LANL Told Its Survival at Stake (Los Alamos National Lab)

LOS ALAMOS—
Los Alamos National Laboratory director Pete Nanos told employees Thursday they no longer are in a fight to retain University of California control of the labs but now are fighting to maintain the labs' very existence. By losing credibility when sensitive materials are lost or mishandled, Nanos said, Los Alamos could lose business from private corporations as well as federal funding and support.

Indeed, on Thursday, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., long considered LANL's biggest booster, released an "open letter" to the residents of Los Alamos that was highly critical of the lab.

Nanos railed against employees and scientists who did not take the situation and the nation's concern seriously during an all-employees meeting Thursday that he titled "Survival." "If you think this is just a flash in the pan, that we are too important to the world to bring us down," then just ask any senator or citizen about it, Nanos said in the closed-door meeting, according to a videotape of his talk. "You'll find this is a lot more serious than you led yourself to believe."

After the scolding, Nanos held a news conference in which he revealed he has put 19 employees, including an associate director, on paid investigative leave. He also said investigators are continuing to scour the nation's top nuclear weapons research facility for two missing Zip disks with classified information that were discovered missing July 7. "We don't know where they are and how they got lost," Nanos told a roomful of reporters during the news conference. He said all 11 employees who had access to the vault where the disks were stored have been questioned by LANL security. "As far as I know, none of them have indicated they know the whereabouts of those disks," Nanos said.

Emphasizing the seriousness of the situation, Nanos said if the disks aren't located and investigators can't determine which of the 11 are responsible, none will be allowed to handle classified material ever again. "We are not going to put the country in a high-risk situation," Nanos said.

He said LANL is cooperating with the FBI, but that the laboratory is handling the investigation. The FBI is still investigating one employee for possibly mishandling classified information in a separate incident from December, when 10 classified computer data storage devices were unaccounted for, Nanos said.

LANL has been unable to locate 14 classified computer data storage devices since January 2003. In all but the most recent case, LANL believes the devices were destroyed but can't prove it through documentation.

Robert Foley, vice president of laboratory management for the University of California, which has operated LANL since 1943, said the university continues to take aggressive actions to regain the nation's trust. Foley said the July 7 discovery of the two missing disks came as the laboratory was in the midst of tightening accountability around so-called "Classified Removable Electronic Media," such as floppy disks and CDs.

During Nanos' meeting with employees, the lab director said he expects LANL to lose 10 percent to 20 percent of its revenue next year because institutions, including the federal government, will take their business and research elsewhere. He urged employees to use peer pressure— "to get in their face"— if other employees don't take national security and safety seriously. Nanos said at the meeting that LANL needs to root out employees and scientists who weren't willing to comply with standards of security and safety. "If I have to restart this laboratory with 10 people— if I have 10 solid people left in this laboratory— I will rebuild this laboratory," Nanos told employees. Nanos said lab officials have learned of cases in which employees were intimidated by fellow workers for trying to enforce security rules.

Normal operations for about 12,000 employees in 300 laboratory organizations and 25 divisions have been shut down since Friday, when Nanos decided that the laboratory needed to "take a deep breath" and deal with what he called a behavioral problem and a deep-seated unwillingness to comply with regulations and procedures. Lab employees have continued to show up for work, to undergo training and review security and safety procedures. Nanos said 15 of the employees placed on leave, including the unnamed associate director, were put on leave for their responsibilities in the disappearance of the two disks. Eleven of these workers had access to the missing disks. Additionally, four were put on leave for failure to follow safety procedures that led to a July 14 accident, in which a graduate student injured her retina when laser light entered her eye during an experiment.

Both Foley and Nanos pointed to widescale behavioral problems as the root of both incidents and many others, including a major management scandal last year, that have eroded LANL's credibility. Foley told reporters at the news conference that LANL employees have enjoyed a "lack of accountability" and a "sense of entitlement" that has been developed over the years. "When they did something wrong it was musical chairs, they would move from one job to another and there was no great deal of accountability— people didn't get fired," he said. But that won't be happening any more, Foley said.

Domenici, in his letter, warned Los Alamos that the lab risks losing its good name. "Today, in Washington, Los Alamos' reputation as a crown jewel of science is being eclipsed by a reputation as being both dysfunctional and untouchable," Domenici wrote. "I do not yet know if the most recent security incident is, unto itself, of great consequence. But I can tell you that the analogy of the straw that breaks the camel's back is appropriate... " Domenici said it "will take years to re-establish Los Alamos' reputation."

"Any stumble will be a revalidation of the critics and undermine all of our good efforts. Los Alamos National Laboratory must maintain the highest standards for technology and science, and also integrity among its employees. With that understanding, I call on those responsible for this most recent incident to come forth to admit their errors so we can move forward."

Foley told reporters at the news conference that LANL employees have enjoyed a "lack of accountability" and a "sense of entitlement" that has been developed over the years. "When they did something wrong it was musical chairs, they would move from one job to another and there was no great deal of accountability— people didn't get fired," he said. But that won't be happening any more, Foley said.

Having lived in Santa Fe in the past, there is definitely a feeling of "elitism" on the part of more than a few lab employees and that the rules are for the "litle people". If any place needs the rules, it is this one and this is long overdue. Domenici's letter shows how serious it it. He has been in the forefront of getting money for the lab, but it is becoming increasingly difficult when he has to spend energy and political chits to get that money in the face of repeated scandals such as this one.

Sen. Pete Domenici's (R-N.M.) letter:

Friday, July 23, 2004
To the Community of Los Alamos:
One of the greatest honors of my life has been the opportunity to represent the people of Los Alamos in the U.S. Senate.
You have shaped my career as I have pursued committee assignments such as the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development of which I am now the chairman that largely funds the laboratory. It has been the experts at Los Alamos on matters ranging from nuclear weapons to the human genome that have sparked some of my most passionate efforts in the Senate and, as a result, have created national programs ranging from science-based stockpile stewardship and nonproliferation programs to brain imaging and human health.
However, over time, I have increasingly found myself expending considerable effort not in extolling the virtues of Los Alamos, but in defending the laboratory and the University in particular from its critics. I have been successful; the budgets continue to grow, and the programs and people at the laboratory are secure.
I have found myself increasingly defending the laboratory for failures of basic management; human resources policies, procurement, project management, inventory control, and security. While critics have carped, I have worked to ensure that none of the attacks harmed the laboratory, but that effort has come at great cost.
Unfortunately, that defense has increasingly cost the credibility of the laboratory. Today, in Washington, Los Alamos' reputation as a crown jewel of science is being eclipsed by a reputation as being both dysfunctional and untouchable.
I do not yet know if the most recent security incident is, unto itself, of great consequence. But I can tell you that the analogy of the straw that breaks the camel's back is appropriate. These sorts of things, which engender a lack of confidence in not just the laboratory's management but also every one of its employees, must end.
As the proudest defender of the laboratory, I can tell you that the defense can no longer be sustained unless the laboratory changes.
Director Nanos and Deputy Secretary McSlarrow understand the situation. I have read reports of people who think they are making a bigger deal out of this than they should. Let me tell you as forcefully as possible that Nanos and McSlarrow get it. They know the magnitude of the stakes this time, and I completely support their efforts.
Please understand the burden that is upon each employee of the laboratory. It will take years to re-establish Los Alamos' reputation. Any stumble will be a revalidation of the critics and undermine all of our good efforts. Los Alamos National Laboratory must maintain the highest standards for technology and science, and also integrity among its employees. With that understanding, I call on those responsible for this most recent incident to come forth to admit their errors so we can move forward.
Sincerely,
Pete V. Domenici
United States Senator

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