tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post3475802168947817720..comments2024-03-28T22:32:26.220-07:00Comments on LLNL - The True Story -: Do we have a "Six Sigma" safety culture with LANS and LLNS at the helm?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-6978371701203409642015-02-22T19:17:14.392-08:002015-02-22T19:17:14.392-08:0012:45. I'd pretend that a leaking barrel 1200f...12:45. I'd pretend that a leaking barrel 1200ft underground in a salt cavern is a $500million dollar problem and thereby keep the corporate welfare checks flowing. I'd pretend that we are aaaallllmost there with laser fusion and just a few more billion ought to cover it and thereby keep the corporate welfare flowing. I'd pretend that the earthquake hazard at TA-55 justified a multi-billion dollar block of concrete and a hundred million dollar fence and thereby keep the corporate welfare flowing....get the picture yet? It's a farce by any measure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-88178156186105042182015-02-22T13:43:46.984-08:002015-02-22T13:43:46.984-08:00Nuclear forensics. It's going to be necessary ...Nuclear forensics. It's going to be necessary in the US very soon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-51820506354898101262015-02-22T12:50:23.811-08:002015-02-22T12:50:23.811-08:00The only important thing the labs do is stockpile ...The only important thing the labs do is stockpile stewardship and verification, which includes keeping a smart team of people in place who can jump on new designs and tests if need be. The global security smallfry projects should be done elsewhere, where it is more cost-effective to do the work and where that kind of culture is valued. There would be some value to WFO if it brought in new stockpile scientists and engineers, but it does not do much (any?) of that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-37236531383246039172015-02-22T12:45:07.279-08:002015-02-22T12:45:07.279-08:00The so-called "current way of doing business&...The so-called "current way of doing business" is a farce by any measure.<br /><br />February 22, 2015 at 4:25 AM<br /><br />Really? So what would you do instead, given that actual nuclear testing is not allowed??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-91873575060750565472015-02-22T04:25:08.604-08:002015-02-22T04:25:08.604-08:00The so-called "current way of doing business&...The so-called "current way of doing business" is a farce by any measure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-86212959156342598442015-02-21T22:23:03.191-08:002015-02-21T22:23:03.191-08:008:02 Nobody has cared about the demonstrated perfo...8:02 Nobody has cared about the demonstrated performance of the stockpile since about 1990. You are living (probably very well) in the past.<br /><br />February 21, 2015 at 3:14 PM<br /><br />You think it is news to anyone that no one has "demonstrated" performance since testing stopped? Duh. That hasn't been what reliability assessment has been about since then. I think your attitude is "living in the past." And your snide ending comment indicates you resent those who paved the way for the current way of doing business, and even the fact that nuclear weapons still matter and take attention from your little WFO program.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-64374475310142970412015-02-21T15:14:37.735-08:002015-02-21T15:14:37.735-08:008:02 Nobody has cared about the demonstrated perfo...8:02 Nobody has cared about the demonstrated performance of the stockpile since about 1990. You are living (probably very well) in the past.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-52974815134080257202015-02-19T20:25:02.812-08:002015-02-19T20:25:02.812-08:00February 19, 2015 at 8:02 PM
Except that there is...February 19, 2015 at 8:02 PM<br /><br />Except that there is a substantial minority, if not a majority, of employees at all three labs that believe the labs' only reason to exist is for WFO programs,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-37032711583815898982015-02-19T20:02:04.783-08:002015-02-19T20:02:04.783-08:00It is eminently clear that the denizens of this bl...It is eminently clear that the denizens of this blog don't get it.<br /><br />Livermore, Los Alamos, and Sandia employ the ONLY people in the world that can ensure that the nuclear weapons in the US arsenal will work when needed, and not work when not needed!<br /><br />Everything else is a minor distraction, amplified by the press on slow news days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-60786693374811030142015-02-19T15:21:11.155-08:002015-02-19T15:21:11.155-08:00"...I don't see anything sad about it at ..."...I don't see anything sad about it at all. I just wish " c DOE/NNSA would hurry up and get it over with. LANS is in such a deep hole at this point that nothing can fix the situation. Under "normal" circumstances (i.e., 10 or so years ago) Congressional oversight would by now have been exercised, with heads at DOE and NNSA rolling, and the LANS contract terminated. Unfortunately Congress currently has MUCH more important business to attend to. Sigh...now that's sad..."<br /><br />I understand. Given your experience, what will materially change when LANL is eventually managed by a different LLC? <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-26681874514845888282015-02-19T14:31:28.869-08:002015-02-19T14:31:28.869-08:00I don't see anything sad about it at all. I ju...I don't see anything sad about it at all. I just wish DOE/NNSA would hurry up and get it over with. LANS is in such a deep hole at this point that nothing can fix the situation. Under "normal" circumstances (i.e., 10 or so years ago) Congressional oversight would by now have been exercised, with heads at DOE and NNSA rolling, and the LANS contract terminated. Unfortunately Congress currently has MUCH more important business to attend to. Sigh...now that's sad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-23263221319261007192015-02-19T14:20:30.832-08:002015-02-19T14:20:30.832-08:00"...No, no one at all wonders about that. Eve..."...No, no one at all wonders about that. Everyone knows the answer quite well..."<br /><br />And yet year after year LANS has to be examined by DOE for subpar activities...sadAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-7811605809377694602015-02-19T12:56:38.888-08:002015-02-19T12:56:38.888-08:00and people wonder why LANS is going bye-bye
Febru...and people wonder why LANS is going bye-bye<br /><br />February 19, 2015 at 12:09 PM<br /><br />No, no one at all wonders about that. Everyone knows the answer quite well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-80196942604542667852015-02-19T12:09:52.168-08:002015-02-19T12:09:52.168-08:00and people wonder why LANS is going bye-byeand people wonder why LANS is going bye-byeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-29404088821939197042015-02-19T11:11:09.251-08:002015-02-19T11:11:09.251-08:00Nice try, but you need more weasel practice.Nice try, but you need more weasel practice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-71913276528988469552015-02-19T10:44:15.554-08:002015-02-19T10:44:15.554-08:00Read carefully:
"...I don't think you a...Read carefully:<br /><br /> "...I don't think you are going to want IG staff camped out more than required at LANL..." (more than required) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-78982819790832750932015-02-19T08:52:16.688-08:002015-02-19T08:52:16.688-08:00I don't think you are going to want IG staff c... I don't think you are going to want IG staff camped out more than required at LANL. <br /><br />February 19, 2015 at 7:47 AM<br /><br />I guess you are unaware that the DOE/IG has a permanent office at LANL.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-53432285310571216852015-02-19T07:47:52.071-08:002015-02-19T07:47:52.071-08:00I think ~500 million dollars in estimated damages ...I think ~500 million dollars in estimated damages at the WIPP plus ~50 to 100 million dollars in NMED fines in reference to the size of LANS annual budgets, qualifies it as a "disaster". <br /><br />The Inspector General's task is to investigate and report on DOE programs and operations. I don't think you are going to want IG staff camped out more than required at LANL. <br /><br />It is up to LANS senior management and the next LLC in charge to make the necessary and measurable changes to its tracking, procedures, adherence to DOE guidelines, and to its overall safety culture. <br /><br />Think of these changes not as a burden to LANL operations, but rather as an insurance policy against the repercussions of a future "WIPP 2.0" level external investigation. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-51007719246262871242015-02-18T20:30:38.266-08:002015-02-18T20:30:38.266-08:00if you want to blankety discard the so far unchall...if you want to blankety discard the so far unchallenged DOE IG findings thus far on the WIPP disaster,<br /><br />February 18, 2015 at 3:04 PM<br /><br />Yes, I do challenge them, because nobody else has the guts to do it. And, It is NOT a "disaster." The IG goes away between "findings" and does not follow up or come back. Just their "hair on fire" way of doing business. Ho Hum. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-25632329044878482272015-02-18T15:04:31.633-08:002015-02-18T15:04:31.633-08:00"...Only if you believe that the DOE IG hires..."...Only if you believe that the DOE IG hires competent investigators who have intimate, professional-level knowledge of the issues they investigate, and that they aren't easily sidetracked into fruitless activity or irrelevant side-issues, and that they don't have their own agendas. Now THAT'S naive...."<br /><br />You may have valid reservations about the DOE IG track record, but if you want to blankety discard the so far unchallenged DOE IG findings thus far on the WIPP disaster, LANS is in for more of the same micromanagement on its downward spiral to non-existence or extreme baby watching oversight. Choose your destiny carefully. Naive deluxe. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-25929164499801200832015-02-18T14:45:23.170-08:002015-02-18T14:45:23.170-08:00What a naive and reckless response.
February 18, ...What a naive and reckless response.<br /><br />February 18, 2015 at 2:04 PM<br /><br />Only if you believe that the DOE IG hires competent investigators who have intimate, professional-level knowledge of the issues they investigate, and that they aren't easily sidetracked into fruitless activity or irrelevant side-issues, and that they don't have their own agendas. Now THAT'S naive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-2518305523917262282015-02-18T14:04:54.537-08:002015-02-18T14:04:54.537-08:00"...Same thing everyone does, or should do, a..."...Same thing everyone does, or should do, about IG "findings": Nothing..."<br /><br />A sure path to a repeat "WIPP" type episode, more LANS reputation erosion, funding reductions, and job loss. What a naive and reckless response. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-83930388345946508742015-02-18T13:51:08.204-08:002015-02-18T13:51:08.204-08:00What is LANS doing, not just talking about, right ...What is LANS doing, not just talking about, right now regarding these disturbing DOE IG findings? <br /><br />February 18, 2015 at 7:51 AM<br /><br />Same thing everyone does, or should do, about IG "findings": Nothing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-17359538558115786082015-02-18T07:51:56.416-08:002015-02-18T07:51:56.416-08:00DOE IG findings suggest LANS has an eroding safety...DOE IG findings suggest LANS has an eroding safety culture, poor procedural methods, poor tracking methods, an inability to follow DOE waste drum specific guidance, and failed to consider the EPAs year 2000 study of the hazards of using an organic absorbent with waste fuels? <br /><br />What is LANS doing, not just talking about, right now regarding these disturbing DOE IG findings? More well polished safety talking points? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936951073896589340.post-55310800532321113922015-02-18T03:27:14.737-08:002015-02-18T03:27:14.737-08:00Quality at LANL ...what a JOKE!!!!!Quality at LANL ...what a JOKE!!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com