The Department of Energy (DOE) is denying access to some information that the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, the nation’s only independent safety agency covering nuclear weapons, says it needs to oversee operations at sites where the nuclear arsenal is built and maintained. The denials of access to records and meetings are “the most significant” in the history of the board.
The safety board says DOE has explicitly denied information about:
•Nuclear “criticality” safety, or the risk of an accidental, uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction that carries a high risk of death, “a challenging field in which DOE has experienced performance issues in the past and often struggles to maintain sufficient expertise.”
•Risks involving electricity accidentally contacting high explosives in nuclear warhead manufacturing, an operation in Texas that includes 19 outstanding “opportunities to improve safety” as identified by the safety board.
•Progress on a safety analysis of a tritium facility in South Carolina, where seismic activity could lead to a dangerous fire.
•The list of DOE regulations being considered for elimination, and its action earlier this year relaxing radiation exposure limits.
“For over 30 years we have reported on DOE’s inadequate oversight of (management and operation) contractors,” a July Government Accountability Office report said. It noted that nuclear weapon and cleanup work under DOE’s purview “have been on our High-Risk List for fraud and abuse for two decades.” ⸺ Seattle Times, Aug. 13, 2026
