Validation of the Minimum Staff Complement for the NRU Reactor

Abstract

Understanding the optimum number of qualified staff required during normal operations needs identification of the functions, contexts, and technological resources. This estimation is particularly challenging during abnormal conditions where the dynamics of the functions differ, the tasks and their priorities vary, and depending on the type of event, the availability of technological resources may change. This paper describes a series of Human Factors assessments conducted to assess the sufficiency of the minimum staff complement of the NRU Reactor at Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) to meet CNSC’s requirements. Various methods were adopted to rationalize and validate the minimum staff complement. A validation exercise was also designed and conducted to validate the minimum staff complement for the most resource intensive scenario. The results of these assessments confirmed that the minimum staff complement is sufficient for safe response to events during all operational conditions at NRU reactor as well as anticipated operational occurrences.