US Government Accidentally Releases Sensitive Nuclear Data

Just how sensitive was this information? Well, the Obama Administration is playing down the contents, but a 266 page document that included sensitive information warnings was made public yesterday, and included data on whereabouts of enriched uranium at some of the nation's nuclear weapons facilities.

The government accidentally posted on the Internet a list of government and civilian nuclear facilities and their activities in the United States, but a U.S. official said Wednesday the posting included no information that compromised national security.

The 266-page document was published on May 6 as a transmission from President Barack Obama to Congress. According to the document, the list was required by law and will be provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Some of the pages are marked "highly confidential safeguards sensitive."

Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the document had been reviewed by a number of U.S. agencies and that disclosure of the information did not jeopardize national security. He said the document is part of an agreement on nuclear material inspection under the IAEA's nuclear nonproliferation effort.

Information included details on storage locations for enriched uranium at the Y-12 facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.