WASHINGTON, D.C. -- During an inventory of Classified Removable Electronic Media (CREM) at National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) offices in Albuquerque, NM, a technical support organization discovered an accounting discrepancy involving three electronic copies of a classified document.

The inventory was conducted in response to an order by Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham that requires all Department of Energy (DOE) facilities to stand down operations involving CREM until complete and accountable custodial responsibility for such media is established with complete inventories, appropriate training and security procedure reviews.

NNSA managers ordered an immediate investigation into the discrepancy. Administrator Linton Brooks has asked DOE's office of Security and Safety Performance Assessment, an independent office that reports directly to the Secretary of Energy, to conduct its own investigation and has asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assistance. All classified operations involving CREM at the NNSA Service Center are shut down.

"Secretary Abraham's decision to require an inventory of all CREM in the department of Energy was a prudent one," Brooks said. "I am disappointed that we have found another case of lax procedures in protecting classified information. I expect NNSA employees, both federal and contractor, to adhere to the highest standards of performance."

NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear energy. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion, and works to reduce the global danger from weapons of mass destruction.

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