LANL fines for both safety and security violations

LANL fines for both safety and security violations


In the Los Alamos security case, LANS – a consortium including Bechtel Corp. and the University of California – was assessed two Level 1 violations, for shortcomings involving documentation of the fate of a “secret/restricted” weapons item that purportedly had been shipped from Los Alamos to the Nevada National Security Site in 2007.

This “item” was never actually shipped, the NNSA confirmed, and a false assumption was created that resulted in “loss of control” of the item, says the notice. A “compromise of classified information” cannot be ruled out, according to the violations notice.

LANS discovered the problems only five years later, in 2012, and “based on unsubstantiated assumptions” concluded that the “classified matter” had been destroyed.

A Los Alamos lab spokesman said Monday that the lab “takes safety and security very seriously and fully cooperates” with investigations. “We are currently evaluating the Preliminary Notice of Violation to formulate our response,” the statement said.

The $150,000 safety fine against LANS in last week’s violation notices was for a 2013 event when five Los Alamos workers were exposed to chlorine, in an event described as “of high safety significance.”

http://www.abqjournal.com/596251/news/labs-may-face-1m-fine-for-handling-of-information-materials.html