The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) found deficiencies in Consolidated Nuclear Security’s (CNS) procedures to guide employees at the Pantex Plant in Texas on the proper disposal of classified information, resulting in four security incidents in recent years, according to a Nov. 30 enforcement letter to Morgan Smith, CNS president and chief executive.
The letter to CNS, the management and operations contractor at Pantex and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, said the security incidents involved “the presence of classified information in unclassified waste streams” but offered little additional detail about the events. It noted that one incident occurred in 2012, two in 2014, and one in 2016. As a result, the EA Office of Enforcement visited the Pantex Plant to review the incidents and found that the classified information disposal procedures pertaining to the incidents “are deficient in both clarity and completeness.”
“One procedure described a specific method of disposal, while another procedure provided no guidance regarding disposal,” the letter said. The technicians that work with the classified information said during the review they rely on “tribal knowledge” for some work activities when procedures are not sufficiently specific. This year’s security incident involved new employees who, despite reviewing classified information disposal procedures, made an incorrect decision due to lack of clear guidance, the letter said.
Another problem, the Office of Enforcement found, is that employees might not remember the initial information security and classification training they receive by the time they receive their security clearance and begin performing work involving classified matter. This process can take up to 18 months, the letter said.
The letter said CNS management attention is needed to establish clear procedures to prevent such security incidents. It also recommended that management consider providing refresher courses in case of a long time lapse between employees’ initial training and actual classified information security activities.
The letter said DOE is not pursuing further enforcement activity against CNS but will monitor the contractor’s efforts to improve security performance at Pantex.
Pantex spokesman George Rangel said by email, “We acknowledge the Office of Enterprise Assessments recommendations and are implementing them into our paper disposal procedures at Pantex.”
“To add additional defense in depth, we have implemented a more rigorous paper disposal process, establishing clear guidelines for employees. This includes any work-related paper waste and guidance on protection of classified information while on site,” Rangel said.
