September 21, 2012

Inquiry into the De-Inventory of Special Nuclear Material at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

In January 2012, the Office of Inspector General received allegations that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore) had (1) failed to follow the Department of Energy's Record of Decision requirements for removing special nuclear material (SNM) and as such had violated Public Law 109-364; (2) attempted to maintain SNM beyond 2012 by establishing unique testing capabilities that were used to perform physical work using SNM on the W78 Life Extension Program (LEP) that required only a "paper study;" (3) misappropriated Government funds to reestablish test capabilities following a flood in 2006; and, (4) incurred excessive security costs for SNM.  We initiated a special inquiry to review the allegations.

Our inquiry did not substantiate the specific allegations outlined in the complaint.  Specifically, we found no evidence that Livermore had not followed the Department's Record of Decision for removing Security Category I/II SNM as required by Public Law 109-364.  In addition, we found no support for allegations that Livermore developed unique environmental testing capabilities that were used to perform physical work on the W78 LEP when only a paper study was required, misappropriated Government funds relating to SNM activities, or had incurred excessive security costs.  Since the allegations were not substantiated, no recommendations were made.

Topic: Management & Administration