US Agents Were Boozing on Nuke Transport Missions

Energy watchdog exposes intoxicated nuclear weapons techs
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 22, 2010 6:34 PM CST
US Agents Were Drunk on Nuke Transport Missions
This Dec. 4, 1989 file photo shows the launch of a Trident II, D-5 missile from the submerged USS Tennessee submarine in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.   (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

Driving nuclear weapons around must be either tedious or stressful: While agents employed to do just that haven't been caught drunk behind the wheel, feds find that some have been boozing it up while on missions, the AP reports. A recent report by the US Energy Department's inspector general cites 16 such cases between 2007 and 2009. In one incident, two agents were detained by local police after an incident at a bar.

The report notes that these incidents, though infrequent—600 agents are involved in transporting nukes—"indicate a potential vulnerability in OST's critical national security mission." The OST counters that its staff "has safely and securely transported nuclear materials more than 100 million miles without a single fatal accident or any release of radiation."
(More nuclear weapons stories.)

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