Personnel Security Hearing (10 CFR Part 710)

On September 27, 2013, an OHA Hearing Officer issued a decision in which he concluded the DOE should not restore an individual’s access authorization.   A Local Security Office (LSO) cited concerns raised by the individual’s use of alcohol habitually to excess and a diagnosis by a DOE consultant psychologist (DOE psychologist) that the individual met criteria found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR (DSM-IV-TR) for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  After conducting a hearing and evaluating the documentary and testimonial evidence, the Hearing Officer found that the individual had not presented sufficient evidence to mitigate these security concerns.  The individual had abstained from the use of alcohol since October 1, 2012, but the DOE psychologist found that the treatment the individual had received was insufficient to address the individual’s prior problematic use of alcohol or his PTSD, and that the two conditions interact in ways that put the individual at danger of doing things that will put himself and other people at risk.  The Hearing Officer agreed with this assessment, noting in particular the individual’s disagreement with the diagnosis of PTSD and his failure to recognize the implications of such a diagnosis, and concluded that the individual had not resolved the security concerns raised in the case.  OHA Case No. PSH-13-0073 (Steven J. Goering, H.O.)