Office of the Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress (NUREG-1415, Vol. 23, No. 1)
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Publication Information
Date Published: October 2010
Reporting Period: April 1, 2010 – September 30, 2010
Office of the Inspector General
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555
Availability Notice
A Message from the Inspector General
I am pleased to present this Semiannual Report to Congress on the activities and accomplishments of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) from April 1, 2010, to September 30, 2010.
Our work reflects the legislative mandate of the Inspector General Act, which is to identify and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse through the conduct of audits and investigations relating to NRC programs and operations. The audits and investigations highlighted in this report demonstrate our commitment to ensuring integrity and efficiency in NRC's programs and operations.
NRC's core mission is to ensure the protection of public health and safety and the environment. In addition to ongoing agency activities to maintain the safety and security of the existing fleet of reactors, NRC's workload has increased with the receipt of applications for new reactor designs and new nuclear power plants to address the Nation's future electric power generation needs. Our cover for this Semiannual Report presents photographs of the existing Vogtle nuclear power plant Units 1 and 2 and the construction site for the new Vogtle Units 3 and 4. These photographs reflect the agency's dual responsibility for the oversight of existing nuclear power plants, and the construction of new plants.
During this reporting period, the NRC OIG continued its focus on critical agency operations such as NRC's vendor inspection program, oversight of irradiator security, the deployment of the National Source Tracking System, and the management of agreements with Department of Energy laboratories. Working with NRC to identify risks and vulnerabilities to alert them to problems affords the agency the opportunity to take any necessary corrective action.
During this semiannual period, we issued eight program audit reports, two evaluation reports, and analyzed one contract audit report. As a result of this work, OIG made a number of recommendations to improve the effective and efficient operation of NRC's safety, security, and corporate management programs. OIG also opened 23 investigations, and completed 38 cases. Two of the open cases were referred to the Department of Justice, and 22 allegations were referred to NRC management for action.
OIG remains committed to the integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness of NRC programs and operations, and our audits, investigations, and other activities highlighted in this report demonstrate this ongoing commitment. My office is dedicated to maintaining the highest possible standards of professionalism and quality in its audits and investigations. I would like to acknowledge our auditors, investigators, and support staff for their superior work and commitment to the mission of our office.
Finally, OIG's success would not be possible without the collaborative efforts between my staff and agency managers to address OIG findings and to implement the corrective actions recommended by my office. I wish to thank them for their dedication and support, and I look forward to their continued cooperation as we work together to ensure the integrity of agency operations.
Hubert T. Bell
Inspector General
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