WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.480 My name is Shadi Ghrayeb, 2 00:00:01.480 --> 00:00:02.650 I am a nuclear engineer 3 00:00:02.650 --> 00:00:05.470 for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 4 00:00:05.470 --> 00:00:08.810 line:15% I work out of Region 1 of the regional offices 5 00:00:08.810 --> 00:00:10.640 line:15% in the King of Prussia Pennsylvania. 6 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:13.620 line:15% And we're tasked with inspecting 7 00:00:13.620 --> 00:00:16.530 line:15% the northeast nuclear power plants enforcement 8 00:00:18.307 --> 00:00:21.990 line:15% and grading their emergency response plans. 9 00:00:21.990 --> 00:00:24.110 It's mostly on-site inspections 10 00:00:24.110 --> 00:00:26.610 and there's also remote inspections as well, 11 00:00:26.610 --> 00:00:29.650 line:15% but it's mostly hands-on, traveling out to these sights 12 00:00:29.650 --> 00:00:32.010 line:15% and it's where the rubber meets the road 13 00:00:32.010 --> 00:00:33.610 line:15% and we're kicking tires out there. 14 00:00:33.610 --> 00:00:38.410 line:15% And visiting the facilities, overlooking the staff there 15 00:00:38.410 --> 00:00:40.620 line:15% and making sure our regulations and safety 16 00:00:40.620 --> 00:00:44.010 is being enforced and obliged by. 17 00:00:44.010 --> 00:00:46.120 There's multiple kinds of inspections. 18 00:00:46.120 --> 00:00:48.050 There are security inspections, 19 00:00:48.050 --> 00:00:49.850 there are fire-protection inspections, 20 00:00:49.850 --> 00:00:51.740 there are material inspections, 21 00:00:51.740 --> 00:00:54.160 there's quality insurance inspections. 22 00:00:54.160 --> 00:00:56.910 There's more abstract ideas that we inspect, 23 00:00:56.910 --> 00:00:59.670 such as: is there a safety-conscious work environment? 24 00:00:59.670 --> 00:01:01.630 Are the employees at the power plants 25 00:01:01.630 --> 00:01:03.360 line:15% able to bring up safety issues 26 00:01:03.360 --> 00:01:06.810 line:15% to their senior managers without repercussions? 27 00:01:06.810 --> 00:01:10.710 line:15% So it's a diverse selection of inspections 28 00:01:10.710 --> 00:01:12.990 line:15% and it's an amazing experience. 29 00:01:12.990 --> 00:01:15.550 So we get up very early to the plant, 30 00:01:15.550 --> 00:01:17.080 attend their plan of day meetings. 31 00:01:17.080 --> 00:01:18.990 It could be like a 6:15, 6:30 in the morning 32 00:01:18.990 --> 00:01:20.320 depending on where it is. 33 00:01:20.320 --> 00:01:22.460 And we're just sitting there observing 34 00:01:22.460 --> 00:01:24.110 senior level management, how they're tasking 35 00:01:24.110 --> 00:01:25.550 and delegating their task. 36 00:01:25.550 --> 00:01:28.125 What's their work like for the day? 37 00:01:28.125 --> 00:01:30.960 Are they evaluating risk and concerns, 38 00:01:30.960 --> 00:01:33.100 are there redundant systems in place? 39 00:01:33.100 --> 00:01:36.210 And we observe their communications, 40 00:01:36.210 --> 00:01:40.150 their effectiveness and walk around the power plant, 41 00:01:40.150 --> 00:01:42.160 make sure there's protective measures in place, 42 00:01:42.160 --> 00:01:43.970 line:15% make sure the operators 43 00:01:43.970 --> 00:01:45.880 line:15% are operating the way they should be. 44 00:01:45.880 --> 00:01:47.910 line:15% Walking down the control room, 45 00:01:47.910 --> 00:01:50.150 line:15% walking through the power plant, 46 00:01:50.150 --> 00:01:51.870 line:15% seeing some maintenance staff, 47 00:01:51.870 --> 00:01:53.160 what procedures they're working on, 48 00:01:53.160 --> 00:01:55.559 are they enforcing the rules and procedures 49 00:01:55.559 --> 00:01:58.790 of their site appropriately and effectively, 50 00:01:58.790 --> 00:02:01.810 and just evaluating any concerns that may come about, 51 00:02:01.810 --> 00:02:03.330 and if they are, how are they fixing it 52 00:02:03.330 --> 00:02:04.610 and approaching it? 53 00:02:04.610 --> 00:02:07.440 So we take the data and we kinda evaluate them, 54 00:02:07.440 --> 00:02:09.230 we evaluate their performance. 55 00:02:09.230 --> 00:02:12.680 And if there's any concerns, we could issue violations 56 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:16.040 or performance deficiencies 57 00:02:16.040 --> 00:02:18.550 and the more violations we may find, 58 00:02:18.550 --> 00:02:20.340 line:15% the greater our level of communications 59 00:02:20.340 --> 00:02:22.530 line:15% and it could be under closer scrutiny 60 00:02:22.530 --> 00:02:24.500 line:15% with more specialized inspections 61 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:28.310 line:15% and more staff coming to their site 62 00:02:28.310 --> 00:02:30.010 line:15% and looking at their kind of work. 63 00:02:30.010 --> 00:02:34.910 So it could be a concern for the licensee in the sense that 64 00:02:34.910 --> 00:02:37.760 it will increase our scrutiny of their work. 65 00:02:37.760 --> 00:02:40.120 So, for last year, example, with inspections 66 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:41.560 and training and qualifications 67 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:42.790 and back-filling for employees, 68 00:02:42.790 --> 00:02:46.740 I probably spent over 180 nights in hotels last year, 69 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:48.960 traveling to these places and doing the work 70 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:49.910 that we need to do.