March 17, 2014

DOE IG: SECURE TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT NEEDED

By ExchangeMonitor

The National Nuclear Security Administration needs to increase its investment in nuclear weapon and material transportation infrastructure as workload is expected to rise in the next decade, according to an analysis by the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General released Tuesday. The truck fleet run by the agency’s Office of Secure Transportation is past its expected lifetime, and plans to replace the heavily armored tractor-trailer rigs has been repeatedly delayed, according to the IG.

The OST also faces growing problems with overtime levels incurred by security guards that are “considered to be not sustainable over the long term.” The workload is increasing for a variety of programmatic reasons, including transportation of weapons and nuclear materials associated with the stockpile life extension programs and plutonium management efforts. The NNSA acknowledged the issues raised in the report, saying that life extensions of the trucks are planned and that a request for proposals for new trucks is underway. In addition, plans are underway to “right-size” the courier force to deal with overtime issues.

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