Global Security Newswire

The agency that oversees the U.S. nuclear-weapon complex has adopted under the Obama administration a 36-month delay on disclosing yearly operational assessments of its hired companies, undermining a key means of independently examining oversight and spending at the nation's atomic arms laboratories, the Albuquerque Journal reported on Tuesday (see GSN, Nov. 18, 2011).

The National Nuclear Security Administration "has determined that it is inappropriate to release the performance evaluation reports because the information could be used against the contractor in future procurements,” the rule states.

One of the assessments, released during the Bush administration, pointed to shortcomings in a preliminary accident avoidance report for a planned plutonium research facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The document proved critical in shedding light on faults in preparations for the New Mexico site soon after NNSA officials had aired assurances that the project was proceeding smoothly, according to the Journal (see GSN, Dec. 5, 2011).

The nuclear agency routinely provided the assessments to the Journal upon request late in the term of President Obama's predecessor.

“When you’re spending the taxpayers’ money, you should be as transparent as possible,” said Tyler Przybylek, who served as NNSA general counsel under President Bush. The 36-month disclosure delay for the assessments would prevent "sensible discussion" of the selection process for a firm to oversee the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, the former official added (John Fleck, Albuquerque Journal I, Jan. 31).

Meanwhile, officials are scheduled on Thursday to accept local input on the possibility of disassembling highly radioactive nuclear-weapon "pits" at the Los Alamos laboratory.

The Energy Department atomic office floated the option in January. A 2000 proposal called for the operation to be carried out at a South Carolina facility that has yet to be constructed, but legislative investigators have noted “persistent problems with cost overruns and schedule delays” in the effort.

The nuclear agency's plans call for plutonium from the disassembled bomb cores to ultimately be changed into energy reactor material (John Fleck, Albuquerque Journal II, Jan. 31).