LANL culture faulted for "completely preventable" accident
The LANSCE radiation contamination report (all 100+ pages of it) is on line.
The
executive summary draws a special focus to the culture of the facility
and the "normative behavior when responding to authority". Ouch.
Without
directly charging that there were individuals involved in the accident
that were non-functional in English ("including proficiency in the
English language"), it also strongly suggests that to have been the
case. Double ouch.
http://www.hss.doe.gov/sesa/corporatesafety/aip/docs/accidents/typea/10-18-2012_lansce_federal_ai_report.pdf
10 comments:
The LANL security issue apparently stemmed from two security guards who invited their girlfriends on a date to the LANL firing range to impress them by allowing their girlfriends to discharge several "clips" of ammunition using their government issued weapons. Did the PADS make employees aware of this key "high risk event"?
Is this strike three for the management team?
LANS has been warning their employees that if they purposely work to undermine security and safety in an attempt to make LANS look bad so as to help get rid of LANS for new management that it will be they, the general employees, that suffer dire consequences.
LANS management is getting very nervous. They don't even trust the people who work under them any longer. It is a poisonous environment at LANL.
This is a damning report that indicates little has changed for the better over the past decade. One of the main issues seems to be the attitude toward safety rules from top to bottom in the science areas. The UC holdovers just don't get it.
"Little has changed for the better over the past decade" is a peculiar way to put it. "A lot has changed for the worse over the past decade" would be a much more accurate statement.
The working environment has deteriorated. The morale of the staff has plummeted. The scientific output of the Lab has collapsed. Great many competent people have fled, while at the same time the management ranks have exploded out of control. The compensations of the managers, particularly at the top, shot through the roof. The guys at the top are collecting previously unimaginable checks, while destroying whatever's left of this institution.
Above all, the institution stopped valuing skills and competence. The $200M+ security fence screw-up, the lansce contamination, the guards impressing their girlfriends are just the latest symptoms of that general institutional disease.
Was this the purpose of the contract change? How could it have resulted in such a complete fiasco?
More to the point: what should be done next? We don't need another Nanos-like "stop work" misadventure. The core of the problem is at the top, not with the staff. NNSA needs to be disbanded, the LANS management contract voided and re-competed ASAP. Once LANS is kicked out, no high-level LANS manager should be allowed to stay at LANL under any pretenses. Only then can this institution start its long healing process.
The local paper has carried the LANCE radiation accident for the past two issues. Sure looks like amateur hour, when seasoned professionals were not in place.
Well, at least something pushed local hotel closings off of the front page for a few days. Sigh.
As the lab goes, so goes the town and the current direction is downhill for both.
Well now that the pressure is on there will be another incident. It is just the way it goes with a highly demoralized staff. Get ready.
" This is a damning report that indicates little has changed for the better over the past decade. One of the main issues seems to be the attitude toward safety rules from top to bottom in the science areas. The UC holdovers just don't get it.
November 17, 2012 5:59 PM"
The fence, the security guards are not part of the science areas, so what is your point? The powers that be have also been very unhappy with LANS for many other reasons such as the cost, loss of efficiency and so on. Blaming the science part of the lab for all the problems is ridiculous.
Wow! Someone sure got their pants in a wad.
Last time anyone checked, LANCE was part of the science. The accident was at LANSCE and the report lays blame on very heavy.
Read the thread and the post before getting so excited.
" Wow! Someone sure got their pants in a wad.
Last time anyone checked, LANCE was part of the science. The accident was at LANSCE and the report lays blame on very heavy.
Read the thread and the post before getting so excited.
November 18, 2012 12:03 PM"
Exsqueeeze me but the original assclown said that science was the
"problem" at the labs. Someone was jut pointing out the blatantly obvious that most of the problems that NNSA is having a conniption fit about have to do with non-science issues. And ya NNSA is having some issues with the whole privatize the labs mantra. The free market does work over time but some have to fail for others to win and guess whayyyt, we are on the losing side! Hmmmm could this be the reason people smarter than the flotsam at NNSA thought that privatization was not a good idea for the these kind of organizations. Nawww, somebody forget to take econ 101 before they made this bitch float.
Post a Comment