WASHINGTON, April 5 (UPI) -- A backlog of background checks have allowed hundreds of people with criminal records to legally handle explosive materials, the Justice Department said.
In a report from Inspector General Glenn Fine, which was released Monday, the department said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was behind by nearly a year on some background checks.
Workers in industries such as mining and demolition that use explosives must have workers certified to handle the materials. People are allowed to work with explosives pending the background checks, USA Today reported.
The inspector general's review slammed the ATF's implementation of the 2002 Safe Explosives Act.
ATF said that in September 25,181 of the 56,589 permits applicants had yet to have background checks completed, the newspaper said. The FBI claims there are 655 people still being checked who, in fact, have "significant criminal records."
The bureau used to be part of the Treasury Department, but became part of Justice following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. It retained its old acronym, ATF.
In part, the review said a comparison of ATF and FBI data showed no record that the ATF requested background checks on 59 of 683 employees at those firms licensed for explosives.
The review also said the ATF failed to complete the background check process for more than half -- 655 of 1,157 -- of the group identified by the FBI as possibly being prohibited access to explosives, leaving their access intact.
ATF issued a statement about the report saying: "ATF conducted tens of thousands" of background checks, continuing, "ATF's implementation of the Safe Explosives Act was an extraordinary effort and we are proud of it."
