The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released analysis of nuclear security reporting by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which stated the department could improve its reporting practices regarding its highly-enriched uranium housing facilities.
Highly-enriched uranium is radioactive in nature and is a common precursor for the production of nuclear weapons.
GAO was tasked with assessing the extent to which reports issued by the DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) met the definition of quality information under federal internal control standards, if any significant physical security challenges for uranium housing facilities exist, and if the departments addressed previously-reported security vulnerabilities.
The report found for the years 2014 and 2015, DOE and NNSA’s annual reports on the security of facilities housing nuclear material did not meet the federal definition of quality information, citing an issue with the report’s timeliness, accessibility, or accuracy. In some instances, the reports did not always certify that the sites were fully secured.
GAO also found that both DOE and NNSA shared significant challenges that affect their ability to maintain physical security at sites and certify them as secure. Specifically, the report found that both departments maintained outdated facilities that required extensive maintenance to ensure proper functioning. While NNSA is developing a physical security infrastructure plan to be issued in Spring 2017, the DOE has neither developed plans or estimated costs to address its security vulnerabilities.
GAO recommended that the DOE include more complete information in its security reports and that it align its review processes with federal standards, along with planning for future infrastructure needs.