Actions Needed to Strengthen the Department of Energy’s Accountability of Explosives

September 15, 2026

Actions Needed to Strengthen the Department of Energy's Accountability of Explosives

The Department of Energy's mission is to ensure the security and prosperity of the United States by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. As part of this mission, the Department maintains an extensive inventory of explosive materials, ranging from ammunition for guarding assets to high explosives for various experiments.

To ensure sensitive property such as explosives are properly accounted for, the Department is required to follow multiple regulations, including Title 41 Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 109, Department of Energy Property Management Regulations; and DOE STD-1212-2025, Explosives Safety.

We initiated this audit to determine if the Department had accountability of explosives.

We found that actions are needed to strengthen the Department's accountability of explosives. Specifically, we determined that the Department did not have a comprehensive inventory of explosives. We found that its property management system was incomplete, did not track required information, and was not accurate. In addition, we found that the Department did not have clear requirements for accountability of non-Department-owned explosives stored at its sites.

We attributed these issues to a lack of a procedure for implementing Federal requirements found in 41 Code of Federal Regulations 109 and a lack of oversight related to the personal property management system. Due to these weaknesses, there is a potential danger to public safety and security if explosives are stolen, lost, or misplaced.

To address the issues identified in this report, we have made two recommendations and one suggested action that, if fully implemented, should help ensure that the Department follows Federal laws and has accountability of sensitive property.

• DOE-OIG-26-47.pdf (758.88 KB)