GAO Report Shows Security Problems at Los Alamos (Rep. John Dingell)
July 16th, 2008
Yesterday, the Committee on Energy and Commerce released the first of a two-part Government Accountability Office (GAO) report stemming from a litany of cyber and physical security problems at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), keeper of some of the nation’s most secret nuclear weapons information.
The GAO report found that, “Many of the initiatives LANL is undertaking to address laboratory-wide security problems were previously identified in external security evaluations. However, we found that significant security problems identified in these evaluations have not been fully addressed. Specifically, while LANL’s storage of classified parts in unapproved storage containers and its process for ensuring that actions to correct identified security deficiencies have been cited in external security evaluations for years, complete security solutions in these areas have not yet been implemented.”
In short, security problems at LANL have yet to be fully addressed. Although the Department of Energy issued a $300,000 fine and compliance order, and LANL has consolidated some of its classified information, GAO found that it will take three to four more years before the contractor has the management systems in place to ensure that security improvements are sustained. World War II was prosecuted in less time than it is taking the Department of Energy and its contractor to bring a robust security system into force at this nuclear weapons lab.
The report is entitled, “Los Alamos Laboratory: Long Term Strategies Needed to Improve Security and Oversight” and is available on the Committee on Energy and Commerce website here. I requested this report along with my colleagues, Rep. Joe Barton, (R-TX), the Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and with Reps. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and John Shimkus (R-IL) the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
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