Applying the "Safety Conscious Work Environment" at U.S. Department of Energy Radioactive Waste Cleanup Sites

A Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE) is a work environment in which employees feel free to raise safety concerns to management (and/or a regulator) without fear of retaliation. Projects with a healthy and mature SCWE are safer, more productive, while creating a higher quality product. Worker moral is higher than traditional projects that lack an applied SCWE. One of the direct benefits to SCWE is the building of trust between management and the workers, and between the workers within the project. SCWE has a direct effect on the success of leadership, the employees and the organization. The Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project continues its journey of adapting the SCWE principles to ensure a healthy, safe, and productive work environment. (author)