The
University of California, along with other companies, has just
entered a bid to manage the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
which specializes in nuclear research ““ one week after an
apparent security breach in another UC-managed nuclear research
facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Los Alamos laboratory officials said last week that three
portable computer drives containing classified information were
found during a drug arrest in the home of a subcontractor who had
worked at the lab.
That same week, the UC officially submitted a bid to the
National Nuclear Security Administration for continuing management
of Livermore.
The UC is part of a consortium including Bechtel National Inc.,
BWX Technologies Inc., Texas A&M University, Washington Group
International and Battelle, who are collectively offering their bid
for management. The consortium will compete against two other
groups of companies for the contract.
The NNSA declined to comment on whether the UC’s bid will
be evaluated differently in light of last week’s security
breach at Los Alamos.
Lab officials and law enforcement will not comment on the
material found on the Los Alamos laboratory drives until the
investigation is over, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“While I cannot discuss the details of what we know and
don’t know about what happened, I can confirm that classified
material was found in her residence,” said laboratory
director Michael Anastasio in a briefing to his employees Thursday
afternoon.
The breach at Los Alamos is the most recent in a string of
safety and security issues at the lab. The most widely reported
incident involved scientist Wen Ho Lee, who was accused of leaking
the lab’s nuclear secrets to China. He pleaded guilty to one
count of mishandling classified information in 2000.
Last June, the Los Alamos laboratory transitioned from being
managed solely by the UC to a consortium comprised of the UC,
Bechtel, BWX Technologies and Washington Group International.
The consortium calls itself the Los Alamos National Security,
LLC.
Though the UC managed the Los Alamos lab for more than 60 years,
both lab and UC spokesmen emphasized that the UC is now working in
concert with the other companies.
“(The) UC is no more and no less than one of the parent
companies of the (consortium),” said Los Alamos spokesman
Jeff Berger.
But he said many of the UC senior managers stayed with the lab
through its overhaul and will provide knowledge about how to deal
with this conflict.
“We are providing resources for Los Alamos and will work
with them to address security problems,” said UC spokesman
Chris Harrington.
Berger said the UC still appoints the director of Los Alamos
laboratory, and many lab employees were UC employees before the
management transfer.
In light of the security breach, Anastasio outlined a series of
steps that will be enacted by the end of this week.
First, the lab plans to prohibit the use of unauthorized memory
cards, such as iPods and USB devices, in mixed media environments
and will review the lab’s requirements for subcontractors who
are hired to perform support work.
“We want to ensure that we hold everyone accountable for
security regardless of whether they are employees or
subcontractors,” Berger said.
Over the next few weeks, Los Alamos laboratory will also
consider the process of how classified material is reviewed and who
reviews it, as well as implement training to ensure that the
current security requirements are completely understood, Anastasio
said.
Though Los Alamos will focus more on safety and security
education, the laboratory said it has always made educating
employees about security protocols a priority. Last week’s
security breach was not the result of a lack of education about
laboratory security, Berger said.
“If you spend X amount of hours at the lab even if you
don’t work here, … you have to take a class about safety
and security at the lab,” he said.