Nuclear Security
Actions Needed by DOE to Improve Security of Weapons-Grade Nuclear Material at Its Energy, Science and Environment Sites Gao ID: GAO-05-934T July 26, 2005A successful terrorist attack on a Department of Energy (DOE) site containing nuclear weapons material could have devastating effects for the site and nearby communities. DOE's Office of the Under Secretary for Energy, Science and Environment (ESE), which is responsible for DOE operations in areas such as energy research, manages five sites that contain weapons-grade nuclear material. A heavily armed security force equipped with such items as automatic weapons protects ESE sites. GAO was asked to examine (1) the extent to which ESE protective forces are meeting DOE's existing readiness requirements and (2) the actions DOE and ESE will need to take to successfully defend against the larger, revised terrorist threat identified in the October 2004 design basis threat (DBT) by DOE's implementation deadline of October 2008.
Protective forces at the five ESE sites containing weapons-grade nuclear material generally meet existing key DOE readiness requirements. Specifically, GAO determined that ESE protective forces generally comply with DOE standards for firearms proficiency, physical fitness levels, and equipment standardization and that the five ESE sites had the required training programs, facilities, and equipment. However, GAO did find some weaknesses at ESE sites that could adversely affect the ability of protective forces to defend these sites. For example, despite the importance of training exercises in which protective forces undergo simulated attacks by a group of mock terrorists (force-on-force exercises), DOE neither sets standards for individual protective force officers to participate in these exercises, nor does it require sites to track individual participation. GAO also found that protective force officers at all five of the ESE sites reported problems with their radio communications systems. Specifically, according to 66 of the 105 protective force officers GAO interviewed, they did not always have dependable radio communications as required by the DOE Manual 473.2-2, Protective Force Program Manual. Security officials stated that related improvements were under way. To successfully defend against the larger terrorist threat contained in the 2004 DBT by October 2008, DOE and ESE officials recognize that they will need to take several prompt and coordinated actions. These include transforming its current protective force into an elite, possibly federalized, force, developing and deploying new security technologies to reduce the risk to protective forces in case of an attack, consolidating and eliminating nuclear weapons material between and among ESE sites, and creating a sound ESE management structure that has sufficient authority to ensure coordination across all ESE offices that have weapons-grade nuclear material. However, because these initiatives, particularly an elite force, are in early stages of development and will require significant commitment of resources and coordination across DOE and ESE, their completion by the October 2008 DBT implementation deadline is uncertain.
GAO-05-934T, Nuclear Security: Actions Needed by DOE to Improve Security of Weapons-Grade Nuclear Material at Its Energy, Science and Environment Sites
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Testimony:
Before the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and
International Relations, Committee on Government Reform, House of
Representatives:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
For Release on Delivery Expected at 10:00 a.m. EDT:
Tuesday, July 26, 2005:
Nuclear Security:
Actions Needed by DOE to Improve Security of Weapons-Grade Nuclear
Material at its Energy, Science and Environment Sites:
Statement of Gene Aloise, Director:
Natural Resources and Environment:
GAO-05-934T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-05-934T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on
National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations,
Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives:
Why GAO Did This Study:
A successful terrorist attack on a Department of Energy (DOE) site
containing nuclear weapons material could have devastating effects for
the site and nearby communities. DOE‘s Office of the Under Secretary
for Energy, Science and Environment (ESE), which is responsible for DOE
operations in areas such as energy research, manages five sites that
contain weapons-grade nuclear material. A heavily armed security force
equipped with such items as automatic weapons protects ESE sites. GAO
was asked to examine (1) the extent to which ESE protective forces are
meeting DOE‘s existing readiness requirements and (2) the actions DOE
and ESE will need to take to successfully defend against the larger,
revised terrorist threat identified in the October 2004 design basis
threat (DBT) by DOE‘s implementation deadline of October 2008.
What GAO Found:
Protective forces at the five ESE sites containing weapons-grade
nuclear material generally meet existing key DOE readiness
requirements. Specifically, GAO determined that ESE protective forces
generally comply with DOE standards for firearms proficiency, physical
fitness levels, and equipment standardization and that the five ESE
sites had the required training programs, facilities, and equipment.
However, GAO did find some weaknesses at ESE sites that could adversely
affect the ability of protective forces to defend these sites. For
example, despite the importance of training exercises in which
protective forces undergo simulated attacks by a group of mock
terrorists (force-on-force exercises), DOE neither sets standards for
individual protective force officers to participate in these exercises,
nor does it require sites to track individual participation. GAO also
found that protective force officers at all five of the ESE sites
reported problems with their radio communications systems.
Specifically, according to 66 of the 105 protective force officers GAO
interviewed, they did not always have dependable radio communications
as required by the DOE Manual 473.2-2, Protective Force Program Manual.
Security officials stated that related improvements were under way.
To successfully defend against the larger terrorist threat contained in
the 2004 DBT by October 2008, DOE and ESE officials recognize that they
will need to take several prompt and coordinated actions. These include
transforming its current protective force into an elite, possibly
federalized, force, developing and deploying new security technologies
to reduce the risk to protective forces in case of an attack,
consolidating and eliminating nuclear weapons material between and
among ESE sites, and creating a sound ESE management structure that has
sufficient authority to ensure coordination across all ESE offices that
have weapons-grade nuclear material. However, because these
initiatives, particularly an elite force, are in early stages of
development and will require significant commitment of resources and
coordination across DOE and ESE, their completion by the October 2008
DBT implementation deadline is uncertain.
DOE Protective Force Member:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
What GAO Recommends:
To ensure that DOE and ESE protective forces can meet the terrorist
threat contained in the 2004 DBT, GAO made five recommendations to the
Secretary of Energy to, among other things, address weaknesses with
protective officers‘ equipment and coordinate ESE efforts to address
the 2004 DBT. DOE concurred with and accepted GAO‘s recommendations and
provided an update on actions it anticipated taking to address GAO‘s
recommendations.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-934T.
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Gene Aloise at (202) 512-
3841 or AloiseE@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
I am pleased to be here today to discuss the work you requested on
nuclear security at the Department of Energyís (DOE) Office of the
Under Secretary for Energy, Science and Environment (ESE). My testimony
is based on the report being released today, entitled Nuclear Security:
DOEís Office of the Under Secretary for Energy, Science and Environment
Needs to Take Prompt, Coordinated Action to Meet the New Design Basis
Threat (GAO-05-611).
DOE has long recognized that a successful terrorist attack on a site
containing the material used in nuclear weapons, such as plutonium or
highly enriched uranium, could have devastating consequences for the
site and its surrounding communities. The risks associated with these
materials, which in specified forms and quantities are referred to as
Category I special nuclear material, vary but include theft for use in
an illegal nuclear weapon; the creation of improvised nuclear devices
capable of producing a nuclear yield; and the creation of so-called
"dirty bombs," in which conventional explosives are used to disperse
radioactive material.
Because terrorist attacks could have such devastating consequences, an
effective safeguards and security program is essential. For many years,
a key component for DOE security programs has been the development of
the design basis threat (DBT), a classified document that identifies
the potential size and capabilities of adversary forces. In response to
the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, DOE issued an updated DBT in
May 2003 and gave its sites until October 2006 to comply with its
requirements. In response to recommendations in our April 2004 report
to this Subcommittee,[Footnote 1] congressional criticism, and a new
review of intelligence data, DOE issued a revised DBT in October 2004.
The 2004 DBT identified a larger terrorist threat for DOE sites than
the 2003 DBT. Consequently, DOE is not requiring full compliance with
the 2004 DBT until October 2008 in order to allow its sites adequate
time to implement measures to defeat this larger terrorist threat. By
July 29, 2005, DOE sites will have to forward 2004 DBT implementation
plans to the Deputy Secretary of Energy and, within 3 months, begin
submitting quarterly DBT implementation reports. At the time of our
review, cost estimates were still preliminary, but security officials
at ESE sites said that, collectively, they may require an additional
$384 million-$584 million over the next several years in order for all
ESE sites with Category I special nuclear material to meet the 2004
DBT.
The private contractors who operate DOE's facilities counter the
terrorist threat contained in the DBT with a multifaceted protective
system. While specific measures vary from site to site, a key universal
component of DOE's protective system is a heavily armed protective
force equipped with such items as automatic weapons, night vision
equipment, body armor, and chemical protective gear.
On June 22, 2004, we testified before this Subcommittee, identifying
several issues that could impede ESE's ability to fully meet the threat
contained in the May 2003 DBT by DOEís October 2006 deadline.[Footnote
2] Not the least of theses issues was the lack of a departmentwide,
multiyear, fully resourced implementation plan for meeting DBT
requirements; the plan would have to include important programmatic
activities, such as the closure of facilities and the transportation of
special nuclear material.
Subsequently, you asked us to examine ESE in more detail and to
determine, for the five ESE sites with Category I special nuclear
material, (1) the extent to which ESE protective forces are meeting
DOE's existing readiness requirements and (2) what actions DOE and ESE
will need to take to successfully defend against the larger, revised
terrorist threat identified in the October 2004 DBT by DOE's
implementation deadline of October 2008.
To determine the extent to which protective forces at ESE sites are
meeting existing DOE readiness requirements, we reviewed pertinent
literature about the factors that affect the readiness of forces, such
as military forces, that are like those defending ESE sites. We
conducted structured interviews with 105 randomly selected ESE
protective force officers at the five ESE sites that contain Category I
special nuclear material. While the responses from these interviews are
not projectable to the entire universe of ESE protective force
officers, we did speak to about 10 percent of the total protective
forces at the five sites. We asked the officers questions designed to
determine their readiness to defend the sites, including questions
about their morale, training, and equipment. We also reviewed the
training records of the 105 officers for selected firearms and physical
fitness qualifications to determine if these officers complied with
existing DOE requirements and regulations. Finally, we reviewed the
equipment used by ESE protective forces to determine if it met current
DOE requirements.
To determine what actions DOE and ESE will need to take to successfully
defend against the new threat identified in the October 2004 DBT by
DOE's implementation deadline of October 2008, we reviewed the October
2004 DBT and associated guidance documents. We discussed the October
2004 DBT with officials in DOE's Office of Security and Safety
Performance Assurance and with officials in ESE's Offices of
Environmental Management; Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology; and
Science, which oversee the five ESE sites that contain Category I
special nuclear material. Finally, where available, we reviewed
documents prepared by ESE officials on how they plan to comply with the
October 2004 DBT. We performed our work between March 2004 and July
2005 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards.
In summary, we found the following:
* Protective forces at the five ESE sites containing Category I special
nuclear material generally meet existing DOE readiness requirements.
However, we did find some weaknesses at ESE sites that could adversely
affect the ability of ESE protective forces to defend their sites. With
respect to current readiness, 102 of the 105 officers we interviewed
stated that they believed that they and their fellow officers
understood what was expected of them if the site were attacked by a
terrorist group. Moreover, 65 of the 105 officers rated themselves as
highly ready to defend their site while 20 officers rated themselves as
somewhat or moderately ready. Supporting their views, we found that the
five ESE sites we visited had the required training programs,
facilities, and equipment, and that the 105 protective force members
whose records we reviewed generally complied with existing DOE
standards for firearms proficiency, physical fitness levels, and
equipment standardization. However, we did find some weaknesses at ESE
sites that could adversely affect the ability of protective forces to
defend these sites. For example, despite the importance of training
exercises in which protective forces undergo simulated attacks by a
group of mock terrorists (force-on-force exercises), DOE neither sets
standards for individual protective force officers to participate in
these exercises, nor requires sites to track individual participation.
While 84 of the 105 protective force officers we interviewed stated
they had participated in a force-on-force exercise, only 46 of the 84
protective force officers believed that the force-on-force exercises
they had participated in were either realistic or somewhat realistic.
We also found that protective force officers at all five of the ESE
sites reported problems with their radio communications systems.
Specifically, according to 66 of the 105 protective force officers we
interviewed, they did not always have dependable radio communications,
as required by DOE Manual 473.2-2, Protective Force Program Manual.
Site security officials stated that improvements were underway and
would be completed this year.
* To successfully defend against the larger terrorist threat contained
in the 2004 DBT by October 2008, DOE and ESE officials recognize that
they will need to take several prompt and coordinated actions. These
include transforming its current protective force into an "elite
force"--modeled on U.S. Special Forces, developing and deploying new
security technologies to reduce the risk to protective forces in case
of an attack, consolidating and eliminating nuclear weapons material
between and among sites, and creating a sound ESE management structure
that has sufficient authority to ensure coordination across all ESE
offices that have Category I special nuclear material. However, these
initiatives, particularly an elite force, are in the early stages of
development and will require a significant commitment of resources and
coordination across DOE and ESE. Consequently, their completion by the
2008 October DBT implementation deadline is uncertain.
In our report to you we made five recommendations to the Secretary of
Energy to track and increase protective force officers' participation
in force-on-force training exercises, correct weaknesses with
protective force officers' equipment, coordinate implementation of
DOE's various efforts designed to meet the 2004 DBT through the
development of a departmentwide, multiyear implementation plan, and
create a more effective ESE security organization.
DOE concurred with our report, accepted our recommendations and
provided an update on actions it anticipated taking to address our
recommendations. While we believe that most of DOE's anticipated
actions will be responsive to our recommendations, we are concerned
about DOE's response to our recommendation that it develop a
departmentwide, multiyear implementation plan for meeting the 2004 DBT
requirements. Specifically, in responding to this recommendation, DOE
cited only individual efforts to address the development of an elite
force, the deployment of enhanced security technologies, and the
consolidation of special nuclear material, not the development of a
departmentwide, multiyear implementation plan. While each of these
efforts is important, we continue to believe that DOE cannot be
successful in meeting the requirements of the 2004 DBT by its deadline
of October 2008 without an integrated effort that is built around a
comprehensive plan.
Background:
Five ESE sites collectively contain substantial quantities of Category
I special nuclear material. These include the following:
* the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina, and the Hanford
Site in Richland, Washington, which are managed by the Office of
Environmental Management;
* the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and the
Argonne National Laboratory-West, which are located in Idaho Falls,
Idaho, and are managed by the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and
Technology[Footnote 3]; and:
* the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which is
managed by the Office of Science.
Contractors operate each site for ESE. DOE has requested over $300
million in fiscal year 2006 for security at these five sites.
Within DOE's Office of Security and Safety Performance Assurance, DOE's
Office of Security develops and promulgates orders and policies to
guide the department's safeguards and security programs. DOE's overall
security policy is contained in DOE Order 470.1, Safeguards and
Security Program, which was originally approved in 1995. The key
component of DOE's approach to security is the DBT, a classified
document that identifies the characteristics of the potential threats
to DOE assets. A classified companion document, the Adversary
Capabilities List, provides additional information on terrorist
capabilities and equipment. The DBT traditionally has been based on a
classified, multiagency intelligence community assessment of potential
terrorist threats, known as the Postulated Threat. The threat from
terrorist groups is generally the most demanding threat contained in
the DBT.
DOE counters the terrorist threat specified in the DBT with a
multifaceted protective system. While specific measures vary from site
to site, all protective systems at DOE's most sensitive sites employ a
defense-in-depth concept that includes the following:
* a variety of integrated alarms and sensors capable of detecting
intruders;
* physical barriers, such as fences and antivehicle obstacles;
* numerous access control points, such as turnstiles, badge readers,
vehicle inspection stations, radiation detectors, and metal detectors;
* operational security procedures, such as a "two person" rule that
prevents only one person from having access to special nuclear
material; and:
* hardened facilities and vaults.
Each site also has a heavily armed protective force that is often
equipped with such items as automatic weapons, night vision equipment,
body armor, and chemical protective gear. These protective forces are
comprised of Security Police Officers who are classified into three
groups: Security Police Officer-I, Security Police Officer-II, and
Security Police Officer-III. Security Police Officer-Is are only
assigned to fixed, armed posts. Generally, very few of these officers
are used at ESE sites because of the limited roles they can fill.
Security Police Officer-IIs generally are assigned to posts such as
access control booths, or to foot or vehicle patrols. Finally, Security
Police Officer-IIIs are responsible for operations such as hostage
rescue and the recapture and recovery of special nuclear material.
According to federal regulations, Security Police Officer-IIIs have
more demanding physical fitness and training standards than Security
Police Officer-Is or Security Police Officer-IIs. The ESE sites we
visited employ about 1,000 Security Police Officer-IIs and Security
Police Officer-IIIs. ESE protective forces work for private contractors
and are unionized.
Protective force duties and requirements, such as physical fitness
standards, are explained in detail in DOE Manual 473.2-2, Protective
Force Program Manual, as well as in DOE regulations (10 C.F.R. pt.
1046, Physical Protection of Security Interests). DOE issued the
current Protective Force Program Manual in June 2000. Although
protective forces are expected to comply with the duties and
requirements established in DOE policies, deviations from these
policies are allowed as long as certain approval and notification
criteria are met.
In addition to complying with these security requirements, DOE
protective systems, including protective forces, also must meet
performance standards. For example, DOE sites are required to
demonstrate that their protective systems are capable of defending
special nuclear material against terrorist forces identified in the
DBT. The performance of protective systems is formally and regularly
examined through vulnerability assessments. A vulnerability assessment
is a systematic evaluation process in which qualitative and
quantitative techniques are applied to detect vulnerabilities and
arrive at effective protection of specific assets, such as special
nuclear material. To conduct such assessments, DOE uses, among other
things, subject matter experts, such as U.S. Special Forces; computer
modeling to simulate attacks; and force-on-force exercises, in which
the site's protective forces undergo simulated attacks by a group of
mock terrorists. In addition to their use in evaluating the
effectiveness of physical protection strategies, DOE believes force-on-
force exercises are the most realistic representation of adversary
attacks that can be used to train protective forces.
Protective Forces at ESE Sites Generally Meet Established DOE Readiness
Requirements, but Some Weaknesses in Protective Force Practices Exist:
Protective forces at the five ESE sites containing Category I special
nuclear material generally meet existing key DOE readiness
requirements. Specifically, we determined that ESE protective forces
generally comply with DOE standards for firearms proficiency, physical
fitness levels, and equipment standardization and that the five ESE
sites had the required training programs, facilities, and equipment. In
addition, we found that the majority of the 105 protective force
members we interviewed at ESE sites generally believe that they
currently are ready to perform their mission of protecting the site's
special nuclear material. However, we did find some weaknesses at ESE
sites that could impair the ability of ESE protective forces to defend
their sites.
Protective Force Officers Are Confident in Their Current Overall
Readiness and Generally Meet the DOE Training and Equipment
Requirements We Reviewed:
A ready force should possess a sufficient number of experienced,
trained, and properly equipped personnel. Through realistic and
comprehensive training, these personnel are forged into a cohesive unit
that can perform its tasks even under extreme conditions. DOE orders
and federal regulations establish the framework for ensuring that DOE
protective forces are ready to perform their mission. We found that ESE
protective force officers generally believe that they are ready to
perform their mission. Specifically, 102 of the 105 officers we
interviewed stated that they believed that they, and their fellow
officers, understood what was expected of them should the site be
attacked by a terrorist group. Moreover, 65 of the 105 officers rated
the readiness of their site's protective force as high, while 20
officers rated their protective force as somewhat or moderately ready
to defend the site. Only a minority of the officers (16 of 105) we
interviewed rated the readiness of their force to defend their sites as
low. In addition, the majority of officers we interviewed believed they
and the protective force officers with whom they worked on a regular
basis have formed a cohesive unit that would be able to perform their
most essential mission--that of protecting special nuclear material.
For example, of the 105 officers we interviewed, 84 officers responded
that they had a high degree of confidence in their fellow officers in
the event of a terrorist attack, and 88 reported that their fellow
officers would be willing to risk their lives in defense of their site.
As called for in DOE's Protective Force Program Manual, readiness is
achieved through appropriate training and equipment. Each of the five
sites we visited had formally approved annual training plans. Each site
generally had the training facilities, such as firearms ranges,
classrooms, computer terminals, and exercise equipment, which enabled
them to meet their current DOE and federal training requirements.
Furthermore, each site maintained computerized databases for tracking
individual protective force officers' compliance with training
requirements. To determine if these programs and facilities were being
used to implement the DOE requirements and federal regulations, we
focused on three key areas--firearms proficiency, physical fitness, and
protective force officer equipment.
* Firearms Proficiency. DOE's Protective Force Program Manual states
that protective force officers must demonstrate their proficiency with
the weapons that are assigned to them every 6 months. According to the
training records of the 105 protective force officers we interviewed,
79 had met this proficiency requirement with their primary weapon, the
M-4 or M-16 semiautomatic rifle. Of the 26 officers who had not met
this requirement within the 6 month time frame, 11 officers were all
located at one site and 8 of these 11 officers did not meet the
requirement until 2 to 5 months after the required time. According to
an official at this site, seven of the eight officers could not
complete the requirement in a timely fashion because the site's firing
range was closed for the investigation of an accidental weapon
discharge that had resulted in an injury to a protective force officer.
We determined that 2 of the 26 officers did not complete the
requirement for medical reasons. We were not given reasons why the
remaining officers did not meet the requirement.
* Physical Fitness. Under DOE regulations,[Footnote 4] DOE's
contractors' protective force personnel who are authorized to carry
firearms must meet a minimum standard for physical fitness every 12
months. There are two standards for such personnel--Offensive Combative
and Defensive Combative. All Security Police Officer-IIIs, which
include DOE special response team members, must meet the Offensive
Combative standard, which requires a 1-mile run in no more than 8
minutes 30 seconds and a 40-yard prone-to-running dash in no more than
8 seconds. All other protective officers authorized to carry firearms
must meet the Defensive Combative standard, which requires a one-half
mile run in no more than 4 minutes 40 seconds and a 40-yard prone-to-
running dash in no more than 8.5 seconds. According to the training
records of the 105 protective force officers we reviewed, 103 of the
105 protective force officers had met the standard required by federal
regulation for their position. Two officers who did not meet the
requirement were on medical restriction. The records for another
officer showed him as having met the requirement, but additional
records provided by the site showed the officer had completed the run
in a time that exceeded the standard. Site officials could not provide
an explanation for this discrepancy.
* Protective Officer Equipment. DOE's Protective Force Program Manual
sets a number of requirements for protective force equipment. For
example, all Security Police Officers are required to carry a minimum
set of equipment, including a portable radio, a handgun, and an
intermediate force weapon such as a baton. In addition, a mask to
protect against a chemical attack must be carried or available to them.
All Security Police Officer-IIs and Security Police Officer-IIIs must
also have access to personal protective body armor. In addition,
firearms must be kept serviceable at all times and must be inspected by
a DOE-certified armorer at least twice a year to ensure serviceability.
Issued firearms must be inventoried at the beginning of each shift, an
inventory of all firearms in storage must be conducted weekly, and a
complete inventory of all firearms must be conducted on a monthly
basis. Finally, DOE protective forces equipment must be tailored to
counter adversaries identified in the DBT. To this end, sites employ a
variety of equipment, including automatic weapons, night vision
equipment, and body armor. In most cases, each site's protective forces
carried or had access to the required minimum standard duty equipment.
Most sites demonstrated that they had access to certified armorers, and
each site maintained the required firearms maintenance, inspection, and
inventory records, often kept in a detailed computerized database. The
appropriate policies and procedures were also in place for the
inventory of firearms. In addition, some sites have substantially
increased their protective forces weaponry since September 11, 2001, or
have plans to further enhance these capabilities to meet the 2004 DBT.
Some Weaknesses in ESE Site Protective Force Practices Exist:
While protective forces at ESE sites are generally meeting current DOE
requirements, we identified some weaknesses in ESE protective force
practices that could adversely affect the current readiness of ESE
protective forces to defend their sites. These include protective force
officers' lack of participation in realistic force-on-force exercises;
the frequency and quality of training opportunities; the lack of
dependable communications systems; insufficient protective gear,
including protective body armor and chemical protective gear; and the
lack of armored vehicles.
* Performance Testing and Training. According to DOE's Protective Force
Program Manual, performance tests are used to evaluate and verify the
effectiveness of protective force programs and to provide needed
training. A force-on-force exercise is one type of performance test
during which the protective force engages in a simulated battle against
a mock adversary force, employing the weapons, equipment, and
methodologies postulated in the DBT. DOE believes that force-on-force
exercises are a valuable training tool for protective force officers.
Consequently, DOE policy requires that force-on-force exercises be held
at least once a year at sites that possess Category I quantities of
special nuclear material or Category II quantities that can be rolled
up to Category I quantities. However, DOE neither sets standards for
individual protective force officers' participation in these exercises,
nor requires sites to track individual participation. While 84 of the
105 protective force officers we interviewed stated they had
participated in a force-on-force exercise, only 46 of the 84 protective
force officers believed that the force-on-force exercises they had
participated in were either realistic or somewhat realistic.
Additionally, protective force officers often told us that they did not
have frequent and realistic tactical training. In this regard, 33 of
the 84 protective force officers reported that safety considerations
interfered with the realism of the force-on-force exercises, with some
protective force officers stating that they were limited in the tactics
they could employ. For example, some protective force officers stated
that they were not allowed to run up stairwells, climb fences, or
exceed the speed limit in patrol vehicles. Contractors' protective
force managers agreed that safety requirements limited the kind of
realistic force-on-force training that are needed to ensure effective
protective force performance.
* Communications Equipment. According to DOE's Protective Force Program
Manual, the radios protective force officers use must be capable of two-
way communications, provide intelligible voice communications, and be
readily available in sufficient numbers to equip protective force
personnel. In addition, a sufficient number of batteries must be
available and maintained in a charged condition. Protective force
officers at all five of the sites we visited reported problems with
their radio communications systems. Specifically, 66 of the 105
protective force officers reported that they did not always have
dependable radio communications, with 23 officers identifying sporadic
battery life, and 29 officers reporting poor reception at some
locations on site as the two most significant problems. In addition,
some of the protective force officers believed that radio
communications were not sufficient to support their operations and
could not be relied on if a terrorist attack occurred. Site security
officials at two sites acknowledged that efforts were under way to
improve radio communications equipment. In addition, security officials
said other forms of communications, such as telephones, cellular
telephones, and pagers, were provided for protective forces to ensure
that they could communicate effectively.
* Protective Body Armor. DOE's Protective Force Program Manual requires
that Security Police Officer-IIs and -IIIs wear body armor or that body
armor be stationed in a way that allows them to quickly put it on to
respond to an attack without negatively impacting response times. At
one site, we found that most Security Police Officer-IIs had not been
issued protective body armor because the site had requested and
received in July 2003 a waiver to deviate from the requirement to equip
all Security Police Officer-IIs with body armor. The waiver was sought
for a number of reasons, including the (1) increased potential for heat-
related injuries while wearing body armor during warm weather, (2)
increased equipment load that armor would place on protective force
members, (3) costs of acquiring the necessary quantity of body armor
and the subsequent replacement costs, and (4) associated risks of not
providing all Security Police Officer-IIs with body armor could be
mitigated by using cover provided at the site by natural and man-made
barriers. According to a site security official, this waiver is
currently being reviewed because of the increased threat contained in
the 2004 DBT.
* Special Response Team Capabilities. Security Police Officers-IIIs
serve on special response teams responsible for offensive operations,
such as hostage rescue and the recapture and recovery of special
nuclear material. Special response teams are often assigned unique
equipment, including specially encrypted radios; body armor that
provides increased levels of protection; special suits that enable
officers to operate and fight in chemically contaminated environments;
special vehicles, including armored vehicles; submachine guns; light
machine guns; grenade launchers; and precision rifles, such as
Remington 700 rifles and Barrett .50 caliber rifles. These response
teams are also issued breaching tools to allow them to reenter
facilities to which terrorists may have gained access. Each site with
Category I special nuclear material must have a special response team
capability available on a continuous basis. However, one ESE site does
not have this capability and, instead, relies on another organization,
through a formal memorandum of understanding, to provide a special
response team. This arrangement, however, has not been comprehensively
performance-tested, as called for in the memorandum of understanding.
Site officials state that they will soon conduct the first
comprehensive performance test of this memorandum of understanding.
* Chemical Protective Gear. DOE's Protective Force Program Manual
specifies that all Security Police Officer-IIs and -IIIs be provided,
at a minimum, with protective masks that provide for nuclear, chemical,
and biological protection. Other additional chemical protective gear
and procedures are delegated to the sites. At the four sites with
special response teams, we found that the teams all had special suits
that allowed them to operate and fight in environments that might be
chemically contaminated. For Security Police Officers-IIs, chemical
protective equipment and expectations for fighting in chemically
contaminated environments varied. For example, two sites provided
additional protective equipment for their Security Police Officer-IIs
and expected them to fight in such environments. Another site did not
provide additional equipment but expected its Security Police Officer-
IIs to evacuate along with other site workers. Finally, the one site
that did not have a special response team expected its Security Police
Officer-IIs to fight in chemically contaminated environments. However,
the site provided no additional protective gear for its officers other
than standard-duty issue long-sleeved shirts and the required
protective masks.
* Protective Force Vehicles. We found that ESE sites currently do not
have the same level of vehicle protection as National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA) sites that also have Category I special nuclear
material. Specifically, while not a DOE requirement, all NNSA sites
with Category I special nuclear material currently operate armored
vehicles. However, only one of the five ESE sites with Category I
special nuclear material operated armored vehicles at the time of our
review. One other ESE site was planning to deploy armored vehicles.
DOE and ESE Officials Need to Take Several Prompt and Coordinated
Actions to Address the New DBT Requirements by 2008:
To successfully defend against the larger terrorist threat contained in
the 2004 DBT by October 2008, DOE and ESE officials recognize that they
need to take several actions. These include transforming its current
protective force into an elite force, developing and deploying new
security technologies, consolidating and eliminating special nuclear
material, and making organizational improvements within ESE's security
program. However, because these initiatives, particularly an elite
force, are in early stages of development and will require a
significant commitment of resources and coordination across DOE and
ESE, their completion by the October 2008 DBT implementation deadline
is uncertain. The status of these initiatives is as follows:
* Elite Forces. DOE officials believe that the way its sites, including
those sites managed by ESE, currently train their contractor-operated
protective forces will not be adequate to defeat the terrorist threat
contained in the 2004 DBT. This view is shared by most protective force
officers (74 out of 105) and their contractor protective force managers
who report that they are not at all confident in their current ability
to defeat the new threats contained in the 2004 DBT. In response, the
department has proposed the development of an elite force that would be
patterned after U. S. Special Forces and might eventually be converted
from a contractor-operated force into a federal force. Nevertheless,
despite broad support, DOE's proposal for an elite force remains
largely in the conceptual phase. DOE has developed a preliminary draft
implementation plan that lays out high-level milestones and key
activities, but this plan has not been formally approved by the Office
of Security and Safety Performance Assurance. The draft implementation
plan recognizes that DOE will have to undertake and complete a number
of complex tasks in order to develop the elite force envisioned. For
example, DOE will have to revise its existing protective forces
policies to incorporate, among other things, the increased training
standards that are needed to create an elite force. Since this proposal
is only in the conceptual phase, completing this effort by the October
2008 DBT implementation deadline is unlikely.
* New Security Technologies. DOE is seeking to improve the
effectiveness and survivability of its protective forces by developing
and deploying new security technologies. It believes technologies can
reduce the risk to protective forces in case of an attack and can
provide additional response time to meet and defeat an attack. Sixteen
of the 105 protective force officers we interviewed generally supported
this view and said they needed enhanced detection technologies that
would allow them to detect adversaries at much greater ranges than is
currently possible at most sites. However, a senior DOE official
recently conceded that the department has not yet taken the formal
steps necessary to coordinate investment in emerging security
technologies and that the role of technology in helping sites meet the
new threats contained in the 2004 DBT by the department's deadline of
October 2008 is uncertain.
* Consolidation and Elimination of Materials. ESE's current strategy to
meet the October 2008 deadline relies heavily on consolidating and
eliminating special nuclear material between and among ESE sites. For
example, the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology plans to
down-blend special nuclear material and extract medically useful
isotopes at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory--an Office of Science
site. This action would eliminate most of the security concerns
surrounding the material. Neither program office, however, has been
able to formally agree on its share of additional security costs, which
have increased significantly because of the new DBT. In addition,
neither ESE nor DOE has developed a comprehensive, departmentwide plan
to achieve the needed cooperation and agreement among the sites and
program offices to consolidate special nuclear material, as we
recommended in our April 2004 report. In the absence of a comprehensive
plan, completing most of these consolidation activities by the October
2008 DBT implementation deadline is unlikely.
* Organizational Improvements. The ESE headquarters security
organization is not well suited to meeting the challenges associated
with implementing the 2004 DBT. Specifically, there is no centralized
security organization within the Office of the Under Secretary, ESE.
The individual who serves as the Acting ESE Security Director has been
detailed to the Office by DOE's Office of Security and Safety
Performance Assurance and has no programmatic authority or staff. This
lack of authority limits the Director's ability to facilitate ESE and
DOE-wide cooperation on such issues as material down-blending at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory and material consolidation at other ESE
sites.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be happy to
respond to any questions that you or Members of the Subcommittee may
have.
GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
For further information on this testimony, please contact Gene Aloise
at (202) 512-3841. James Noel, Jonathan Gill, Don Cowan, and Preston
Heard made key contributions to this testimony.
FOOTNOTES
[1] See GAO, Nuclear Security: DOE Needs to Resolve Significant Issues
Before It Fully Meets the New Design Basis Threat, GAO-04-623
(Washington, D.C.: Apr. 27, 2004).
[2] See GAO, Nuclear Security: Several Issues Could Impede the Ability
of DOE's Office of Energy, Science and Environment to Meet the May 2003
Design Basis Threat, GAO-04-894T (Washington, D.C.: June 22, 2004).
[3] The two Idaho sites were consolidated as a single site, now known
as the Idaho National Laboratory, in February 2005.
[4] 10 C.F.R. pt. 1046, subpt. B, app. A.
