Energy Department Denies the Nuclear Weapons Safety Board Access to Records — the Board Calls It the Worst in Its History

The Department of Energy is withholding records and meeting access from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, the independent watchdog for nuclear weapons work, the Seattle Times reported on Aug. 14. In a July letter to Congress the board called the denials "the most significant" in its history and said the department has explicitly refused eight access requests, including on nuclear criticality safety. A March 10 department memo told staff to seek approval before granting the board access and asserted that executive privilege must be protected in dealings with it.

The board's statutory mission includes informing the public. Because the department will not screen its reports for classified material, the board has published no site inspection reports since June, closing the most reliable public window into weapons-site safety.

The board has lacked a quorum since January 2025 and has one of five members, so it cannot issue a formal safety recommendation. A department spokesperson said DOE has historically provided broad access, and did not answer why that changed.