§2168 Dissemination of Unclassified Information

Summary

The Secretary of Energy must make rules or issue orders, after giving notice and a chance for public comment, to stop people from sharing certain unclassified atomic energy information. The kinds of information covered are designs of production or use facilities, security plans and measures for facilities or nuclear material (including in transit), and any weapon designs or parts that were taken out of restricted status under section 2162. The Secretary can only block sharing when he finds that doing so is needed because the information could reasonably be expected to seriously harm public health or safety or the nation’s defense by greatly raising the chance of illegal bomb-making or of theft, diversion, or sabotage of nuclear material, equipment, or sites. The Secretary must use the smallest limits needed and may consider how risky things would be if the information had never been available. The Secretary cannot use this authority to withhold information from the proper Congressional committees. Anyone who breaks these rules can be fined up to $100,000 for each violation, and the Secretary can reduce or cancel a fine. The procedures in section 2282(b) and (c) apply to these penalties. Rules or orders under this authority are also treated as issued under section 2201(b) for purposes of section 2273. Any decision about how this authority applies can be reviewed by a court under section 552(a)(4)(B) of title 5.