be
What is Restricted Data?
The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 defined Restricted Data as that
information so classified by the Atomic Energy Commission.
actually makes information Restricted Data?
But what
If one item of classified
military data is added to another item of classified military data, does
this final product justify a Restricted Data classification as defined by
the Atomic Energy Act?
At what point does information about SANDSTONE,
as it becomes more comprehensive, become Restricted Data?
These were
questions that confronted officers assigned to this Task Force.
SANDSTONE was the first assignment with which the services were
concerned that required "Q" clearances in any great number.
The Federal
Bureau of Investigation was flooded with requests for the complete investigations of personnel as required by this Act, and the time involved
in obtaining these clearances caused them to set a normal period of sixty
(60) days before a "Q" clearance would be issued.
"P" approvals were
granted to individuals who would not have to avail themselves of information classified as Restricted Data.
Because of the compulsion of time, officers assigned to SANDSTONE
could not wait for the expiration of a sixty-day period before starting to
work.
In many instances each officer was concerned with the problem of
deciding for himself whether or not information coming into his possession
was Restricted Data.
To be too free with information in confernmnoe with
another officer was likely to lead to punitive aotion under the terms of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1946.
Thus, incidents developed in which one
officer, not "Q" cleared, would refuse to discuss problems with another
Seotion VII]
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