LLNL - The True Story -

By Jeff Colvin SPSE-UPTE Legislative Director and UPTE Executive Vice President In February 2014 a sealed drum containing low-level radioactive waste that was shipped from the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a radioactive waste underground repository near Carlsbad, New Mexico, caught fire and exploded, exposing some 23 workers to radioactive contamination. The accident closed WIPP, and the whole facility remains closed to this day. Another consequence of the WIPP accident, in addition to the large fine levied against Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS), the private company that manages LANL, was the poor performance rating that LANS received from the Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and having one year lopped off the management contract. Thus, the contract that LANS has to manage the laboratory for DOE/NNSA now expires  30 September 2017 . If no further contract extensio...

There is a list of major problems where lax NNSA oversight was blamed for the issue, most of them at LANL. So, is the solution to have stronger oversight? http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/670777.pdf

What is going on – or isn’t – at Los Alamos National Laboratory? That’s the gut reaction to a new government report that slams the nuclear weapons lab for its lack of nuclear safety compliance. Certainly science and nuclear defense work is being done. After all, that’s what the lab is supposed to do. But at what risks to workers, the public and the nation? Reports of bureaucratic red tape, project delays, budget overruns and outright incompetence are nothing new for the northern New Mexico lab (a worker writing down “organic” kitty litter instead of “inorganic” litter leading to a radiation release and the indefinite shutdown of WIPP, the nation’s only nuclear waste repository, immediately comes to mind). But a safety audit by the Department of Energy’s Office of the Inspector General lays out serious ongoing issues the lab seems to be taking way too long – in some cases years – to address. ... The report gives LANL credit for making progress in some safety areas, and a DOE response ac...

How do you like working at the lab? Pros & Cons?

Legal papers served in Washington asked Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz to investigate “substantial and specific danger to employees or to public health or safety” due to “technical failure and incidents” at the High Explosive Application Facility (HEAF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. According to attorney Tony Bothwell, his client Anthony T. Rivera, a 28-year veteran of the lab, said he was harassed and fired in October 2013, after reporting the hazards and other violations to lab management. Bothwell added, the Department of Energy Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) dragged out his case until March 2015 when it said it would not investigate. Rivera asks Secretary Munoz to either order reinstatement and compensatory damages or order OHA to conduct an investigation and hearing on the matter. A California administrative judge who conducted a hearing found that lab management gave false reasons for firing Rivera. Rivera appealed to the Secretary of Energy pursuant to whist...

Ed Moses departs from Giant Magellan Telescope Organization: The GMTO Board would like you to know that, effective immediately, Dr. Ed Moses is on leave for substantial and significant family matters that require his attention. Dr. Moses will not return to GMTO. The GMTO Board thanks Dr. Moses for his important service to the GMTO. The GMTO Board has appointed Dr. Pat McCarthy as interim President and looks forward to his leadership of the GMTO project. A public statement will be made at a later date.

The Office of Inspector General has issued a report titled “Follow-up on Nuclear Safety:  Safety Basis and Quality Assurance at the Los Alamos National Laboratory," (DOE/IG-0941). This report is now available for viewing and can be accessed by clicking the link below: http://energy.gov/node/1138986        

By order of management https://www.llnl.gov/news/laboratory-rolls-out-bike-helmet-program "As part of LLNL's commitment to safety..." management will treat you like baby.  6 years and running.  and on a complete unrelated topic of babying of America: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/22/american-teens-having-less-sex-according-to-study/

Here's more financial waste by Sandia, with taxpayers footing the bill (confirmed by DOE): http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/larry_barker/secret-sandia-settlement-taps-taxpayers and here's another from an old post: http://www.sandia.gov/LabNews/100730.html From the Sandia article itself: " Tim Shepodd (8223) liked the moniker and agreed to call it the “chili cookoff.” But there was no chili involved, and the only “cooking” had to do with the kind of chemicals not usually found on Sandia grounds. "

Under the for-profit LLCs, the NNSA weapon labs have become enormous black holes that suck in billions of dollars in funding but produce little in the way of productive value. Here's yet another example: ================== Audit: Nuclear lab lets safety gaps languish for years  The Center for Public Integrity July 22nd, 2015 An obscure facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory for nine years provided vital scientific data about a critical gas used in America’s arsenal of nuclear weapons, until it was shuttered four years ago due to a raft of safety problems that have stubbornly persisted. The Energy Department, which oversees and finances the lab’s work, has poured tens of millions of dollars into fixing the problems, but so far, the expenditures haven’t borne much fruit. The facility – known as the Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility – is “vital” to the lab’s national security mission, but it remains closed, the department’s inspector general said in a report released July 20. I...

Did anyone see an announcement of the 2015 COLA? Either I am looking in the wrong places or LLNS pension managers need a satisfactory stakeholder communication strategy...some any 3rd year MBA candidate is taught in corporate ethics. C'mon LLNS. Meanwhile I got 1.7%. Can I verify if it correct? Nope. Why? LLNS aint saying. What a complete difference from customer oriented, transparent UCRS, that announced adjustments three months before implementation. Even retired Tarter, Miller Anastasio And Mara care about this. S'up?

However, LANL continued to have problems in fully implementing a number of critical nuclear safety management requirements. This contributed to multiple safety basis iterations and lengthy update, review, and approval processes. Specifically, LANL had not always developed safety basis documents that met NNSA's expectations to ensure that nuclear hazards had been fully identified and that mitigation controls had been implemented; resolved issues identified in the annual updates to the safety bases for two nuclear facilities; and resolved significant and long-standing nuclear safety deficiencies. We found that LANL had not effectively implemented its Safety Basis Improvement Plan, which was designed to enable LANL to build upon lessons learned and assessment findings. In addition, nuclear safety deficiencies were not always resolved because corrective actions were not effectively designed to prevent recurrence. Further improvements in nuclear safety are essential if the Department is...

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/07/britain-gender-pay-gap-world/398684/

To: LANL From:  Charles F. McMillan Date: July 13, 2015 Subject: Release of Joint Accident Investigation Team Report – Arc-flash Event On May 3, 2015, a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) employee was seriously injured by an arc-flash while doing preventive maintenance work at an electrical substation that supports Technical Area 53 (TA-53). I am pleased to report that the employee has been released from the hospital, although he has not returned to work. I hope you will continue to extend your support and best wishes as he progresses through the recovery process. Immediately after the incident, a Joint Accident Investigation Team (JAIT) comprised of personnel from LANL, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS) began investigating the root causes of the accident. The JAIT will release its report soon. The report outlines 13 Judgments of Need (JONs) that are being addressed. The findings in the report are intended to help prevent similar a...

......................................................................................... OPM Announces More Than 21 Million Affected by Second Data Breach The National Journal, July 9th 2015 July 9, 2015 More than 21 million Social Security numbers were compromised in a breach that affected a database of sensitive information on federal employees held by the Office of Personnel Management, the agency announced Thursday. That number is in addition to the 4.2 million Social Security numbers that were compromised in another data breach at OPM that was made public in June. Officials have privately linked both intrusions to China. Of the 21.5 million records that were stolen, 19.7 million belonged to individuals who had undergone background investigations, OPM said. The remaining 1.8 million records belonged to other individuals, mostly applicants' families. The records that were compromised include detailed, sensitive background information, such as employment history, relatives, addr...

Women are better than men http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2015/04/16/are-women-really-as-this-major-research-says-better-managers-than-men/ - With male managers and male employees, engagement level is 25%. - With female managers and male employees, engagement level is 29%. - With male managers and female employees, engagement level is 31%. - With female managers and female employees, engagement level is 35%. Gallup’s overall conclusion? “Organizations should hire and promote more female managers. Female managers in the U.S. exceed male managers at meeting employees’ essential workplace requirements.

http://time.com/3948974/sandia-national-laboratories-lobbying/

Over 2 months have passed since the LANS LANSCE accident occurred. Where is the "lessons learned" report to help prevent a repeat of this tragedy?

Rules Let the Greek mess be a lesson to those who think that rules, transparency, and laws are fungible by emotion based arguments. Example: Livermore hires the best and the brightest, but not really Example: Livermore promotes the best candidate regardless of gender, but not really Example: LDRD projects are chosen based on merit, but not really Example: Crossing borders is illegal, but not really Example: Greek taxes need to be paid along with austerity, but not really Example: Do what cops say, but not really (and we're surprised when you don't , bad things happen) Get Educated.

This story about OPM incompetence keeps getting worse and worse: - 21 MILLION EXPOSED IN SECOND MASS HACK OF FED GOVT - www.nationaljournal.com/tech/hack-opm-office-personnel-management-cyber-million-20150709

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9eIrcyRIQxyenNIT0ZVYUVUZ00/view?usp=sharing http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060021289 An inspector general report once meant for Department of Energy eyes only sheds more light on a fierce lobbying campaign for the contract to run Sandia National Laboratories. The special inquiry report, obtained by Greenwire under the Freedom of Information Act, fleshes out allegations that Sandia Corp., the DOE contractor that runs the New Mexico-based labs, used federal funds to influence the government's contract extension for the company. Sandia Corp. is a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp. The company first won the contract in 1993, which has since been extended several times. The latest extension came in March 2014 for another two years, with the department planning to open the contract for competitive bids after that. The Sandia labs contract is worth at least $2.4 billion a year. The contractor wasn't ready to lose that kind of money, according to ...

The Greeks vote no; now they will suffer. It is just like all you people at the lab that  want another contract change it will only get worse.

Here And There July 1, 2015 Staci Matlock Today on HERE AND THERE, The State of New Mexico got $73 million from the Federal Energy Department to compensate for Los Alamos Labs filling waste barrels with the wrong stuff, and forcing the shut down the WIPP nuclear waste repository for years. A good deal? For whom? The New Mexican's Staci Matlock on the blow-up, the clean-up and the latest news from the labs.

Are US nuclear weapons engineers really shooting rats off their lunches?  Rep. Thornberry That's what Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said, in a talk at the Atlantic Council on June 23, and he might know, being the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and privy to all manner of top secret information. But he's also a booster for more spending on the nuclear arsenal. So is it true? And if it is, are we talking about guns inside the labs? Who carries the guns? Well, Nukewatch and Peace Farm have filed a Freedom of Information Request to find out.  http://nukewatch.org/pressreleases/PeaceFarm-NukeWatch-PR-RatShootingsNuclearFacilities.pdf