Tighter security ordered for nuclear weapons labs

WASHINGTON -- The administrator of the nation's nuclear weapons programs ordered tighter security at the labs Tuesday in response to a recent spate of security failures.

National Nuclear Security Administrator Linton Brooks ordered additional experts to make rapid changes to alleviate security shortcomings identified in recent months, increased the frequency of surveillance at the weapons labs and directed a review of past security studies and ensure recommended measures are in place.

"While there has been no compromise of classified material or loss of special nuclear material, the nation cannot tolerate any degradation in our security posture, and thus problems must not be allowed to persist," Brooks said.

Brooks previously appointed retired Adm. Richard W. Mies to study the physical security at the weapons labs and retired Adm. Hank Chiles to review security staffing.

New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman, senior Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee, applauded Brooks' changes.

"The new initiatives announced today are steps in the right direction, and all of us in Congress will be watching closely to see if these actions produce the desired results," he said.

All three major nuclear weapons labs -- Sandia and Los Alamos in New Mexico and Lawrence Livermore in California -- have been stung by security embarrassments in recent months. Lapses have ranged from the disappearance of small amounts of radioactive plutonium oxide to guards who fell asleep on duty.

Pete Stockton, an investigator for Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group that has publicized numerous problems about security at the energy labs, said it is a good idea to study the many reports that have been done. By now, however, the solutions should be obvious, he said: nuclear material should be consolidated in places where it can be protected, and other facilities should be shut down.

"I don't know what the point of studying it any more is," Stockton said.

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National Nuclear Security Administration: http://www.nnsa.doe.gov