Plant Performance

Increasing Safety Significance

Increasing Regulatory Oversight
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

8

VIOLATIONS OF NRC 

REQUIREMENTS

When NRC inspections uncover violations of 

NRC requirements, the agency dispositions 

these violations using the NRC’s Enforcement 

Policy. If an NRC finding of very low safety 

significance has an associated violation, it 

is typically discussed in an inspection report 

with no formal enforcement action. The 

NRC expects the plant operator to correct 

the violation through its corrective action 

program, and NRC inspectors may review the 

corrective actions during future inspections.

If a violation is associated with an NRC finding 

of greater safety significance, the NRC will 

issue a notice of violation. The NRC may also 

issue a notice of violation for very low safety 

significance findings if the licensee fails to 

place the violation into its corrective action 

program or fails to correct the violation within 

a reasonable period of time.

The notice of violation requires the plant 

operator to formally respond to the NRC 

identifying its corrective actions. The NRC 

may review the operator’s actions in a later 

inspection.

Normally, violations associated with findings 

are not subject to fines.

Violations that are not associated with 

findings call for the traditional enforcement 

approach, including the possible issuance of 

fines.

Examples of violations include:

• Discrimination against workers for raising 

safety issues or other willful violations

• Actions that may adversely affect the 

NRC’s ability to monitor utility activities, 

including failure to report required 

information, failure to obtain NRC 

approval for plant changes, failure to 

maintain accurate records, or failure 

to provide the NRC with complete and 

accurate information

• Incidents with actual safety consequences, 

including radiation exposures above NRC 

limits, releases of radioactive material above 

NRC limits, or failure to notify government 

agencies when emergency response is 

required

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION 

AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC

Information on plant performance is updated each 

quarter on the NRC’s website, where performance 

histories and inspection findings are also available. 

Full inspection reports are available on the website, 

in the NRC’s online document collection called 

Agencywide Documents Access and Management 

System (ADAMS) and from the NRC’s Public 

Document Room. Full inspection reports are 

available on the Web site (http://www.nrc.gov/

NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/listofrpts_body.html,) 

in the NRC’s online document collection called 

“ADAMS” (http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.

html), and from the NRC’s Public Document Room 

(http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/pdr.html).

The performance indicators and the assessment of 

inspection findings are placed on the NRC website 

using the color notation of their significance: 

green, white, yellow, or red. The statistics and NRC 

inspection findings that underlie the color notation 

are also posted on the website. 

The NRC’s highest priority is the oversight of 

operating reactors for safety, security, and 

protection of people and the environment. The 

Reactor Oversight Process is instrumental to the 

agency’s effective oversight of the Nation’s reactors.

Additional information on the Reactor Oversight 

Process is available at the NRC’s website at: http://

www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/index.

html.

CONTACT US

The NRC welcomes comments and 

questions from members of the public regarding 

the Reactor Oversight Process. 

You can submit comments and questions through 

the form located at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/

OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/contactus.html.
R E A C T O R O V E R S I G H T P R O C E S S 

9

Step 1

Click here on plant name

http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/index.html

Step 2

Step 3

Click here for details

Click here for details

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION ON NRC WEB PAGES
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

10

GLOSSARY

ADAMS: Agencywide Documents Access and 

Management System.

Baseline Inspection Program: The minimum 

inspection oversight required to assess 

licensee safety and security performance. 

Baseline inspections constitute an appropriate 

level of inspection at plants whose 

performance is considered acceptable. Every 

plant in the country receives at least the 

baseline inspection program.

Cornerstone of Safety: Nuclear plant activities 

that are essential for the safe operation of the 

facility. These cornerstones are grouped under 

the categories of reactor safety, radiation 

safety, and safeguards.

Corrective Action Program: The system by 

which a utility finds and fixes problems at 

the nuclear plant. It includes a process for 

evaluating the safety significance of the 

problems, setting priorities in correcting the 

problems, and tracking them until they have 

been corrected.

Cross-Cutting Area: Aspects of licensee 

performance that are common to all the 

cornerstones and contribute to maintaining 

safe facility operation. These include human 

performance, problem identification and 

resolution, and safety-conscious work 

environment.

Inspection Reports: Reports are issued 

periodically to document inspection findings. 

These may cover a specific time period for the 

baseline inspection or a particular event or 

problem examined in a reactive inspection. All 

inspection reports are public documents and, 

when issued, are posted to the NRC’s website.

Performance Indicator: Objective data that 

records performance in a specific cornerstone 

of safety at a nuclear power plant.

Reactive Inspection: An inspection to examine 

the circumstances surrounding an operational 

problem or event occurring at a nuclear plant.

Reactor Oversight Process: The NRC’s program 

to inspect, evaluate, and assess the safety 

performance of commercial nuclear power 

plants.

Regulatory Conference: A meeting between the 

NRC staff and a utility to discuss potential safety 

issues or to discuss a change in performance as 

indicated by a declining performance indicator 

or inspection finding. These meetings are open 

to public observation unless they cover security 

issues, NRC investigation findings, or similar 

sensitive topics.

Resident Inspector: An NRC inspector assigned 

to a nuclear plant on a full-time basis. Each site 

has at least two resident inspectors.

Risk-Informed: Incorporating an assessment 

of safety significance or relative risk in NRC 

regulatory actions.

Safety Culture: The set of 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.

Significance Determination Process: The 

process used by the NRC staff to evaluate 

inspection findings to determine their safety 

significance. This involves assessing how much 

the inspection findings increase the risk of 

nuclear operations.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA SHEET

(See instructions on the reverse)

NRC FORM 335

(12-2010)

NRCMD 3.7

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 1. REPORT NUMBER

(Assigned by NRC, Add Vol., Supp., Rev.,

 and Addendum Numbers, if any.)

3. DATE REPORT PUBLISHED

MONTH YEAR

4. FIN OR GRANT NUMBER

2. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

5. AUTHOR(S) 6. TYPE OF REPORT

7. PERIOD COVERED (Inclusive Dates)

8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION - NAME AND ADDRESS (If NRC, provide Division, Office or Region, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and mailing address; if 

 contractor, provide name and mailing address.)

9. SPONSORING ORGANIZATION - NAME AND ADDRESS (If NRC, type "Same as above", if contractor, provide NRC Division, Office or Region, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory 

 Commission, and mailing address.)

10. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

11. ABSTRACT (200 words or less)

12. KEY WORDS/DESCRIPTORS (List words or phrases that will assist researchers in locating the report.)

14. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

13. AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

unlimited

(This Page)

unclassified

(This Report)

unclassified

15. NUMBER OF PAGES

16. PRICE

NRC FORM 335 (12-2010)

NUREG-1649, Rev. 6

Reactor Oversight Process

July 2016

Technical

Office of Public Affairs 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

Washington, DC 20555-0001

same as above

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has an established oversight process to inspect, measure, and assess the safety and security 

performance of commercial nuclear power plants and to respond to any decline in performance. The Reactor Oversight Process 

focuses inspections on areas of greatest risks, increases regulatory attention to nuclear power plants as performance declines, uses 

objective measurements of performance, gives the public timely and understandable assessments of plant performance, and provides 

responses to violations in a predictable and consistent manner that corresponds to the safety significance of the problem.

reactor oversight 

reactor inspection 

nuclear power plant performance 

plant assessment
United States 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

NUREG-1649, Rev. 6

July 2016