Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Government Accidently Posts Sensitive Nuclear Documents

Government Accidently Posts Sensitive Nuclear Documents Online.

"The 267-page document, a draft of 'The List of Sites, Locations, Facilities, and Activities Declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency,' contains addresses and descriptions of civilian nuclear sites around the country, such as a Westinghouse site in Pittsburgh used for the enrichment of nuclear material and details on some programs at places like Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It also contains maps of some of the more sprawling nuclear locations, and the square footage of many. Though it is unclassified and doesn't detail weapons programs, the document contains information the IAEA labels 'Highly Confidential Safeguards Sensitive,' words that show up on every page -- except maps -- of the disclosure document itself"

1 comment:

Richard said...

My quick glance through the document left me unimpressed with the national security implications of it. It seems to me that most of the information is probably publicly available anyway. You can find out about all of the nuclear power plants on the DOE website, and I didn't see a lab I hadn't heard of. It is conveniently all in one spot in this report.

If it was to be submitted to the International Atomic Energy Commission, what was to stop leaks there from happening?

Having said all that, this document can stand as a poster boy for shoddy security or a maybe a little to open government.