The Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General released a couple of reports this week, including a follow-up to its 2010 report on nuclear safety problems at Los Alamos National Laboratory. While the new audit report shows that Los Alamos took steps to address multiple concerns, the overall findings were not so positive.

Here’s an excerpt from the summary:

“We found that LANL had not effectively implemented its Safety Basis Improvement Plan, which was designed to enable LANL to build upon lessons learned and assessment findings.  In addition, nuclear safety deficiencies were not always resolved because corrective actions were not effectively designed to prevent recurrence.  Further improvements in nuclear safety are essential if the Department is to be in a position to ensure workers and the public that safety risks associated with nuclear facility operations have been effectively mitigated.”

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