LLNL - The True Story -

Another DOE Part 708 Whistleblower complaint against LLNS has emerged. This time it was filed by a LLNS Counterintelligence Officer (CIO) working in the Counterintelligence Program. This CIO alleged LLNS retaliated against him 6 times for raising protected disclosures.  https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/06/f53/WBZ-17-0007.pdf

Accidentally .Please resubmit. Sincere apologies.

The University of California (UC) continues its reign in running the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The announcement was finally made on Friday, June 8, 2018, by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) that UC will continue to manage the lab since it was founded in 1943. UPTE's 6/15/2018 Press Release:  UPTE applauds the new LANL contract that supports research, development and employees not profits. UPTE offers to work with Triad to improve safety and urges them to adopt two structural reforms. By persuading the decision makers in Washington to reform the bidding criteria, the union leadership at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory successfully advocated that the bids emphasize science and worker safety. The proposed 1% fixed fee, rather than a higher and variable performance bonus, sets a promising precedent for a safer operating contract for LANL and LLNL. A low fixed fee also increase...

Webster lists on the A&M website as a professor https://engineering.tamu.edu/nuclear/profiles/webster-robert.html

https://www.modbee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article213664779.html

DOE report on LANL conduct of engineering Appendix C has the summary of the 11 Deficiencies found in May 2018 report by the Office of Nuclear Safety and Environmental Assessments Office of Environment, Safety and Health Assessments Office of Enterprise Assessments U.S. Department of Energy   https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/05/f51/Conduct%20of%20Engineering%20at%20LANL.pdf 

  https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/22/letter-concerns-about-livermore-labs-site-300-shared-in-dc

Y-12 security breach could impact LANL bid protests A protest is likely to be lodged against any decision that picked a winner that had Battelle on the team. The RFP scoring on prior performance had to be very low for Battelle, considering that the Y-12 guard force was a Battelle operation under ORNL. Not only the nun getting through the fences, but the cheating scandals on tests and other public failures. These were reported as some of the greatest failures in the US nuclear weapons program, and they happened in the time window of the RFP scoring. It is really hard to see how NNSA can avoid a protest of any decision that had Battelle on the winning team.

https://sciencesprings.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/from-nif-at-llnl-nif-achieves-record-double-fusion-yield/

Did Division Superintendent Randy Pico and Technical Associate Anthony  Rivera bump heads over HEAF employee high voltage/high energy SKA requirements? Division Superintendents have a significant role and responsibility in the construction of job postings within their respective Divisions and in candidate selection. It looks like there were strong differences in high voltage/high energy SKA requirements for a HEAF assignment between Anthony Rivera and then Division Superintendent Randy Pico (“LLNS Manager A”?) as early as 2007. From a 2015 “La Jicarita On-Line Magazine” story: “In the early 2000s Rivera was responsible for correctly identifying a dangerous, unintentional high power laser initiated, High Explosive detonation scenario not addressed in the High Explosive Applications Facility (HEAF) Safety Procedures documentation. This safety concern was reviewed and subsequently included in the HEAF Safety Procedures. Prior to Rivera’s operational procedure correction, HEAF experime...

Triad partner A&M is in charge of changing the LANL culture https://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/system-charge-los-alamos-includes-improving-safety-culture/A6JebWY1Ivj2RrJunfWvHI/ Same story reconfirms that UT will not protest the loss and did not really want to win anyway.

Losers get debriefed this coming week in LANL contract competition http://www.defensedaily.com/lanl-contract-competitors-await-debrief-next-week/

Worker radiation contamination averages one event per month this year at Los Alamos It is at least the sixth time since January that the safety board has reported a contamination event at Los Alamos. http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/radiation-on-worker-s-hands-prompts-lanl-cleanup/article_f5ddecb8-b5b2-5510-ba93-b6fefaec8668.html

They will wait on debriefing, but look to be preparing a protest. “There will be a full debriefing,” Daniels said. “What I am told, each time the information has been slightly different, but it looks like from a scoring basis, it might have been a dead heat. We’ll have to see.” Tomas, once again! Daniels said he was anxious to talk in more depth about the bid with trustees. But he said Tomas Diaz de la Rubia – Purdue’s chief scientist and executive director of Discovery Park, who was in the thick of the details, according to Daniels – talked him down, reluctant to say much more until Purdue can get a better rationale and more specifics from federal officials for why Purdue lost. https://www.jconline.com/story/opinion/columnists/dave-bangert/2018/06/15/mitch-daniels-purdue-thinking-big-after-losing-los-alamos-bid/701725002/

In response to the news on Friday (June 8) that the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration awarded the contract to run the Los Alamos National Laboratory to Triad National Security, a team composed of the University of California, Texas A&M and Battelle, Purdue President Mitch Daniels issued the following statement: “While we are disappointed to have not been selected, it was a tremendous privilege to be among the strong group of finalists competing to manage Los Alamos National Laboratory. The management of Los Alamos is a solemn responsibility for U.S. national security and the protection of our citizens, and we wish the very best to those involved in that essential mission.” https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/purduetoday/releases/2018/Q2/los-alamos-national-lab-bid-awarded-to-triad-national-security.html

Scooby has lately been relentless in his censorship of posts he does not like. Don't bash Bechtel or the Bechtel lover here. Don't opine that no one wanted a for-profit contractor to win or that LA county lobbied NNSA for a for-profit contractor, and is now lobbying NM State Legislature to let non-profits (not all, but only this one!!) to be taxed as for-profits. BTW, why are there so few active posts lately? Too much work for the moderator?

VSIP amounts likely raised from 25K to 40K across all federal agencies (to match DOD limit). Who is punching out if one is offered? https://www.fedweek.com/fedweek/defense-bill-before-senate-includes-larger-buyouts-for-federal-employees/

Word leaking out of DC late today is that there may be as many as three different protests to the LANL award decision. Some may be based on the qualifications of the key personnel, so this could take awhile to settle out.

Cooking the books? https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/06/f52/Assessment%20of%20OII%20Recordkeeping%20and%20Reporting%20at%20LLNL.pdf

What came out most clearly in the aftermath of the award decision was just how desperate UC was to stay at LANL. They only picked Bechtel last time to add political weight and the same this time for A&M. Time will tell if they chose better on the second pass. Bechtel did not add much value and it is hard to see how A&M will either. Maybe the Perry connection can help in the short term, but the contract will outlast him.

Whistleblower Update: DOE/NNSA Legal Fee Reimbursements to LLNS Continue  Despite a 9-27-17 determination by a DOE OHA Judge that there was a nexus between my "Protected Disclosures" and LLNS retaliation, the NNSA legal fee reimbursement stream to the contractor LLNS kept flowing into November 2017 and beyond.  In 2016, DOE/NNSA reimbursed LLNS a sister LLC to LANS, $57,374 for "Rivera v. LLNS" in Northern District of CA Court for legal fees in a case that was classified as "ongoing". In May 2018, through a FOIA, the DOE/NNSA released another set of legal fee reimbursements to LLNS. They amount to $170,997.  This figure does  not  include reimbursements to cover this legal firm's production of their 49 page January 2018 LLNS response to my Petition for Secretary Review.  Furthermore, this figure does not include LLNS internal labor man-hour charges for such things as coaching for depositions and OHA Hearing, strategy meetings, statement produ...

Appears Battelle is the the lead as the address comes back to their corporate HQ,,, https://app.oneteam.net/Profile/triad-national-security-llc-804U5#details

Bechtel is out of LANL, so how does this change things at LLNL between UC and Bechtel. I cannot imagine that they will be getting along very well now.

Out of State HMOs for Lab Retirees  To UC/LLNL and LLNS retirees that had Kaiser while working at LLNL before retiring to Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, etc., how do you like your non-Kaiser HMO in terms of monthly premiums, retiree costs for operations, and general quality of care compared to CA Kaiser?

Curious timing on this little announcement by Bechtel... -------- Bechtel headquarters leaving San Francisco in favor of Virginia Friday, June 8, 2018 Bechtel, the San Francisco-based engineering and construction behemoth, isn’t going to be based in San Francisco anymore. The company said on Thursday it was moving its headquarters to Reston, Va., near Washington, D.C., although it will maintain offices in San Francisco. “Consolidating the corporate leadership and operations in Reston will enable the company to thrive in the current fast-paced business environment — one that demands faster and seamless decision-making, integration and collaboration,” said Jack Futcher, the company’s chief operating officer." https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Bechtel-headquarters-leaving-SF-in-favor-of-12977525.php  

Interesting inside looking into the LANL bidding team and LANS partner drama. If even close to being accurate it makes you wonder how the LLNS internal relationship is not also broken. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/rick-perry-hands-texas-lucrative-los-alamos-contract/ Key point in the story: "There was much hand-wringing by the University of California over putting together a new bid for the Los Alamos contract. During a September meeting of the Board of Regents, university regents placed much of the blame for Los Alamos’s problems over the past decade on Bechtel, and decided to move forward with a new bid with a different private partner. Bechtel, of course, did not like that. Shortly after the meeting, Bechtel president Barbara Rusinko sent a letter to UC president Janet Napolitano, responding to each point of criticism levied by the regents—and objecting to their harsh criticism of Rick Perry. According to the letter, which has been obtained by Texas Monthly, UC regent Rich...

https://www.lamonitor.com/content/nnsa-awards-contract-triad-national-security-llc NNSA awards contract to Triad National Security LLC Friday, June 8, 2018  The National Nuclear Security Administration announced Friday the contract to manage and operate the Los Alamos National Laboratory has been awarded to Triad National Security LLC. Triad National Security, LLC is a limited liability company, a conglomorate of Battelle Memorial Institute, the Regents of the University of California, and the Regents of Texas A&M University, Fluor Federal Services, Huntington Ingalls Industries/Stoller Newport News, Longenecker & Associates, TechSource, Strategic Management Solutions and Merrick & Company.  Triad released this statement about the decision: "Triad National Security LLC is honored by today’s decision by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to award the Los Alamos National Laboratory management and operations contract to our team. We are committed to building on the l...

https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/450707122/nnsa-awards-los-alamos-national-laboratory-management-operating-contract

DOE faults NNSA field office for lab’s safety issues https://www.lamonitor.com/content/doe-faults-nnsa-field-office-lab’s-safety-issues

Dismissed LLNS employee says DOE OHA Whistleblower process was  a "go-through-the-motions" process that coddled LLNS  https://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2018/06/07/update-on-anthony-riveras-whistleblower-case-against-lawrence-livermore-lab/

Latest, the announcement is Wed, June 6. The decision was made two weeks ago but there was a 2 week waiting time. The other is Bechtel is the winner and they need to keep this under raps until the whole thing is totally final so that nothing can be done.