LLNL - The True Story -

E-mail trail does not support claims of Lab Director! “The Lab was very open with the Department of Energy and the Carlsbad Field Office about hypotheses under evaluation, with daily discussions on all efforts to discover the cause of the breach and to ensure the safety and security of the remaining drums,” McMillan wrote in the memo to lab workers Monday. But emails that were the basis for the news report contradict McMillan’s memo. Those messages, colored at times by outrage from WIPP officials about what they weren’t told by LANL, show that despite daily briefings between WIPP and Los Alamos personnel about the ongoing investigations into the leak, a week passed before WIPP officials learned of Clemmons’ findings about the potentially explosive mixture in the waste. Officials at WIPP became aware of Clemmons’ memo only after a Department of Energy employee at LANL leaked it to a colleague in Carlsbad, who then shared it with them. The discovery prompted decision-makers at WIPP to po...

Weapons Complex Monitor November 20, 2014 DOE Launches Enforcement Investigation into Los Alamos TRU Waste Program The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessment is conducting an investigation into remediation of transuranic waste drums at Los Alamos National Laboratory that have been linked to the release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The Office of Enforcement’s investigation will center on “the facts and circumstances associated with the remediation of selected transuranic waste drums at Los Alamos National Laboratory and its potential relationship to the radiological release event” at WIPP, according to a Nov. 14 notice to LANL from Office of Enforcement Director Steven Simonson. Separately, the New Mexico Environment Department is expected to also soon take enforcement action against Los Alamos for violations related to transuranic waste processing. http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/11/f19/LANS Notice of Investigation (11-14-14).pdf

It's quite unfortunate when an eighties high school pop song can describe a premier weapons lab. "Rumors" -Timex Social Club How do rumors get started They're started by the jealous people And they get mad seeing something They had and somebody else is holding They tell me that temptation is very hard to resist But these wicked women, ooh, they just persist Maybe you think it's cute, but girl I'm not impressed, I'll tell you one time only With my business please, don't mess When you look at all these rumors surrounding Me every day I just need some time, some time To get away from from all these rumors I can't take it no more, my best friend said There's one out now about me and the girl next door Did you hear the one about Tina Some say she's much too loose That came straight from a guy who claims He's tasted her juice, did you hear the one about Michael? Some say he must be gay I tried to argue But they said if he was straigh...

Mines president named in Sandia scandal by Inspector General: http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/mines-president-named-in-doe-inspector-general-s-probe/article_b984ab84-d593-5578-8007-e70e7c9e986f.html

  Carl Beard is leaving LANL per LANL-wide email today and I also hear LANS is all done in 2018 running LANL Word is LANS lost its contract extension or something like that for two years in a row so that apparently means they are all done when their current term expires at the end of FY17. This is also the reason Carl Beard had to go.

A message from LLNL Director Bill Goldstein 11/19/2014 It is with great sadness that I announce the loss of our friend and colleague, Bret Knapp. Bret was an inspiration to many of us and his contributions were extraordinary. He made a significant impact during his short tenure as the acting LLNL director and LLNS president and during his earlier 26-year LLNL career. During his treatment for cancer, he remained optimistic about the future and continued working for the benefit of both LLNL and LANL. Bret was deeply committed to the national security of the nation and is admired by all who knew him. He will be sorely missed. Please keep his family in your thoughts. Los Alamos Director Charles McMillan sent the following message to LANL employees this morning: It is with deep grief that I inform the Laboratory family of the passing of Bret Knapp. Bret was a leader in national nuclear security and his unparalleled expertise in the weapons program was invaluable in shaping the contributions...

I was just told that Bret Knapp passed away yesterday.

I heard that the same Sandia Livermore authors accused of plagiarism in the Journal of Physical Chemistry have now been reported to the Royal Society of Chemistry. http://llnlthetruestory.blogspot.com/2014/09/plagiarism-by-sandia.html Now both the American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry have been warned of this ethical behavior. Investigations are underway.

My September 2013 dismissal from LLNS Update In the attempt to resolve concerns with LLNS while employed at LLNS, I requested meetings with the Director long before and after the 2013 DRB decision to dismiss me. The Director declined my offers. LLNS contested my CA unemployment benefit based on “poor employee conduct”. Therefore my CA unemployment benefit was initially denied. I appealed the decision. Representing myself, I appeared before the CA unemployment benefit appeals Judge. Representing the LLNS side were my 2 former engineering division level managers and their Staff Relations attorney. LLNS management and I provided the Judge with supporting documentation and under oath and audio recorded testimony which I have a copy of.  On 1-30-14 the unemployment benefit appeals Judge reversed the earlier decision and stated: “…The employer has not sustained its burden to show that the claimant’s conduct was willful or wanton under the circumstances and therefore has not shown miscond...

LANL officials downplayed waste’s dangers even after leak Not a pretty story here. http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/lanl-officials-downplayed-waste-s-dangers-even-after-wipp-leak/article_54d7f3d2-8c99-5793-8c17-c4bdb0b72ef1.html

Another nuclear success story: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/us/politics/pentagon-studies-reveal-major-nuclear-problems.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Here an article about this form the Washington post. The contractor casino in full swing. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2014/11/12/report-energy-contractor-and-former-lawmaker-lobbied-officials-for-no-bid-contract-worth-2-4-billion-per-year/?tid=hpModule_308f7142-9199-11e2-bdea-e32ad90da239&hpid=z15

Ruh roh, looks like SNL got caught by IG Our inspection substantiated the allegation. We found that SNL used Federal contract funds to engage in activities that were intended to influence the extension of Sandia Corporation's contract with the Department—a contract then valued at about $2.4 billion per year. In particular, SNL developed and executed a plan that involved meeting with and attempting to influence Federal and Congressional officials to provide assistance in obtaining a noncompetitive extension of its contract with the Department. We determined that these activities appeared to  have violated United States Code (U.S.C.) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provisions prohibiting the use of Federal funds to influence members of Congress or Federal officials with regard to an extension of a contract. We also concluded that such activities were impermissible under a provision of the Sandia Corporation M&O contract, which prohibits the contractor from making int...

LANL chief's compensation tops $1.5M Albuquerque Journal No similar information was available for  Sandia  National Laboratories in Albuquerque. A spokesman said pay for officials at  Sandia , also run by a ...   LANL chief’s compensation tops $1.5M By  Mark Oswald / Journal Staff Writer PUBLISHED: Thursday, November 13, 2014 at 12:05 am SANTA FE – The annual compensation for Los Alamos National Laboratory director Charles McMillan has topped $1.5 million, federal records show. That’s up from the $800,348 director’s compensation that the same records showed for 2009 and is nearly three times the LANL chief’s compensation in 2006, the last year the lab was still run by the University of California. McMILLAN: Los Alamos National Lab director The lab has since been run by a private consortium, Los Alamos National Security LLC, that includes the university, the Bechtel corporation and other partners. Although LANS is a private enterprise,...

Aging nuclear arsenal grows ever more costly By Ralph Vartabedian, W.J. Hennigan  LA Times Nov 8, 2014 Pipes, tanks and other equipment rust in the humid Southern air. Leaky roofs leave puddles on factory floors. Abandoned buildings are scattered across an 800-acre site contaminated with hundreds of tons of mercury. If this were a factory making cars in Detroit or steel in Pennsylvania, it would have long ago been shuttered... ..At its root, it is bloated and mismanaged, say former Energy Department officials, outside experts and members of Congress. The nation's nuclear weapons stockpile has shrunk by 85% since its Cold War peak half a century ago, but the Energy Department is spending nine times more on each weapon that remains. The nuclear arsenal will cost $8.3 billion this fiscal year, up 30% over the last decade. The source of some of those costs: skyrocketing profits for contractors, increased security costs for vulnerable facilities and massive investments in projects that ...

Lab management will never go back to a university To argue otherwise is to ignore the reality of how government operates. "Profits paid to the contractors that run the system have tripled since 2006 to $312 million, The Times found. The eight major nuclear weapon labs and production sites are run by a network of joint ventures and private companies, including the University of California, Bechtel Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., Honeywell International Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corp. The increases came after a series of embarrassing security lapses at Los Alamos National Laboratory while it was managed by the University of California." http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-81913379/

Now you can pay $32 to see the great Omar Hurricane take credit for producing 1% of the predicted yield on NIF. http://www.independentnews.com/news/article_b78c025c-65e4-11e4-9088-f3c8a7bc80af.html

Long article but to the point... Foundation of US nuclear system showing cracks By ROBERT BURNS - AP WASHINGTON (AP) — The foundation of America's nuclear arsenal is fractured, and the government has no clear plan to repair it. The cracks appear not just in the military forces equipped with nuclear weapons but also in the civilian bureaucracy that controls them, justifies their cost, plans their future and is responsible for explaining a defense policy that says nuclear weapons are at once essential and excessive. It's not clear that the government recognizes the full scope of the problem, which has wormed its way to the core of the nuclear weapons business without disturbing bureaucracies fixated on defending their own turf. Nor has it aroused the public, which may think nuclear weapons are relics of the past, if it thinks about them at all. This is not mainly about the safety of today's weapons, although the Air Force's ... Rather, this is about a broad...

Executive Order --Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces "...Section 1. Policy. This order seeks to increase efficiency and cost savings in the work performed by parties who contract with the Federal Government by ensuring that they understand and comply with labor laws.  Labor laws are designed to promote safe, healthy, fair, and effective workplaces. Contractors that consistently adhere to labor laws are more likely to have workplace practices that enhance productivity and increase the likelihood of timely, predictable, and satisfactory delivery of goods and services to the Federal Government.  Helping executive departments and agencies (agencies) to identify and work with contractors with track records of compliance will reduce execution delays and avoid distractions and complications that arise from contracting with contractors with track records of noncompliance..." http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/31/executive-order-fair-pay-and-safe-workplaces

New federal labor law enforcement on the horizon for LANS & LLNS? "...Feds’ double standard on discrimination between private firms and federal agencies Government contractors could face a financial death sentence over labor law, civil-rights law, or wage-and-hour law violations under a recent Obama executive order I discussed earlier, EO #13,673..." http://libertyunyielding.com/2014/09/05/feds-exploit-double-standard-discrimination-private-sector-government-agencies/

This is a fine article that  explores the future of the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository, now that Harry Reid is no longer Senate leader. Yucca Mountain Redux:  http://thebulletin.org/ yucca-mountain-redux7800 --  Janice Sinclaire Internet Outreach Coordinator Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 1155 East 60th Street Chicago, IL  60637 U.S.A.

Lab managers will ALWAYS protect themselves. If you disagree with their incompetence. YOU will be persecuted. Guaranteed!

Transferring LLNS TCP1 Retirement Funds back to UC?  What would be legally involved to transfer LLNS managed TCP1 retirement funds for interested individuals back to UC? DOE/NNSA approval and a minimum of 1 full day employment with UC? Pros and Cons? Note from Doobydew:   ??????

Adding to signs of distress in the nuclear force, the Air Force fired two commanders and disciplined a third in response to internal investigations of leadership lapses and misbehavior at two of its three intercontinental ballistic missile bases. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/04/air-force-fires-2-more-nuclear-missile-corps-commanders-disciplines-another

Sandia Retraction: “Inconsistent errors” and unknowing authors force retraction of microbiology paper http://retractionwatch.com/2014/02/25/inconsistent-errors-and-unknowing-authors-force-retraction-of-microbiology-paper/ He is still at Sandia Livermore: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/weihua-wu/1b/442/a49

Lawrence Livermore lab workers threaten strike over wages, safety concerns San Jose Mercury News by Jeremy Thomas - 10/29/14 LIVERMORE -- The union representing more than 200 electricians, plumbers and other skilled trades workers at Lawrence Livermore Lab is threatening to strike over what they're calling unfair labor practices, safety concerns and wage fraud by lab management. After more than a year of negotiating a new contract, members of the workers' union say they plan to picket the lab Thursday to demand fair pay and protest against "grossly inadequate maintenance procedures" they say endanger the community. Substantial workforce cuts, union representatives claim, have left employees unable to perform routine repairs on equipment and items like boilers and rolling doors, leading to system failures, idling facilities, and an increased possibility of a "catastrophic incident." "They're deferring a lot of maintenance that's n...