The reported marked “highly confidential,” containing comprehensive information about hundreds of the United States’ nuclear sites and programs including maps displaying the exact locations of stockpiles of fuel for nuclear weapons, was accidentally made public by the federal government. The Obama administration late Tuesday confirmed that the report confidential report containing the sensitive information was posted last month on the web site of the Government Printing Office, but it didn't endanger national security.

The online presence of the 266-page report with its pages marked as "Highly Confidential Safeguards Sensitive" was reported in an online bulletin by the Federation of American Scientists on Sunday. It was reported in an online newsletter devoted to issues of federal secrecy, on Monday. Consequently, the report was removed from the website late Tuesday.

The report was prepared by the Obama administration to provide to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later this year, in accordance with the a decade-old international agreement to reveal complete picture of nuclear and nuclear-related activities. The United States has been encouraging other countries to reveal similar information. The report was sent to the Congress on May 5 for review and possible revision, and the Government Printing Office posted the draft of the report on its website on May 22.     

The report provides comprehensive details about nuclear programmes and facilities including three nuclear weapons labs – Los Alamos, Livermore and Sandia – and dozens of other federal and private nuclear sites. One of the most serious revelations that the report makes is about centre on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, the location of Y-12 National Security Complex, which is the site protected by barbed wires and armed guards; it is dubbed as the nation's "Fort Knox" hoarding stocks of uranium, the main fuel of nuclear weapons.

Of course, the report has been removed from the site and the Obama administration has confirmed that it didn't endanger national security, but it certainly has kicked up a debate among nuclear experts about what dangers, if any, the disclosures posed.