History
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 Office of Secure Transportation (OST) 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.
Read more about this topic: Office Of Secure Transportation
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