March 6, 2012

Follow-up Inspection on Security Clearance Terminations and Badge Retrieval at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Our January 2006 report on Security Clearance Terminations and Badge Retrieval at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, (DOE/IG-0716), and reviews at other Department of Energy (Department) facilities revealed Department-wide weaknesses regarding the recovery of security badges, following security termination briefing procedures, and the timely termination of security clearances.  Given these past concerns, we initiated this inspection to determine if Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore) had improved its processes for terminating cleared employees; and, if the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Personnel Security Division was terminating security clearances in a timely manner.  Our inspection revealed that Livermore and NNSA have generally taken corrective actions in response to our 2006 report.  These improvements included Livermore's development and implementation of the Vital Information System Interactive Online Network, and revisions and improvements to its internal procedures for the recovery of security badges.

Topic: National Security & Safety