Operational safety is essential to everything that nuclear plants do. The U.S. nuclear industry continues to be recognized as one of the safest industrial working environments in the nation. The steps we take to guarantee safety at nuclear plants don’t just meet the standards created by the federal government—they exceed them.

Nuclear Plants Are Well-Run

• Nuclear plants have a track record of safe operation. In the history of U.S. commercial nuclear energy, there have been no radiation-related health effects linked to their operation.
• Our plants pursue excellence. An industry organization, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), sets best practices determined from years observing plant operations. INPO also conducts regular evaluations of nuclear plants, investigating all aspects of nuclear safety. The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) does similar work on an international level. U.S. nuclear plants boast consistently high marks from WANO and INPO when it comes to safety system performance, operational excellence and industrial safety.

Plant Workers Are Well-Qualified

• Nuclear plant operators must hold valid federal licenses to operate or supervise reactor controls. Obtaining a license requires extensive training, taking up to 24 months to complete before the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission tests and certifies the operator.  
• Reactor operators continue training throughout the life of their license, spending one week sharpening their skills in the classroom and the reactor simulator for every five or six weeks of work.
• Nuclear plant operators must be certified physically fit and mentally sound to operate a plant. All plant employees are subject to background and criminal history checks before they set foot in the plant.

Nuclear Plants Are Built Tough

• Our nuclear plants are designed and licensed under an approach to safety called “defense-in-depth.” The key is multiple independent layers of protection. No single safety layer is exclusively relied upon, no matter how strong it may be.
• Multiple physical barriers protect against an accidental radiation release, such as the rods that encase the uranium fuel used to power nuclear plants, the reactor that contains the fuel rods and the steel-reinforced concrete building that houses the reactor.
• Several redundant and diverse safety systems ensure that the fuel rods in the reactor remain sufficiently cooled. Nuclear plants test these systems routinely to ensure they do their job.

Nuclear Energy Is Heavily Regulated

• The NRC licenses and regulates commercial nuclear energy. The NRC enforces its regulations with inspections, can levy fines—and can even order a plant to shut down.
• Every nuclear plant is assigned at least two full-time on-site NRC inspectors, who are free to observe anything at the plant at any time.
• The NRC and the industry routinely analyze events at nuclear plants throughout the world to identify possible improvements for U.S. plants. This approach has led to enhanced safety at our plants, including many modifications like the FLEX strategy that followed the accident at Fukushima. FLEX equipment is an important part of our overall safety strategy.