Fall 2013(new) Course Syllabus
CE 571
Nuclear Safety and Security:
Human Performance and Safety Culture
(Updated March 2013)
Professor:Dr. Najmedin Meshkati
Professor of Civil/Environmental Engineering, USC
Professor of Industrial Systems Engineering, USC
Telephone and Email: (213) 740-8765 ;
Office and office hours: KAP Bldg, Rm # 238B, 09:00-11:30am Tues & Thurs.
Introduction and Purposes
This course provides an overview of human-systems integration considerations, human performance and safety culture in the nuclear power operations. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recognized the importance of human performance in its Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) and ensured that nuclear plant operators establishing and maintaining a strong safety culture – a work environment where management and employees are dedicated to putting safety first. Following the 2002 Davis-Besse reactor vessel head degradation event plant where the licensee determined that the causes that led to the event were indicative of a weak safety culture, NRC lessons learned pointed toward the need for additional NRC efforts to evaluate a licensee’s safety culture. In January 2011, the US NRC released its “Final Safety Culture Policy Statement” (published in the Federal Register, June 14, 2011), which provides a primary roadmap for this course. The nuclear security-related issues and the interactions/interface between nuclear safety and security culture, are of paramount importance, as attested by the reports of the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Nuclear Security series, and its Nuclear Security Culture (2008) policy document (No. 7).
Breakdown of Course Material
Lec. No. / Lecture Dates / Topic(s) / Textbook Chapter(s)Week 1 /
- Human factors, micro- and macroergonomics
Week 2 /
- Human-systems integration
- Examples of human factors and ergonomics considerations (in Nuclear Safety)
Week 3 /
- Human performance factors in accident causation
- Case study: TMI Accident
Handouts
Week 4 /
- Human error causation
Week 5 /
- Safety culture; concepts and determinants
- Case study: Davis-Besse 2002
Handouts
Week 6 /
- Work practices
Handouts
Week 7 /
- Work planning and control
Week 8 /
- Safety conscious work environment
Week 9 /
- Problem identification and evaluation
Week 10 /
- International Issues in Nuclear Security
Week 11 /
- Nuclear Security Culture
Week 12 /
- Nuclear Safety and Nuclear Security Cultures
Week 13 /
- Nuclear Safety Projects Presentation
Week 14 /
- Nuclear Security Projects Presentation
TBA / Final Examination
Grading Basis
Grades will be based on the following weighted criteria:
1. Midterm Exam #1 20%
2. Midterm Exam #2 20%
3. Final Exam 20%
4. Term Research Project Papers
Nuclear Safety15%
Nuclear Security15%
5. Class Participation10%
Total 100%
Statement for Students with Disabilities
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to the instructor or the TA as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
Statement on Academic Integrity
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at:
Hybrid, Local Online, or Distance Learning Courses
The course will be offered on Viterbi’s Distance Education Network (DEN). The ViterbiSchool has as established distance-education program, and the means for online communication between the instructor and the students, as well as among the students. In addition, VSoE has at its disposal resources for the electronic submission and return of homework and examinations.
Textbook and References:
Main Textbook and Nuclear Agencies’ Reports:
Wilpert, B. and Itoigawa, N. (Eds.) (2001). Safety Culture in Nuclear Power Operations. London: Taylor and Francis.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (2011, Tuesday June 14). Final Safety Culture Policy Statement. Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 114, 34773-34778.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (2012). Safety Culture in Pre-Operational Phases of Nuclear Power Projects. IAEA Safety Series No. 74.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (2010). The Interface between Safety and Security at Nuclear Power Plants. IAEA: INSAG 24
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (2008). Nuclear Security Culture.IAEA Nuclear Security Series, No. 7.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (2002). Safety Culture in Nuclear Installations: Guidance for use in the Enhancement of Safety Culture. IAEA-TECDOC-1329.
Supporting Material/Sources Handouts
Acton, James M. and Hibbs, Mark (2012, March). Why Fukushima was Preventable. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carnegie Papers (Nuclear Policy), Washington, DC.
Applied Control Solutions (ACS) (2008).Nuclear Plant Control System Cyber Vulnerabilities and Recommendations Toward Security Them: Enabling Comprehensive Network- Based Security for Control Systems. Juniper Networks, Inc.
Congressional Research Service (2010, August 23). Nuclear Power Plant Security and Vulnerabilities. By Mark Holt and Anthony Andrews. 7-5700, RL34331.
Department of Energy (2012, August). Special Report:Inquiry into the Security Breach at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Y-12 National Security Complex. DOE Office of Inspector General, Office of Audits and Inspections, DOE/IG-0868.
Department of Energy (2012, October). Special Report: Review of the Compromise ofSecurity Test Materials at the Y-12 National Security Complex. DOE Office of Inspector General, Office of Audits & Inspections, DOE/IG-0875.
Department of Energy (2012, May 29). Accident and Operational Safety Analysis, Volume I: Accident Analysis Techniques. DOE Handbook, DOE-HDBK-1208-2012.
Department of Energy (2009, June). Human Performance Improvement Handbook, Volume 1: Concepts and Principles. DOE Standard, DOE-HDBK-1028-2009.
Department of Energy (2009, June). Human Performance Improvement Handbook, Volume 2: Human Performance Tools for Individual, Work Teams, and Management. DOE Standard, DOE-HDBK-1028-2009.
Gelfand, M.J., Frese, M. and Salmon, E. (2011). Cultural influence on errors: Preventions, Detections, and Management. In D.A. Hofmann and M. Frese (Eds.), Errors in Organizations. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 273-315.
Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) (2012, August). Lessons Learned from the Nuclear Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. INPO 11-005 Addendum.
Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) (2011, November). Special Report on the Nuclear Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. INPO 11-005.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (2005). Safety Culture in the Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants. IAEA Safety Series No. 42.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (1992). The Chernobyl Accident: Updating of INSAG-1 (INSAG-7), Vienna: IAEA.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (1991). Safety Culture. IAEA Safety Series No. 75. A report by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG).
Kesler, Brent (2011, spring). The Vulnerability of Nuclear Facilities to Cyber Attack, Strategic Insights, Volume 10, Issue 1, 15-25.
Macfarlane, Allison (2012, Monday, September 17). Assessing Progress in Worldwide Nuclear Safety, Remarks of NRC Chairman Allison M. Macfarlane, International Nuclear Safety Group (INSAG) Forum, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, Austria.
Meshkati, N. (1991). Human Factors in Large-Scale Technological Systems' Accidents: Three Mile Island, Bhopal, Chernobyl. Industrial Crisis Quarterly, 5, 133-154.
Meshkati, N. (1995). Human factors in process plants and facility design. In R. Deshotles and R. Zimmerman (Eds.), Cost-Effective Risk Assessment for Process Design. New York: McGraw-Hill, 113-130.
Meshkati, N. (1999). Cultural context of nuclear safety culture: A conceptual model and field study. In J. Misumi, B. Wilpert, R. Miller (Eds.), Nuclear Safety: A Human Factors Perspective. London: Taylor and Francis, 61-75.
Misumi, B., Wilpert, B. and R. Miller (Eds.) (1999) Nuclear Safety: A Human Factors Perspective. London: Taylor and Francis.
The National Diet of Japan (2012, July). The Official Report of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission. Published by The National Diet of Japan: The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission.
Nuclear Energy Institute (June 2009). Fostering a Strong Nuclear Safety Culture (NEI 09-07).
Oedewald, P., Pietikäinen E., and Reiman, T. (2011) 2011:20 A Guidebook for Evaluating Organizations in the Nuclear Industry: an example of safety culture evaluation
Reason, J. (1992). Human error. Brookfield, USA: Ashgate.
Reason, J. (1997). Managing the risks of organizational accidents. Brookfield, USA: Ashgate.
Reason, J. (2008). The Human Contribution: Unsafe Acts, Accidents and Heroic Recoveries. Brookfield, USA: Ashgate
Report of Japanese Government to the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety: The Accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations (June 2011).
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (2011, Tuesday June 14). Final Safety Culture Policy Statement. Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 114, 34773-34778.
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (April 2009). Internal Safety Culture Task Force (Final Report).
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (July 21, 2011). Recommendations for Enhancing Reactor Safety in the 21st Century: The Near-Term Task Force for Review of Insights from the FukushimaDia-ichi Accident.
Weick, K. E.and Sutcliff, K.M. (2001). Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity. San Francisco: Jossy-Bass.
World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) (2011, September). Nuclear Security Culture. A WINS International Best Practice Guide.
World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) (2011, January). An Integrated Approach to Nuclear Safety and Nuclear Security. A WINS International Best Practice Guide.
World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) (2011, December). Human Reliably as a Factor in Nuclear Security Culture. A WINS International Best Practice Guide.
World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) (2011, August). Material Control and Accountability in Support of Nuclear Security. A WINS International Best Practice Guide.
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