Anonymously contributed:
POGO (or Project on Governement Oversight) Requests White House Intervention for Los Alamos
Time for a Different Kind of "Energetic Reaction" at Los Alamos
http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2010/02/time-for-a-different-kind-of-energetic-reaction-at-los-alamos.html
POGO has obtained a recent internal memo from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) demonstrating a steady lapse in enforcement of safety policies at the Los Alamos Site Office. The contents don't paint a pretty picture, noting a sense of déjà vu about recent safety episodes, including (but "not limited to") shock and burn of a worker, several explosions, and a certain incident with a large-bore powder gun:
These events are similar to each other and to prior events, indicating that prior corrective actions have not been fully effective or have degraded with time. Without appropriate management focus, evaluation, and response, these could become precursors to incidents of even greater significance, up to and including serious injuries or fatalities.
11 comments:
My wish is for the administration to look at the LLCs running the Labs with a magnifying glass.
They need to be able to explain why
costs rose with privatization, while it should have the other way around.
POGO would demand that the NNSA labs immediately stand down for over 6 months if someone so much as stubbed their toe. The scary thing is, many people in Congress take their wild accusations very seriously. They also seem to have plenty of "moles" lurking deeply inside DOE HQ who pass along internal NNSA memos to them.
You can thank POGO for being one of the attack dogs that helped push the NNSA labs from their previous non-profit management into the hands of the current "for-profit" LLC robber barons.
After reading the official NNSA memo that POGO released, I think LANL employees can probably expect to see demands for more on-line training, greater use of CYA paperwork and more signage urging employees to:
* "PAY ATTENTION (You Idiots)!!!"
..and to..
* "Wear shoes that GRIP!".
Under the new "for-profit" LLC management scheme, these labs now exhibit extreme forms of risk aversion and have unbelievably high cost structures borne by an increasingly demoralized work force.
It's all part of NNSA's winning strategy for success!
What we need is more burdensome procedures, oversight & training. Then we’ll not be able to accomplish any work & the safety incidents will cease.
I know of one NWC site that in the mid 80’s accomplished the largest ever workload in their history with ~3000 employees. Today, they accomplish ~20% of that peak workload with 3800 employees.
I can’t seem to find it in the POGO article but, were there 1000’s or 100’s that died from all the referenced accidents?
POGO has no clout what so ever. Nobody gives a hoot what POGO says, does.
POGO has no clout what so ever.
February 13, 2010 3:13 PM
If a letter to the White House causes the White House to call and offer you a meeting, then you have clout.
February 13, 2010 3:13 PM
You are very wrong here. POGO get's lot of attention and some are looking into their accusations. February 11, 2010 9:26 PM is correct on may issues and what February 11, 2010 10:20 PM says I see on a daily basis.
February 13, 2010 8:4 and February 14, 2010 5:47 AM both think POGO has . You had better read this and save yourself more embarassment. If it were true that POGO has clout NIF would have been closed down long ago. They have clout with you but not with anyone or any agency that matters. Gadfly comes to mind.PMhttp://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2009/05/pogo-responds-to-nifs-award-over-budget-behind-schedule-undeserving.html
Lots of Congressmen listen to POGO whenever it helps their agenda. The fact that POGO may be crying wolf is of little concern when Congress is eager to conduct a witch hunt.
I think everyone should read this article and think. Did they tell the truth or is what POGO says, just plain fact.
http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2009/05/pogo-responds-to-nifs-award-over-budget-behind-schedule-undeserving.html
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