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DOE Inspector General Audit Confirms Poor Nuclear Weapons Management Practices at NNSA

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is required to continuously assess and evaluate each nuclear weapon system to certify its reliability and to detect and/or anticipate any potential problems that may occur. NNSA depends on information concerning how nuclear weapons were originally built to certify reliability. Given its importance, such information is controlled through a formal configuration management (CM) process. The DOE Inspector General performed an audit of this process after receiving several allegations regarding inadequacy of the CM process. The audit confirmed the allegations finding "incomplete product definitions for NNSA nuclear weapons, and ineffective management of classified nuclear weapons drawings, a situation that could lead to unauthorized changes to the drawings." The IG also identified additional concerns with the use of nuclear weapons parts and components that did not conform to specifications.

Click here to download the IG report.