The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has submitted two reports and supplemental information on the Feb. 3, 2021, alert at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The reports include a root cause analysis of the alert, NIST’s planned corrective actions, and a review of the NIST response to the incident. With the reports, NIST has submitted a request for permission to restart the reactor, contingent upon all necessary corrective actions and restart preparations being completed.
The following root causes are identified in the reports:
The training and qualification program for operators was not on par with programmatic needs;
Written procedures did not capture necessary steps in assuring fuel elements were latched in place;
Procedural compliance was not enforced;
The equipment and tools used to determine whether fuel elements were securely latched in place were inadequate;
Management oversight of refueling staffing was inadequate;
The NCNR’s change management program was insufficient; and
The reactor operations group had a culture of complacency.
“We take these findings very seriously, as they absolutely are not consistent with NIST’s dedication to safety and excellence,” said James Olthoff, who is performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the under secretary of commerce for standards and technology and NIST director. “We have already begun implementing many corrective actions and I’m confident that these changes will strengthen our program and ensure the safe operation of this important national resource for years to come.”
The initial root cause investigation was completed by a working group of NIST technical experts who identified five root causes. A subcommittee of NIST’s Safety Evaluation Committee, which included NIST staff members an ..
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