US allowing longer shifts at nuclear plants in pandemic

[Judi Lynn]

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER
yesterday



WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. nuclear plants will be allowed to keep workers on longer shifts to deal with staffing problems in the coronavirus pandemic, raising worries among watchdogs and some families living near reactors that employee exhaustion will increase the risks of accidents.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to temporarily allow longer worker shifts is one way the industry is scrambling to keep up mandatory staffing levels through what will be weeks or months more of the outbreak.

The shift extensions would allow workers to be on the job for up to 86 hours a week. Currently, they’re generally allowed to work up to 72 hours in a seven-day period. As part of the waiver, workers could be assigned to 12-hour shifts for as many as 14 days in a row.

Nuclear plant workers already are having their temperatures checked on arrival for each shift, and employers are studying options including having workers temporarily live at plants full-time.

More:
https://apnews.com/032cc5622d921e45311d71f52c37f1b9

[crickets]

1. Because nobody feels quite stressed enough...

My heart goes out to the workers. That schedule sounds brutal and unsafe. Yikes.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Holy moley .

That is a major OSHA rule change for Nuke workers. Wow,these folks will accumulate their maximum body Radiation for saftey in fewer days. Believe it is 3900 rems and then it is so many days away from the source.

[zackymilly]

3. What do the Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island incidents have in common? Fatigue.

Employee fatigue played a role in all three tragedies.

How many of us have dozed off at work, or been so tired we knew we weren''t giving our job our full attention? According to a new poll from the National Sleep Foundation, most of us have experienced extreme fatigue at work at some point.

The poll found an overwhelming majority of Americans agree that inadequate sleep impairs their work performance and puts them at increased risk for accidents, injuries and health problems. The poll results underscore what researchers and industry experts have said for years: Fatigue in the workplace costs American industry at least $77 billion per year.

https://www.ehstoday.com/archive/article/21914831/severe-impact-of-fatigue-in-the-workplace-examined