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I was just in a nuclear power plant in the US. Needless to say several things stuck out but I was actually pretty surprised about their phone policy. I was al
by kkielhofner 2y ago
I was just in a nuclear power plant in the US.
Needless to say several things stuck out but I was actually pretty surprised about their phone policy.
I was allowed to keep my phone the entire time and allowed to take pictures of everything except the control room and security related procedures, items, devices, etc. All the employee phones I saw were standard devices.
The asked us to avoid posting to social media but that was more of a consideration for why we were there. It didn’t seem to have anything to do with broader security concerns, etc.
All of that said you are accompanied by at least one escort the entire time, down to water breaks, bathroom visits (they wait for you outside), etc.
What they were most strict about was safety related issues that weren’t strictly nuclear related. For example, they take holding handrails incredibly seriously and if someone saw you taking a single step on stairs without holding a hand rail you’d (basically) get yelled at.
- thmsths 2y agoRegarding your last point I think it's a great attitude to have regarding safety in a nuclear power plant. It prevents the normalization of deviance. Which in turns helps prevent the larger accidents we typically associate with nuclear energy.
- kkielhofner 2y agoAgreed! There is an extremely strong safety and process culture in the US nuclear industry.
- glawre 2y agoThis is quite a common policy in safety critical industries. I consulted at a large oil company a few years ago and they had a similar attitude in their head offices.
- jimbobthrowawy 2y agoWhat is even the purpose of preventing photos being taken of the controls in a commercial power plant? I thought all of it was documented elsewhere already and pretty standardised across the same model of reactor.