SAN FRANCISCO ““ The loss of classified material at Los
Alamos National Laboratory drew the ire and frustration of the UC
Board of Regents that said the incident is “totally
unacceptable” and called for major reforms at the labs during
its bimonthly meeting Thursday.
Lab officials, who met with the regents by special request, said
they suspect two classified computer disks may have been misplaced
or improperly moved by employees. They are currently investigating
the matter, and the laboratory has suspended all research which
deals with classified information, said retired Adm. Robert Foley,
the vice president of UC lab management.
Foley said research would only resume when officials had
confidence in the ability of employees to handle classified
material.
The incident was frustrating for many regents because it is one
in a long series of recent administrative problems that have
occurred at the labs, which the university has managed for more
than 60 years.
“We go out and fix one set of problems, and lo and behold,
another set of problems shows up,” said Regent George
Marcus.
Pete Nanos, the director of Los Alamos, declined to say whether
the information on the missing disks deals with nuclear weapons,
which are part of some of the experiments carried out at the
labs.
But he said there is “clear evidence that people did not
follow the rules” for moving or relocating classified
materials.
Nanos also said there was no indication the missing materials
had left the labs.
The incident at Los Alamos comes at a particularly crucial time
given the university is considering competing for the Los Alamos
management contract in 2005.
It also is another link in what has become a chain of
embarrassments for the UC and Los Alamos. Problems such as the
misappropriating of funds, missing inventory, and misplaced
classified data at UC labs led the U.S. Department of Energy to put
up for bid all lab management contracts that have been held
uncontested for more than 50 years.
This would include the Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, and
Berkeley National labs, all run by the UC. But recently, the
Department of Energy extended the UC’s contract for Lawrence
Livermore by two years.
The devices at Los Alamos were discovered missing from the
weapons physics division on July 6. As of Thursday morning, the
disks had not been found and the search was ongoing, Foley
said.
Nanos, the director of Los Alamos, told the regents the
investigation into the missing material at Los Alamos would be done
by Friday. But later at a press conference he said it would go as
long as necessary.
Regent chairman Gerald Parsky said he and UC President Robert
Dynes would visit Los Alamos within 30 days to tour the labs and
speak with employees.
Additionally, Deputy Secretary of Energy Kyle McSlarrow and
Linton Brooks of the National Nuclear Security Administration, who
are overseeing the investigation for the energy department, will
also visit Los Alamos soon, according to a statement from the
department.
Both Foley and Nanos said this incident, unlike previous ones,
did not occur because the lab’s system for tracking
classified material had failed. Rather, they said one or several
lab employees who knew the security procedures had deliberately
ignored it.
Foley said such an incident was bound to happen in a place like
Los Alamos. He described Los Alamos as a self-contained community
where employees live and work side-by-side, and where many are
reluctant to turn one another in when someone makes a mistake.
There are also some scientists who regard themselves as above
the rules and regulations that govern the tightly secure labs,
conduct Foley described as a “cowboy” attitude.
“I think there is a comfort level that needs to be turned
around,” Foley said.
Nanos also criticized the floppy disk system the lab uses to
store information as “antiquated.” Lab officials are
working to revamp Los Alamos’ system of storing classified
information, and there are plans to move all classified materials
to central “libraries” or change to a disk-less system.
But such reforms could take months.
“There isn’t going to be an instant fix. “¦
It’s going to take some time,” Foley said.
Regent Gerald Parsky, the chairman of the board, said the
regents continue to have “great confidence” in Nanos
and Foley. But they also emphasized that those responsible need to
be punished.
“These types of incidents are unacceptable and they do
have to come to an end,” said UC President Robert Dynes.
Foley said the lab’s policy regarding classified material
is clear. “If you can’t protect classified information,
you can’t work at Los Alamos,” he said.
Foley cautioned the regents that even if reforms are carried
out, such incidents at Los Alamos may continue to be a thorn in the
side of the university. “It does not mean we aren’t
going to have a problem like this again,” he said. “The
antiquated system we have lends itself to human error.”
The regents’ discussion of the incident was colored by the
knowledge that the Department of Energy’s goodwill toward the
UC is rapidly dwindling.
Other universities or companies looking to bid for the labs will
likely point to the problems the UC has had with Los Alamos as
evidence that it is unfit to keep its contract.
“Our competitors are going to use this against us in
spades,” said Regent Richard Blum with exasperation.