Addressing Safety Allegations from Workers and the Public

Pantex Plant

The DNFSB makes it easy for anyone to report safety concerns in a confidential manner. The DNFSB reviews all safety concerns within its jurisdiction promptly and dispositions them in accordance with veracity and safety significance.


Addressing Safety Concerns at the Pantex Plant

Our Work

The DNFSB received multiple safety allegations from employees at the Pantex Plant about the lack of discipline applied to nuclear explosive operations, the associated training and qualification program, excessive overtime work, and management views of safety. All of these elements are important as they impact the ability of workers to strictly follow procedures in order to prevent accidents. DNFSB reviewed the allegation, identified safety concerns, and sent a letter to DOE.

Our Safety Impact

In response, DOE improved worker training and reinforced expectations on how work is performed to prevent accidents and unnecessary rework at the Pantex Plant.




 

Work on nuclear weapons at the Pantex Plant (left); Pantex workers with a nuclear explosive mock-up unit (right)
Pictured: Work on nuclear weapon components at the Pantex Plant (left); Pantex workers with a nuclear explosive trainer unit (right).

 

 

Safety Investigation of Nuclear Weapon Safety Components

Our Work

DNFSB received an allegation of deficiencies with the quality of nuclear weapon safety components and with the processes used by nuclear weapon design agencies to evaluate such issues. Nuclear weapon safety components help ensure nuclear explosive operations are safely conducted at the Pantex Plant. In response to the allegation, DNFSB conducted a formal safety investigation across multiple sites.
 

Our Safety Impact

The DNFSB’s safety investigation identified several weaknesses in the areas of safety culture, measurement assurance, nuclear weapon safety component quality, and federal oversight. The DNFSB’s report identified nineteen opportunities for improvement to safety in these areas. These improvements would help to bolster assurance that nuclear weapon safety components are fabricated, procured, and installed in a manner commensurate with their safety function.

The Kansas City Nuclear Security Campus, pictured above, manufactures non-nuclear components for nuclear weapons that are assembled at the Pantex Plant.
Pictured: The Kansas City National Security Complex, pictured above, manufactures non-nuclear components, including nuclear weapon safety components, for nuclear weapons assembled at the Pantex Plant.

 

 

Last Updated: March 23, 2026