Los Alamos Fallout Continues

Los Alamos National Lab. director Peter Nanos says that the troubled research site is moving towards the resumption of its normal operations, although there is still no sign of the missing disks that sparked the Lab's current crisis (see Los Alamos Searches for Lost Media).

In a bulletin that appeared on the Labs Website today, the former Admiral said that Los Alamos is moving “toward reopening in a safe and secure manner” and added that the site would win the “battle” to ensure a proper focus on safety, security, and compliance. Operations at the nuclear research center were recently suspended while staff attempted to locate the missing media.

So far, according to Nanos, 84 of the 122 groups that use Classified Removable Electronic Media (CREM) at Los Alamos have been newly inventoried, although the lab is yet to complete its investigation of the missing disks.

Nanos gave no indication of when these investigations are likely to be completed but urged workers to remain “intolerant” of co-workers who flaunt safety and security procedures.

In his bulletin, Nanos admitted that a number of Los Alamos’s 7,500 employees are feeling the strain. Some Los Alamos managers have said they are overwhelmed “keeping up with all that has been asked of them,” he noted.With the lab coming under increasing scrutiny from both the media and the Department of Energy., administrators made the decision recently to change the working schedules of Los Alamos staff. Previously, workers were allowed a day off every other Friday. But in a memo earlier this week, Nanos said that, in the current situation, it is necessary to have the entire work force available five days a week.

However, the fallout from the Los Alamos crisis has extended far beyond the research laboratories of New Mexico. For one thing, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has ordered that all DOE operations using classified hard drives or computer disks be stood down until procedures are improved (see Abraham Orders CREM Stand Down).

There could also be big changes in who runs the top secret site. Last week, Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colorado) introduced legislation asking the DOE to terminate its contract with the University of California, which operates Los Alamos on behalf of the Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

The University has managed Los Alamos, which is the birthplace of the atom bomb, since its creation in 1943. However, earlier this week, the National Nuclear Security Administration announced a contract process for the deal to run the lab. Draft contract terms and conditions are expected to be released in the fall.

The University of California has already submitted an interest in the competition, according to its spokesman Chris Harrington.Los Alamos did not respond to NDCF's requests for comment.

— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-gen Data Center Forum