June 14, 2000
Los Alamos Workers Waited 3 Weeks to
Report Data Loss
By JAMES RISEN
WASHINGTON, June 13 -- The
Energy Department acknowledged
today that employees at the Los Alamos
National Laboratory waited more than three
weeks last month before reporting the loss
of two computer hard drives that contained
some of the nation's most important nuclear
secrets.
The acknowledgment came as Energy
Secretary Bill Richardson and his
department faced harsh criticism in
Congress over the loss of the hard drives,
the latest in a string of security lapses at the
New Mexico laboratory, where nuclear
weapons are designed.
Officials said that six managers at Los
Alamos had been placed on leave and that
disciplinary action at the laboratory was
expected shortly. The Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the Energy Department
have opened a joint inquiry into the
disappearance of the hard drives, which had
been stored in a vault at the laboratory.
The hard drives were discovered missing by
members of the government's Nuclear
Emergency Search Team, or NEST, which
stores its computer data at Los Alamos for
use in responding to nuclear accidents and
terrorist threats.
The team members went to the vault on
May 7 to make sure that the material was
secure while a forest fire raged in the area.
Eugene E. Habiger, a retired Air Force general who is the Energy
Department's senior security officer, said in Congressional testimony
today that each hard drive was "little bigger than a deck of cards."
General Habiger said they were one of three "kits" of material for the
NEST members "to rapidly deploy to situations that require some of our
nation's best minds to look at an improved nuclear device or perhaps a
stolen nuclear weapon."
The general went on to say that with the nearby fire burning out of
control, "the decision was made to go into the vault by two individuals
who are authorized unescorted access into that vault to take the kit."
Senior Energy Department officials at Los Alamos and in Washington
said today that more than three weeks passed before they learned of the
disappearance. John C. Browne, the director of the Los Alamos
laboratory, said he was not informed of the loss until the night of May 31,
while F.B.I. and Energy Department officials in Washington said they
were not notified until June 1.
The hard drives were stored inside the vault in the laboratory's X
Division, where nuclear weapons are designed. They contained highly
sensitive data needed by the NEST members in the event of an
emergency involving nuclear weapons.
The data on the hard drives included information needed by the team to
render nuclear devices safe in emergencies. In addition, the missing
material included intelligence information, including some about the
Russian nuclear weapons program.
The Energy Department has not ruled out espionage as the cause of the
disappearance of the hard drives. But officials said that there might well
be a more innocent explanation, and that the hard drives might have been
lost in the chaos resulting from the fire, which burned hundreds of houses
in the Los Alamos area and came within a half mile of the building where
the vault is.
Department officials said it was not immediately clear how long the hard
drives might have been missing from the vault.
One victim of the controversy at Los Alamos may be Mr. Richardson, a
former House member from New Mexico whose political prospects had
appeared bright until recently. He has been mentioned as a possible
running mate for Vice President Al Gore on the Democratic ticket, but
the scandals at the Energy Department and the rising price of gasoline
may have doomed his chances.
"I am outraged by the security lapses that have taken place," Mr.
Richardson said today. "We are not going to tolerate this. There will be
accountability and disciplinary action."
"What I am most concerned about," he added, "is the failure of the lab to
promptly notify the Department of Energy when these potential breaches
took place."
In an effort to show a rapid response to the building controversy, Mr.
Richardson announced that he had named former Senator Howard H.
Baker Jr., Republican of Tennessee, and former Representative Lee H.
Hamilton, Democrat of Indiana, to investigate the disappearance of the
nuclear secrets. Their review will be independent of the inquiry by the
F.B.I. and the Energy Department, a department spokeswoman said.
But the move did not quiet criticism in Congress, where lawmakers once
again questioned the laboratory's ability to manage the nation's nuclear
secrets.
Members of Congress heaped scorn on the Energy Department and Los
Alamos managers during hearings today, saying they found it incredible
that a major security breach could occur after they had received
assurances from Mr. Richardson that security had been tightened in the
wake of accusations of espionage and evidence of security breaches at
the laboratory.
"I have to tell you, in my hometown of Menominee, Mich., if I want to
check out a library book at the Menominee public library, you have to
have a library card and they make a record of it if you remove the book,"
said Representative Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat, during today's
House hearing.
"And if you keep the book too long, they send you a notice asking you to
return it," he continued. "Well, most Americans would find it hard to
believe that Menominee public library has a more sophisticated tracking
system for 'Winnie the Pooh' than Los Alamos has for highly classified
nuclear weapons data."
Mr. Richardson's past pledges to clean up the Energy Department and
improve security were also thrown back at him by lawmakers.
"Since allegations of spying at Los Alamos first surfaced early last year,
this committee and the American public have been subject to a steady
stream of press releases, action plans, tough talk and photo ops from
Secretary Richardson and senior D.O.E. officials designed to show a
commitment to security at the Department of Energy," said
Representative Thomas J. Bliley Jr., the Virginia Republican who is the
chairman of the Commerce Committee.
The White House joined in the criticism today.
Joe Lockhart, the White House spokesman, said that comprehensive
changes at the Energy Department might be needed. "The fact that we
don't know the answers is troubling," he added, referring to what
happened at Los Alamos.
President Clinton ignored questions about Los Alamos from reporters
today during a photo opportunity.
Mr. Lockhart stressed today that "the president has confidence in
Secretary Richardson," but the latest bipartisan assaults on laboratory
security appear politically damaging.
Over the last year, Mr. Richardson has battled with Congress about
security issues in his department, as he opposed creation of an agency
within the department to oversee nuclear weapons programs, saying it
would undercut his authority. Congress required a revamping of the
department last year after there were accusations that China stole some
of the nation's most sensitive nuclear secrets because of lax security. Last
fall, Mr. Richardson dropped his public opposition to the change when
the proposal drew support from majorities in the House and the Senate.
The agency's creation marked the most far-reaching legislative response
to two scathing studies last year -- one by a House panel and another by
a presidential review board -- that looked into the accusations of
espionage by China. Dr. Wen Ho Lee, a scientist who worked at Los
Alamos, was fired last year after being the subject of an investigation. He
was then arrested on charges of mishandling classified material.
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~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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