Office of Secure Transportation

The U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Secure Transportation (OST) provides safe and secure transportation of nuclear weapons and components and special nuclear materials, and conducts other missions supporting the national security of the United States of America.

Since 1947, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessor agencies have moved nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons components, and special nuclear materials by a variety of commercial and government transportation modes.

In the late 1960s, worldwide terrorism and acts of violence prompted a review of procedures for safeguarding these materials. As a result, a comprehensive new series of regulations and equipment was developed to enhance the safety and security of these materials in transit. The Transportation Safeguards Division (TSD), renamed Office of Secure Transportation (OST) in the late 90's, was subsequently established in 1975 at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Albuquerque Operations Office.

The OST modified and redesigned transport equipment to incorporate features that effectively enhance self-protection and deny unauthorized access to the materials. It was during this time that OST curtailed the use of commercial transportation systems and moved to a total federal operation.

Since its establishment in 1975, OST has accumulated over 100 million miles of over-the-road experience transporting DOE-owned cargo with no accidents causing a fatality or release of radioactive material. There have been accidents, however. In November 1996, after 13 years of accident-free travel, a convoy in western Nebraska encountered an unexpected ice storm. A tractor-trailer in the convoy skidded off the road and rolled onto its side, jostling its cargo of two nuclear bombs.

OST-classified shipments are now conducted in a low profile, no-notice manner to ensure the security and safety of the cargo. The personnel who operate the transportation vehicles and the escort vehicles are federal agents. The OST annual budget is about $250 million.

The OST attempts to ensure its convoys do not travel during periods of inclement weather. The OST monitors weather from their operations center and weather checks are performed every two hours. If the convoys are going to encounter or do encounter adverse weather, provisions exist for the convoys to seek shelter at previously identified facilities. As an additional travel precaution, the OST has imposed a maximum 65 miles-per-hour speed limit on its convoys, even if the posted limit is greater.

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