A U.S. Air Force study found lax plant security and inadequate personnel experience at most overseas storage facilities for U.S. nuclear weapons.

Most sites require significant additional resources to meet (Defense Department) security requirements, said the Air Force Blue Ribbon Review of Nuclear Weapons Policies and Procedures report made public last week, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Improvements are needed in support buildings, fencing, lighting and security systems at several European sites, the report said. It also noted the facilities are guarded personnel with only nine months of military service and unionized security personnel some host countries provided.

The panel recommended the Air Force look into consolidating resources to reduce variable conditions among the sites and lower their vulnerabilities, the Post said.

An Air Force spokesman said no one familiar with the panel's findings was available for comment.

A summary of the report has been available since the document was completed in February. However, the newly declassified information was made public when Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, got it under the Freedom of Information Act.

Bookmark this news