SAN FRANCISCO ““ Former Vice Admiral George
“Pete” Nanos, Interim Director of the Los Alamos
National Laboratory, briefed the UC Board of Regents on current
investigations at the lab, describing problems as a failure of
business practices, but not a breach of national security.
Following the meeting, UC President Richard Atkinson announced
the formation of a five- member board to assist Nanos as the UC
works to restructure business management at LANL and to allay the
concerns of the federal government.
The board includes three regents: Peter Preuss, Richard Blum and
Gerald Parsky, as well as UC San Diego Chancellor Robert Dynes and
Sidney Drell, a professor emeritus of physics at Stanford
University. At a press conference following the meeting, Interim
Vice President of Laboratory Management Bruce Darling said an
additional member may be named at a later date.
During discussions, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a regent by virtue
of his office, asked Nanos if any national secrets had been
compromised. Nanos’ one-word answer was “no.”
However, there is the possibility that some classified material
has been lost.
In an audit of over 61,000 pieces of classifiable electronic
media, which range from hard drives to small memory devices, one
anomaly was found.
What, if any, information is missing, is unknown.
There is also no determination of what type of data device, if
any, was lost.
“We don’t think (data) is missing, but we’re
not 100 percent sure,” Nanos said.
If anything is missing, Nanos is confident no data relating to
the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons program is
missing.
Investigations into LANL management are not limited to concerns
over missing data.
In November 2002, then-director John Brown launched an
investigation after reports indicated missing items at the lab.
Memos were leaked describing illegal purchases made with federal
charge cards, and two investigators, Glenn Walp and Steve Doran,
were fired after finding evidence of illegal activities.
The two alleged a cover-up, and the officials who terminated the
investigators were later reassigned. Brown resigned from his post
last week.
UC officials have not yet talked to Walp or Doran, but Darling
said they will interview them Friday.
“We have sufficient concerns,” Darling said.
“We want to reach out and meet with them.”
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is investigating the
UC’s management at the labs, but has not yet begun
hearings.
On Monday, Committee Chair Billy Tauzin, R-La., called on the
General Accounting Office to investigate the two other Department
of Energy labs managed by the university.
“We intend to cooperate fully with this congressional
investigation and any others that might follow,” Darling
said.
In describing plans to restructure business practices at LANL,
Nanos said he would keep records public.
“We have to have transparency and quality of business
information and data which will allow us to dispel the fears of the
American public,” he said.
While Nanos received a positive reception from the board,
regents remained concerned about injury to the UC’s image,
especially regarding a statement made by Darling in the San
Francisco Chronicle indicating the UC would not compete to renew
its contract with LANL if the federal government put it up for a
bid.
“That we won’t compete is the wrong thing to say, we
should say we want to continue,” Blum said.
Darling said his remarks were taken out of context and reflected
past policy that pre-dates Atkinson’s presidency.
For the UC to change this policy, the regents, not UC
administration would have to make the decision.