Building a Culture of Prevention for Occupational Safety and Health in the Face of a Pandemic: Lessons from the Nuclear Safety Culture

Abstract

As Southeast Asian countries are gradually reopening their economies in the face of a pandemic, there is a need to ensure safety and health at the workplace. While there is the medical approach to prevention, containment and mitigation of pandemics, there is also the non-medical approach, which encompasses a number of safety measures, practices, and behaviours intended to minimise contagion risk at workplaces. A culture of prevention at the workplace needs to be institutionalised. This NTS Insight argues that adopting key principles and best practices in building a strong nuclear safety culture may help prevent the further spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases at workplaces. It examines how best practices and policies in promoting a nuclear safety culture can be applied in integrating a culture of prevention with occupational health and safety management in Southeast Asia, so that workplaces can be kept safe amidst a pandemic.