A new report suggests that improperly shipped materials from the nation's nuclear weapons facilities could pose risks to unwitting workers and the public.
An investigation by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Integrity found 25 incidents of faulty shipping or packaging of plutonium, explosives or other toxic chemicals by weapons contractors in the past five years.
The report, which cited government documents, indicated that some problems were found during inspections or scientific analyses, while others were only uncovered once packages were opened or contaminants released.
"While the materials were not ultimately lost, the documents reveal repeated instances in which hazardous substances vital to making nuclear bombs and their components were mislabeled before shipment," wrote CPI's Patrick Malone. "That means those transporting and receiving them were not warned of the safety risks and did not take required precautions to protect themselves or the public."
Thirteen of those incidents involved plutonium, highly enriched uranium or other radioactive substances. Four of the 25 occurred in the past three months, including the latest incident, in which the nation's largest nuclear weapons lab in Los Alamos, N.M., shipped packages of plutonium via airplane rather than by truck, as required by law.
The lab was involved in some capacity in 11 of the 25 violations identified in the documents.
Federal nuclear regulators condemned the latest lapse and the Energy Department halted shipments to the Los Alamos lab for three weeks in June and July, but CPI indicated that only three contractors received fines in that five-year window.
Los Alamos officials told CPI that individuals responsible for the shipping violation were "held accountable through actions that include terminations, suspensions and compensation consequences."
