A healthy safety culture has long been considered essential to maintaining high levels of nuclear safety. Although safety goals across countries are similar, the operational realities vary due to a range of factors including national cultural characteristics. These traits can have a positive impact on the safety culture or present challenges, so it is essential for the nuclear community to identify what influences are present within their particular cultural contexts and reflect on how these influences may impact their safety culture.
The Country-Specific Safety Culture Forum was created to gain a better understanding of how a national context relates to safety culture and how operators and regulators should think about these effects in their day-to-day activities. The fourth NEA safety culture forum – a collaborative effort between the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) in association with the Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) and the Federation of Electric Power Companies (FEPC) – was held in Japan in December 2023. This report outlines the process used to conduct the forum, reveals its findings and hopes to inspire the nuclear community to further reflect and take action.