NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
Barbara Wetherell, 202-586-5806FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 6, 1996
Plutonium Accounting Released, New Classification Approach Proposed
Openness Increases Accountability, Saves Money, Enhances Security
The Energy Department today released for the first time a thorough accounting of U.S. plutonium production, acquisition and use; proposed major reforms in its policies for nuclear weapons data; and detailed improvements in public access to Department information and decisionmaking.
The plutonium report is the first time a nuclear weapons power has provided a public accounting of sources and uses of plutonium -- a move supporting this Administration's nuclear nonproliferation strategy and commitment to open government. The proposed changes to classification policies will help ensure that openness becomes a normal way of doing business and permits the agency to focus resources on protecting truly sensitive information.
"One of President Clinton's goals is to create a more informed public and accountable government. Our commitment to openness strengthens national security by inviting citizens to help government make the right decisions. The release of the plutonium report makes the United States a positive example for achieving arms control and nonproliferation goals," said Secretary of Energy Hazel R. O'Leary.
Information No Longer "Born Classified"
While declassifying more than two million pages of documents since 1993, the Department also reassessed classification policies. Today the Department offers a set of policy documents -- a summary of draft regulations, a draft policy report, a declassification guide and a plan for meeting the goals set by President Clinton's Executive Order on declassification -- for public comment.
The centerpiece of the reforms is the Fundamental Classification Policy Review, an analysis of how DOE classification policies should change in the post-Cold War era. The draft report was prepared by nuclear weapons experts from the Department's national laboratories and Department of Defense with extensive input from the public, under the leadership of Dr. Al Narath, former Director of Sandia National Laboratory. Recommended changes in policies include:
- Reverse the decades-old requirement that much nuclear information under the Atomic Energy Act is "born classified." Instead, require that classification of such information be justified, consistent with other federal agencies' approach to national security information.
- Declassify broad categories of now-classified information, including basic science research.
- Erect "higher fences" around remaining categories of classified data, to better protect truly sensitive information.
"We recommend substantial changes in what and how information is classified. While national security must be the first priority, these recommendations would make available publicly funded research that can benefit American defense, science and industry," Dr. Narath commented.
Other steps taken to make the commitment permanent include:
- Replace internal declassification guidelines with regulations developed with public input. These regulations incorporate recommendations of the Fundamental Review and a 1995 review by the National Academy of Sciences. The draft regulations -- expected to be published this month in the Federal Register -- define requirements for Restricted Data (information concerning nuclear weapons and nuclear materials production); formally prohibit classification of documents bearing solely on environment, safety and health; and establish a program for systematic review of classified documents.
- Form an Openness Advisory Panel, for guidance on reforms related to classification policy and priorities. O'Leary named as chairman Richard Meserve, a physicist, chair of the National Academy of Science's panel on openness and partner in the law firm of Covington and Burling.
Plutonium: A Comprehensive Accounting
The DOE believes the release of the plutonium report will aid in discussions of plutonium storage and safety with stakeholders as well as encourage other nations to declassify and release similar data. The plutonium report reveals that:
- The U.S. produced or acquired 111.4 metric tons of plutonium between 1944 and today -- 93.5 percent from government reactors, 5 percent from 14 countries and 1.5 percent from the U.S. civilian nuclear industry. Three countries provided the bulk of the foreign-derived material: United Kingdom (5,384 kilograms), Canada (254.5 kg) and Taiwan (79.1 kg).
- 89.3% of the 111.4 tons produced or acquired remains in the DOE/Department of Defense inventory. The balance consists of plutonium used in the Nagasaki bomb and weapons tests (3.1%), waste (3.1%), inventory differences (2.5%), fission and transmutation (1.1%), transfer to foreign countries (0.6%), decay (0.4%) and distribution to the civilian nuclear industry (0.1%).
- 749 kilograms of plutonium was transferred to 39 foreign countries (0.6% of total production/acquisition) between 1959 and 1991 under the U.S. "Atoms for Peace" program. The plutonium was used for a variety of civilian purposes, primarily power reactor development. This nuclear material was transferred under international agreements for cooperation; U.S.-origin nuclear materials used in peaceful nuclear programs overseas is protected under safeguard agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency and is subject to IAEA inspection.
- The Department declassified the amount, locations and forms of approximately 200 tons of plutonium and highly enriched uranium declared by President Clinton on March 1, 1995 to be excess to national security needs. The excess plutonium is stored at 10 locations in Washington, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico (two locations), Texas, Ohio, New York, Tennessee and South Carolina. The highly enriched uranium is stored at six locations in Washington, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and South Carolina. The excess materials are currently the subject of DOE environmental reviews to determine disposition strategies.
Increased Public Access
DOE highlighted its steps to improve openness in facilities, information and decisionmaking:
- For the first time in its history, the Department in 1995 closed more Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) cases than were filed. The average age of pending cases has decreased by 61 percent since 1992; the number of FOIA cases closed at DOE headquarters has increased from 475 in 1992 to 1,400 in 1995 (a 195 percent increase).
- Steps taken to reduce locations where nuclear materials and classified information are stored have decreased security needs and increased access to sites, boosting the pace of cleanup. Policies have been modified to reduce the need for and number of Secret and Top Secret clearances. Direct savings for these efforts total about $150 million over three years.
- The Department of Energy Home Page provides access to "Opennet" (http://www.doe.gov). Opennet offers more than 250,000 bibliographic references to declassified and related unclassified documents, receiving an average of 3,000 inquiries per month.
- Site-Specific Advisory Boards have involved communities in decisions that have saved taxpayer money. The Fernald (OH) Citizens Task Force delivered a plan in July 1995 to accelerate the remediation schedule at the site by recommending that DOE and Congress increase the short-term funding at the site. The result would be a 10-year cleanup schedule versus a 25-year schedule and a $2.4 billion reduction in projected costs.
Fact sheets on each initiative and the relevant documents and reports are available to the news media through the Department of Energy press office.
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