Summary: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been moving from its traditional regulatory approach, which was largely developed without the benefit of quantitative estimates of risk, to an approach--termed "risk-informed regulation"--that considers relative risk in conjunction with engineering analyses and operating experience. NRC believes that such an approach would reduce the unnecessary regulatory burden on licensees and lower their costs without reducing safety. NRC also believes that this approach will increase the agency's effectiveness and efficiency. NRC's move to a risk-informed approach is a major change to its culture. Ultimately, this approach will apply not only to the nation's 103 operating nuclear power plants but to thousands of entities that are licensed to use nuclear materials in medical, academic, and industrial applications; process, enrich, and fabricate uranium ore into fuel for nuclear power plants; and dispose of radioactive waste generated by these and other activities. This report discusses (1) the views of NRC staff on the quality of the work that the agency does, the management and staff's involvement in changes occurring in the agency, and the move to a risk-informed regulatory approach and (2) the status of NRC's efforts to develop a strategy to implement a risk-informed regulatory approach.
