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U.S. Senator Says NNSA Might Need Reforms
The National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees U.S nuclear weapons facilities and programs, might need to be reformed, U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) said Thursday (see GSN, Nov. 10, 2005). Domenici said the agency, which was formed in 2000, has not met expectations, the Albuquerque Journal reported. “(NNSA) was intended to improve operations, to minimize strangulation of regulation so that you could better execute the national mission,” Domenici said in a speech to Los Alamos National Laboratory employees. “I guess it's fair to say, to this point, it's not proved out quite like intended.” The senator has spoken to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman about concerns that the agency has hampered work at national nuclear laboratories. The agency needs to “focus on reducing bureaucratic red tape to free scientists to spend more time with experiments and less time filling out forms,” Domenici said in a statement. Domenici is looking into whether legislative changes are needed to correct problems at the laboratory, said spokesman Chris Gallegos. The senator would only seek to scrap the agency if all other measures failed, he added. While at the laboratory, Domenici participated in the groundbreaking for the Chemical and Metallurgy Research Facility, which analyzes plutonium and other nuclear materials. The new facility is due to replace an older laboratory that has experienced a variety of safety problems. The new facility, which is expected to cost $850 million and be completed by 2013, will be located in Technical Area 55. Critics have said the new facility is not needed and is part of a plan to boost weapons manufacturing (John Arnold, Albuquerque Journal, Jan. 13).
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