July 23, 2026
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC Generally Met Requirements for Site Access and Security Badging at the Savannah River Site
The Department of Energy requires the use of security badges to support physical access controls at Department facilities. The Department’s security badge is the Personal Identification Verification credential, which meets Federal Government-wide standards for identification and physical access control. However, when necessary to facilitate temporary or non-routine access, Department officials may authorize the issuance of Local Site-Specific Only security badges for physical access. The Department has a contract with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC (SRNS) to manage and operate the Savannah River Site (SRS), and SRNS uses both types of badges to control physical access to the site. The Savannah River Field Office provides Federal oversight of SRNS’ contract and activities.
We initiated this audit to determine the extent to which site access and security badging activities at SRS met established requirements.
We found that SRNS generally met SRS security badging requirements. However, we identified one issue that SRNS could improve to help ensure completion of all site access requirements prior to the issuance of security badges. Specifically, we found that the process allowed certain employees to obtain Local Site-Specific Only security badges prior to completing substance abuse testing requirements by signing acknowledgement forms stating they would report to the onsite medical office to complete the testing immediately afterward. However, medical personnel were not required to notify Personnel Security Section staff when employees failed to complete the required substance abuse testing, and Personnel Security staff did not follow up to ensure testing was completed.
This issue occurred because SRNS’ process for issuing badges to certain employees deviated from established requirements and did not require employees requesting site access badges to complete substance abuse testing prior to receipt of security badges. As a result, SRNS personnel may not satisfy substance abuse testing requirements.
To address the issue identified in this report, we have made one recommendation that, if fully implemented, should help ensure that SRNS meets SRS site access requirements prior to the issuance of security badges.