Welcome
The Department of Energy is committed to ensuring that items and components installed in safety-related or mission-sensitive applications meet their intended function and operability requirements. Therefore, the Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security (EHSS) has established a process to identify Suspect/Counterfeit (S/CI) and Defective Items, and to see that action is taken.
Details on items that have been identified as safety significant and broadly applicable to DOE facilities can only be accessed by DOE employees, DOE contractors, other Federal employees, and military personnel. Users must register for a password to gain access to this information.
There are indications with Suspect/Counterfeit Items that the defect is the result of knowing misrepresentation on the part of the vendor, supplier, distributor, or manufacturer. Defective items are often the result of unintentional error in the manufacturing process. Some of these items may have been recalled by their manufacturers.
The Office of Analysis (EHSS-23) collects and screens multiple sources of information from both nuclear and non-nuclear entities to identify potential concerns. When items are identified that potentially have safety consequences and could be applicable to multiple DOE facilities, EHSS-23 makes appropriate DOE procurement, quality assurance, and safety and health officials aware of this information so that appropriate action can be taken.
This website contains links to information regarding specific S/CI and defective items identified from various data sources including, but not limited to: the Government-Industry Data Exchange Program (GIDEP); the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO); the Underwriters Laborartories (UL); and the Occurrence Reporting and Processing System (ORPS). Each link is maintained for six months and then archived. New items posted each week are designated as "New." Archived information is also available, and for those interested, Topical searches may be performed.
ORPS S/CI and defective item events posted herein reflect initial reports that are not necessarily addressing final dispositions. Because of this, it should be noted that investigation by the reporting site may reveal that an appropriate final disposition is that an event is no longer deemed S/CI or defective.
The GIDEP website contains a compilation of both S/CI and defective item information from both private industry and the Federal government agencies. Access to the GIDEP database is restricted and requires the user to register. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are two publicly accessible Federal organizations that routinely provide input into GIDEP regarding S/CI and defective items.
The INPO website contains S/CI and defective items information from nuclear utilities. Access to the INPO website also requires registration and has a higher level of restrictions than GIDEP.