NRC rapped over gun accounting
17 July 2007
An unannounced
audit of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's property has found
widespread inaccuracy in accounting databases. Of particular concern to
investigators were errors concerning the commission's firearms.
A random audit of NRC property was carried out by the NRC branch of the
Office of the Inspector General (OIG), an bureau meant to ensure
integrity and efficiency in federal government programs. The audit
focused on the NRC's 'non-capitalized' property - items purchased for up
to $50,000 - and the efficacy of the Space Planning and Property
Management System (SPMS) meant to control it.
The investigation found there were errors in 38-44% of SPMS records
relating to items held at the NRC's Washington headquarters. The value
of poorly accounted-for equipment at the headquarters reached a maximum
projected value of $7.4 million, increasing to over $8 million including
regional offices, which fared better in the audit.
However, the most concerning findings of the audit were those related to
48 of the guns belonging to the NRC's Office of Investigations.
SPMS records indicated that 17 of the 48 audited guns were at
headquarters, although only two actually were. Another gun at
headquarters was recorded as being in another region. In addition, it
was found that 13 of the guns' serial numbers had been incorrectly
recorded.
"Because of the highly sensitive nature of this property, the recording
of accurate serial numbers for firearms is particularly important,"
noted the audit report.
OIG officials were eventually able to account for all 48 guns in their
sample.
The audit also found that 366 employees that had left the NRC between
January 2005 and June 2006 were still apparently in possession of some
$110,000 in equipment, according to SPMS records. One staffer who left
the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response was listed as
holding over $34,000 in items.
The OIG partly put the accounting failures down to inadequate
accountability due to a number of factors, including that senior
executives' rewards did not reflect accountability for property
management. Another factor was inadequate training for property
custodians.
The OIG also said that changing the value threshold for an item to be
included on SPMS from $500 to $1000 would reduce the number of items in
the system by 37% while still accounting for 84% of the dollar value of
its target property.
Further information
US Nuclear
Regulatory Commission
Inspector
General Reports:
Audit of NRC's Non-Capitalized Property