The number of Nuclear Regulatory Commission employees who continue to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic has ticked down slightly in recent weeks.
The percentage was 94% as of Thursday, compared to 95% cited at the beginning of July, according to NRC Director of Public Affairs David Castelveter. He noted that some personnel are not working full-time in the office and that some remain in maximum-telework mode.
There have been nine confirmed infections by novel coronavirus 2019 among the federal agency’s roughly 3,000-person full-time workforce, and no deaths, Castelveter said by email. He said he could not release any more details about those cases.
Starting in March, 98% of NRC staff worked remotely to help curb the spread of the viral disease. That left only security personnel and a minimal number of other employees at the regulator’s Washington, D.C.-area headquarters and five other locations.
The agency initiated Phase 1 of its remobilization strategy on June 15, enabling workers to voluntarily return to their jobsites. On June 21, staff shifted from mandatory telework to maximum telework, which enabled them to continue working outside the office at their discretion, dependent on an agreement with their employer.
Phase 2 of remobilization, with more workers returning to offices, began on July 12 at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md., Pennsylvania-based Region I, and Illinois-based Region III. “There are approximately more than 100 employees in the three Phase 2 locations each work day,” Castelveter wrote.
Three other locations – Georgia-based Region II, Texas-based Region IV, and the Technical Training Center in Chattanooga, Tenn., remain in Phase 1.
There is no set schedule for any of the locations to proceed to their next phase, Castelveter said. The final step would be Phase 3, which would be a return to near-normal operations.
Even as COVID-19 cases surge again across the nation, there is no plan for NRC sites to revert to earlier phases, according to Castelveter. In its daily update Thursday afternoon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited a total of 3.9 million cases, with 70,106 new cases; there were 142,755 deaths, of which 1,078 were new.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has affirmed its capacity to conduct its regulatory and oversight mission during the health crisis. “We have been operating effectively across the agency,” Castelveter stated.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law in March, provided $3.3 million for readiness activities at the NRC. The money was directed primarily to bolstering its telework capabilities, including acquisition of information technology systems. As of June 24, more than $600,000 had been spent. Castelveter did not provide an update this week.
The agency has approved dozens of exemptions to regulations for nuclear power plant operators and other licensees, to help them bear the operational challenges created by the pandemic. That has included lifting work-hour limits at eight power plants, to ensure they have enough workers to operate reactors if others become sick. The NRC has also allowed licensees to delay mandatory security training and physical requalifications, which respectively would force employees into close contact or require access to medical personnel who are focused on treating COVID-19 patients.
