Control of U.S. Nuclear Lab up for Grabs

The U.S. Energy Department on Friday issued a request for bids for management of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 30).

The University of California now operates the $1.9 billion laboratory, which is one of three that maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. The university has managed the laboratory since 1952, but its contract ends in September 2007.

University officials have yet to decide whether to submit a bid to maintain control of the laboratory, AP reported. The university and engineering firm Bechtel Corp. led a team that last month received the management contract for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

“The regents have authorized the university to begin preparations for the competition, and we are doing so in earnest,” university President Robert Dynes said Friday in a prepared statement. “Should we compete, we will do so vigorously and with the firm belief that excellence in science and technology is critical to the mission of the laboratory” (Associated Press/Pravda.ru, Jan 14).

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