Year
2010
Abstract
The NRC was established in 1974 to regulate the civilian use of nuclear materials for commercial, industrial, academic, and medical uses in order to protect public health, safety, and the environment, and promote the common defense and security. Approximately half (49%) of the workforce at the United States (U.S.) Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (the Agency) has been with the Agency for less than six years. The NRC program responsible for the regulatory oversight of the transportation of radioactive materials has experienced a significant level of staff attrition that has resulted in several combined years of transportation expertise leaving the transportation program. Factors that contribute to this attrition include retirement of the experienced nuclear workforce and mobility of staff within the Agency to support recent growth of NRC in reactor program areas. Several knowledge management (KM) strategies and activities have been implemented within the Agency, including the formation of a Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation (SFST) KM team. The team facilitates the capture, transfer, and documentation of regulatory knowledge for newer staff to effectively perform their safety oversight of transportation of radioactive materials, regulated under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 71. Other KM Strategies that have been implemented in the SFST area include: (1) development of a SFST Qualification Journal Community of Practice (CoP) and a Packaging and Storing Radioactive Material CoP in the on-line NRC Knowledge Center (NKC); (2) an electronic library containing documentation related to the licensing of packages to transport radioactive materials and spent nuclear fuel (SNF); (3) implementation of a SFST seminar program; (4) technical discipline group programs to share knowledge within specialty areas; (5) development of written guidance to capture “administrative and technical” knowledge (e.g., office procedures, standard review plans); and (6) use of mentoring strategies for experienced staff to train new staff members. This paper will describe and discuss the success and challenges in implementing these KM strategies at the NRC, especially in the area of transportation of spent nuclear fuel.