Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
4/04/2014
The National Nuclear Security Administration hasn’t adequately maintained design information for the warheads and nuclear components in its nuclear stockpile, according to a Department of Energy Inspector General report released this week that suggests the missing information raises questions about the credibility of the nation’s nuclear deterrent. “CM [Configuration management] information is the foundation upon which the NNSA surveillance program assesses the current stockpile,” the IG said in its report. “Without it, NNSA loses confidence in its nuclear weapons stockpile assessments and spends more resources on investigations of problematic components and LEPs.”
The IG said information on newly refurbished warheads is up to date, but it said data on legacy systems is lacking. For instance, it said Pantex Plant officials could not locate “as-built” product definitions for 14 of 36 nuclear weapons or all of the associated drawings for 13 weapons. At Sandia National Laboratories, officials were unable to find 16 of the 36 neutron generator drawings needed in as-built product definitions. The IG also said that some officials were unnecessarily given access to design information without approval, creating concerns about the validity of the information. “Unauthorized system access and changes to weapons drawings, incomplete engineering authorizations and inadequate assessments of vendor-supplied parts may ultimately increase costs and could negatively impact the reliability and safety of U.S. nuclear weapons,” the report said.
