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Reporting Safety Concerns to the NRC (NUREG/BR-0240, Revision 8)

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Publication Information

Date Published: August 2017

Office of Enforcement
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001

Introduction

Anyone should feel free to communicate any safety concern to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). It is the NRC's policy to encourage workers at NRC-regulated facilities to take safety concerns to their own management first, since the facility operator has the primary responsibility for, and is most able to ensure, safe nuclear operations. However, workers and other members of the public can bring safety concerns directly to the NRC at any time. It is the agency's responsibility to respond to those concerns in a timely manner and to protect the identity of the individual to the greatest degree possible.

This brochure discusses how you as a nuclear industry worker or a concerned member of the public can report safety concerns to the NRC, the degree to which the NRC can protect your identity, and the NRC process for handling allegations of discrimination against workers by licensees, their contractors, or subcontractors.

For the purpose of this brochure, the term "licensee" refers to an organization or an individual – or a contractor, subcontractor, or vendor to an organization or an individual – that is an applicant for, or holder of, a license, permit, or certificate issued by the NRC.

Safety concerns may be potential or actual safety issues associated with the NRC's jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, the areas of design, construction, operation, maintenance, radiation protection, safeguards, security, emergency preparedness, harassment, intimidation, retaliation, discrimination, wrongdoing, a work environment that discourages workers from raising safety concerns, and other matters related to NRC-regulated activities.

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Wednesday, March 24, 2021