North Korea:  U.S. Ambassador Says Reactor Work Probably Will Stop

The United States will most likely oppose continued construction on two nuclear reactors in North Korea, the U.S. ambassador to Japan said today (see GSN, June 25).

“It’s a little hard for me to understand how you complete those reactors on one hand, and urge the North Koreans to dismantle their nuclear capability on the other hand,” Howard Baker said.  “My guess is that if … they do not decide to engage in dismantlement of their weapons program, it is unlikely that the United States would support the completion of those reactors beyond the commitments that we’ve undertaken in the framework agreement,” he added.

Baker also warned that the threat from North Korea is serious.

“I wonder if the North Korean government understands what a deadly serious game they are playing,” he said (Shingo Ito, Agence France-Presse, June 27).

Japan, however, is not in favor of suspending the reactor work.  Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said that more negotiations are needed before the reactor project is curtailed.  (Gary Schaefer, Associated Press/London Guardian, June 27).

The project is likely to come to a halt because the United States must sign a protocol to provide water supply tanks to the reactors, the Korea Times reported Wednesday.

“Even if the parties involved find a way to continue the project … the issue of providing water supply tanks to the nuclear plants (which requires the approval of the U.S.) is bound to emerge again,” said a South Korean official.

A South Korean administration official said Washington has already asked for work on the reactors to stop.

“The U.S. has asked for a stop, citing technical issues including provision of parts, so it is becoming more difficult to insist on continuing the project,” the official said.

Some South Korean officials, however, said they want the project to continue.

“Every day we are spending $1 million.  Continuing the project would mean we wouldn’t antagonize the North further in the short term, and also have our invested sum deducted from South Korea’s share once the nuclear issue was resolved and (the parties involved) start discussing aid to the North,” said another official said (Seo Soo-min, Korea Times, June 25).

A senior South Korean official at the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) said the project will most likely be suspended.

“We hope the project will continue, but a suspension may be inevitable now that components cannot be supplied,” the official said. “South Korea will discuss the future of the reactor project with other KEDO member countries — the United States, Japan and the European Union.,” the official added.

KEDO Executive Director Charles Kartman is scheduled to visit Seoul Saturday to discuss the reactor work (Seo Hyun-jin, Korea Herald, June 27).

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Pakistan:  Nuclear Weapons Are Securely Controlled, Musharraf Says

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has said his country’s nuclear weapons are safely under governmental control, the Times of India reported today (see GSN, June 26).

“We are committed to nonproliferation, we are not proliferating at all, our strategic assets are under excellent strong custodial control, there is no chance of this apprehension of the world that they will fall into wrong hands,” Musharraf said.

Musharraf also said there is no proof that Pakistan has provided North Korea with nuclear technologies, as has been alleged.

“In the conventional or the unconventional side we have no linkages whatsoever between Pakistan and North Korea.  It’s story of the past, we have closed this chapter,” he said (Times of India, June 27).

Musharraf said yesterday, however, that Pakistan did purchase shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles from North Korea during a recent 10-month period of heightened tensions between Pakistan and India.

“We realized that there is an imbalance in the air especially,” Musharraf said.  “And we thought that can be neutralized by having more surface-to-air missiles, shoulder-fired, conventional, which we purchased for our own security,” he added.

Musharraf also said yesterday that he hopes the United States would sell sophisticated military equipment to Pakistan, including F-16 fighters and Predator unmanned aerial vehicles.  He warned, however, that Pakistan could look for other sellers if the United States refuses.

“Pakistan will not compromise on its strategy of minimum deterrence,” Musharraf said.  “So we obviously will look everywhere to maintain the strategy of minimum deterrence.  Wherever it may be in the world, we will look for it,” he added (Bill Gertz, Washington Times, June 27).

Meanwhile, Indian officials have expressed both concern and relief after a meeting earlier this week between U.S. President George W. Bush and Musharraf at Camp David.  During a joint press conference following the meeting, Bush announced a proposal for a five-year, $3 billion economic and security assistance package to Pakistan.

Both the Camp David meeting and the U.S. assistance proposal represent an upgrade in U.S.-Pakistani relations, officials said.

The time-frame on the proposal, which would not take effect until 2005, and certain “conditions,” such as addressing proliferation concerns, however, were indications that the U.S. aid proposal is not a “blank check,” officials said (Amit Baruah, The Hindu, June 27).

India yesterday rejected a suggestion made by Musharraf that the United States should involve itself in a “road map” for peace to resolve the conflict over the disputed region of Kashmir.

“We have repeatedly said there is no third party role in the bilateral dialogue ... There is no space for a third party at the table,” Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said (The Hindu, June 27).

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Russia:  Russia and Norway Set to Sign Agreement on Russian Submarine Disposal

Russia and Norway are expected to sign an agreement Monday on Norwegian funding of the disposal of two Russian nuclear submarines (see GSN, June 26).

Under the agreement, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry will pay more than $5.7 million each to two Russian shipyards, Russian Deputy Atomic Energy minister Sergei Antipov said yesterday.  The agreement was supposed to be signed last month, but was delayed because of Russian insistence that Norway also fund the removal of nuclear waste from the submarines, according to Agence France-Presse (Agence France-Presse, June 27). 

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United States:  Energy Department Discusses Potential Plutonium Pit Plant

A new plutonium plant that would produce triggers for nuclear weapons will have safety features not available when the contaminated Rocky Flats facility was built in Colorado, U.S. Energy Department officials said yesterday (see GSN, June 3).

The officials held a meeting yesterday in Amarillo, Texas, to discuss a possible plant to produce the triggers, or “pits.”  A new plant would begin production in 2020, and the United States says the prospective facility must produce at least 125 pits every year to maintain the nation’s nuclear stockpile.

The Energy Department is considering sites in Amarillo; Carlsbad, N.M.; Los Alamos, N.M.; the Nevada Test Site; and South Carolina’s Savannah River.  The government has been unable to produce pits at full capacity since 1989 when the Rocky Flats plant was shut down for safety and environmental reasons, according to the Amarillo Globe-News.

A new pit facility would focus on safety and environmental concerns, according to Jay Rose, the project’s environmental impact statement manager.  The plant would have an improved fire-suppression system and safer waste disposal plan, Rose said (Rohloff/McBride, Amarillo Globe-News, June 27).

However, some groups have said that the United States does not need to build such a facility, the Environment News Service reported Tuesday.

In a letter delivered to Congress Tuesday, a coalition of several community and government watchdog groups said a new plant would “waste billions of taxpayer dollars, threaten global nuclear nonproliferation efforts and create further environmental contamination and health risks for workers and community members.”

The letter was signed by 120 groups, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, Council for a Livable World and Greenpeace International (Environment News Service, June 24).

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United States:  Abraham Calls for “Immediate Corrective Action” to Improve Security at National Laboratories

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham yesterday directed the National Nuclear Security Administration to take “immediate corrective action” to improve security at the U.S. national laboratories (see GSN, June 23).

“The Department of Energy views security as the critical responsibility of the national laboratories, and we treat any lapse or failure as significant,” Abraham said in a press statement.  “Therefore, I have directed NNSA Administrator [Linton] Brooks to launch a comprehensive security overhaul at the national labs and to put in place any immediate changes he deems necessary,” he added.

One of the three national laboratories — Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico — announced yesterday new management changes prompted by an independent investigation into allegations that internal security investigations were blocked or that investigators experienced retaliation.

Among the management changes, which are effective immediately, was the resignation of Dave Nokes, Sandia vice president for national security and arms control, according to a laboratory press release.  Nokes resigned at Sandia President C. Paul Robinson’s request, the release said.  He will be replaced by Al Romig, currently Sandia vice president for science, technology and partnerships, with a replacement for Romig to be announced soon.

“Changes, especially when unexpected, are particularly difficult,” Robinson said in a statement, “but they hopefully serve to assure continued public confidence and support for Sandia and all our programs.  This has been a very trying experience.  I know the changes we’re making today will make us stronger.”

GAO Criticizes NNSA Security Program Management

Meanwhile, the U.S. General Accounting Office released a report yesterday criticizing the NNSA for failing to effectively manage its safeguard and security program that oversees security at the three national laboratories, as well as the four U.S. nuclear weapons production sites (see GSN, June 16).

According to the May report, congressional auditors found that the NNSA had failed to be “fully effective” in its management of the safeguards and security program in four key areas — defining clear roles and responsibilities for site offices, assessing sites’ security activities, oversight of contractors’ corrective action plans and staff allocation. 

“As a result, NNSA cannot be assured that its contractors are working to maximum advantage to protect critical facilities and material from individuals seeking to inflict damage,” the report says.

Brooks told a House Government Reform subcommittee yesterday, however, that he was confident that security at NNSA sites was effective in preventing potential terrorists from gaining access.

Since the NNSA’s creation in 2000, the agency’s management structure has been in “a state of flux,” with a full implementation of a revised management structure not expected to be completed until September 2004, the GAO report says.  This “flux” has had an effect on the agency defining site offices’ safeguards and security responsibilities, it says. 

The lack of a functional management structure, and the resultant confusion over responsibilities, has led to inconsistencies among NNSA sites as to how to conduct security assessments, according to the report.  Three of the seven sites use an Energy-required survey approach to assess security, which is a comprehensive review lasting two weeks.  The remaining sites, however, instead rely on a surveillance approach, which uses a smaller number of NNSA officials to oversee one or more aspects of a contractor’s security activities throughout the year.  These sites have been able to use the surveillance approach, the report says, because the NNSA has not issued guidelines on complying with Energy policy on conducting surveys while it conducts the management reorganization.

In addition, the GAO also found that NNSA contractors often do not conduct Energy-required analyses when preparing corrective action plans to fix security flaws, according to the report.  Out of 43 such plans reviewed between 1999 and 2002, less than half included a required root cause analysis, and less than 25 percent included required risk assessment or cost-benefit analyses, the report says.

“Potential opportunities to improve physical security at the sites are not maximized because corrective actions are developed without fully considering the problems’ root causes, risks posed or cost versus benefit of taking corrective action,” the report says.

The NNSA is also facing shortfalls in both security staff and expertise, the GAO report says.  Officials at five NNSA sites said they either have or expect to have between two and six vacancies for positions to oversee contractors’ security and safeguards activities, it says.  The report found that many such vacancies occur because staff members are reluctant to be relocated to areas seen as less desirable and because the NSSA has frozen hiring activities because of budget constraints.

In its report, the GAO made several recommendations to improve security management, such as the formalization of the responsibilities of site offices to conduct oversight and the use of the survey approach at all sites to conduct security assessments.  The GAO also recommended that the NNSA ensure that contractors develop corrective action plans based on root-cause, cost-benefit and risk-assessment analyses; and that the agency develop a plan to allocate security staff at sites to provide effective long-term oversight.

During yesterday’s National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations Subcommittee hearing, Brooks said he agreed with most of the issues the GAO raised in its report and its recommendations.

“I believe the GAO did concentrate on the right things.  I believe most things in life are a question of management, and this is clearly a question of management,” Brooks said.  “If we do not get the management of safeguards and security right, we will not ever fix the problem,” he said.

Brooks said, however, that he disagreed with the GAO’s recommendation that the survey approach to conducting security assessments should be the only method used at NNSA sites.  He defended the surveillance approach, calling it “equally effective,” and said Energy policy should be modified to legitimize the use of the surveillance method.

Brooks also said the NNSA had developed several new measures to help improve security, which the agency would soon formally announce.  The new measures include increased U.S. and contractor security experts and directives to site managers to increase surveillance and to file periodical reports to Brooks himself.  In addition, the NNSA plans to systematically re-examine a number of external reviews conducted on the agency to determine if recommendations were implemented, as well as create two panels to review physical security problems and personnel concerns, Brooks said.  The panels will be headed by outside experts, he added.  

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Iran:  Washington Works Through U.N. to Stifle Tehran

After heavily criticizing the United Nations over the crisis in Iraq, U.S. officials are attempting to use U.N. channels to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, the Washington Post reported Monday (see GSN, June 24).

Many of the other options available to Washington, including possible military action, are unattractive to U.S. officials, the Post reported.

A senior State Department official described a recent report on Iran’s nuclear development from the International Atomic Energy Agency as “factual” and “devastating.”

Iran has a “lot of explaining to do,” the official added (Michael Dobbs, Washington Post, June 23).

Iranian Opposition Alleged to be Terrorists

A classified report, prepared three weeks ago by France’s intelligence agency, said that an Iranian opposition group was planning attacks in France against Iranian government targets.

French authorities last week arrested 150 members of the People’s Mujahedin, also known as Mujahedin-e Khalq, which the U.S. State Department has formally identified as a terrorist organization.  Most of the suspects were released, however, because of a lack of tangible evidence of terrorist plotting.

The group allegedly had plans to attack Iranian embassies and assassinate former members of the group who are now linked with Tehran (Elaine Sciolino, New York Times, June 23).

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North Korea:  Reactor Construction Will Likely End Soon

Construction of two light-water nuclear reactors in North Korea will most likely be suspended, a South Korean official said today (see GSN, June 20).

“The issue in point is when and how to halt (the project),” the official said.  The reactors are being built as part of the defunct 1994 Agreed Framework, under which North Korea agreed to halt nuclear weapons development.

“As the United States is demanding a halt, we’re finding it more difficult to say that the project should continue,” the official added.

Seoul is pushing for a small continuation of construction, even as Washington and Pyongyang are locked in a nuclear standoff.  U.S. officials are pushing for a complete halt to the work (Yonhap News Agency/BBC Monitoring, June 25).

Former Presidential Aides Indicted

Two former South Korean presidential aides and a leading business executive have been indicted on charges that $100 million was transferred to Pyongyang before a 2000 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

The South Korean president was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, largely as a result of the 2000 meeting.

Independent counsel Song Doo-hwan handed down the indictments against Park Jie-won, a former chief of the presidential staff, and Lim Dong-won, a former head of the South Korean intelligence service.

Chung Mong-hun, the chairman of Hyundai Asan, was also indicted.

“In pre-summit talks, the government promised to provide $100 million to North Korea, and Hyundai group was asked to transmit the money for the government,” Song said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 25).

Anniversary Marked With Rhetoric

North Korea marked the 53rd anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War by criticizing the U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula.

“The U.S. seeks to fish in troubled waters by driving South Korea as cannon fodder or a shock brigade in its aggression of the D.P.R.K.,” said the state-run Korean Central News Agency (Agence Presse-France, June 25).

Pakistani Nuclear Aid A “No-Go”

During a meeting yesterday, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and U.S. President George W. Bush discussed U.S. allegations that Pakistan provided nuclear aid to Pyongyang.

“He basically made it clear that he understood that any sort of contacts in any sort of military-related field, whatever they are, are a ‘no-go’ area,” said a senior Bush administration official (Agence France-Presse II, June 25).

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CTBT:  Oman Ratifies Treaty

Oman ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty June 13, according to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, bringing the total number of treaty ratifiers to 102 (see GSN, May 12).

Oman is not one of the 44 nations that must ratify the treaty before it can enter into force.  Of those 44 nations, 31 have ratified the treaty (CTBT Organization release, June 25).

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Pakistan I:  F-16s Will Not Be Included in Proposed Aid Package, Bush Says

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — A proposed U.S. economic and security aid package to Pakistan will not include the sale of F-16 fighter aircraft, U.S. President George W. Bush said today (see GSN, June 13).

After a meeting with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf today at Camp David, Bush announced that he would seek congressional support for a five-year, $3 billion economic and security assistance package.  Of that $3 billion, half would go to defense-related matters, Bush said.  The sale of F-16s though, which has long been a sticking point in U.S.-Pakistani relations, would not be included, he said.

“In the package that we discussed … half of that money goes for defense matters, of which the F-16 won’t be a part,” Bush said.  “Nevertheless, we want to work closely with our friend to make sure that the package meets the needs of the Pakistan people,” he added.

In the late 1980s, Pakistan ordered 28 F-16s, but the United States embargoed arms sales to Pakistan in the early 1990s because it could no longer certify that Islamabad did not possess nuclear weapons.  Improvements in U.S.-Pakistani relations following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Islamabad’s increased role in the war on terrorism, however, spurred Bush to lift the embargo and increased speculation that the fighters would be provided.

Musharraf today praised the proposed aid package, saying it “exemplifies the U.S. commitment” to long-term involvement with Pakistan.

“We look forward to diverse programs of cooperation in the economic, commercial, political and the defense sector,” Musharraf said.  “We also expect greater people-to-people contact and close interaction between the parliaments of the two countries to promote the cause of democracy,” he said.

In addition to the new financial aid package, Bush and Musharraf discussed the need to stop cross-border terrorism in the disputed province of Kashmir — a potential flashpoint between India and Pakistan.  Bush praised both Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for recent moves to reduce tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries.

Both Bush and Musharraf said that the issue of Kashmir would have to be addressed in any larger Indian-Pakistani peace efforts, with Musharraf saying Kashmir was a “core issue.”  Musharraf reportedly last week criticized Indian suggestions that the topic of Kashmir be one of several issues discussed in any talks (see GSN, June 19).

In addition, Bush said, the United States would remain actively involved in seeking peace in South Asia.  “I assured the president that the United States will do all we can to promote peace,” he said.

Ultimately, however, peace and stability in South Asia will be dependent on India and Pakistan themselves, Bush said.  “The truth of the matter is, for there to be a final agreement, it’s going to require leadership from the both the Pakistan government and the Indian government,” he said.

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Iran:  IAEA Equipment in Place at Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility

The International Atomic Energy Agency has installed monitoring equipment at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in Iran, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, June 23).

The agency has asked Iran not to introduce uranium into the facility, which is at the center of U.S. allegations of nuclear weapons development.

“The IAEA has all its safeguards equipment in place (at Natanz), and if Iran did try to move anything in, they would see it,” said a diplomat in Vienna.

Iran has denied allegations that its nuclear development program is a cover for a nuclear weapons program.  The IAEA recently reviewed a report on Iran’s nuclear program.  Another report, due in September, is “likely to be more conclusive, and expectations are going to be much greater from (IAEA) member states,” a diplomat said.

The September report will probably investigate whether Iran has already used uranium to test enrichment centrifuges and why Tehran is building a heavy water nuclear plant at Arak (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 23).

Intelligence sources in the Middle East, however, said that Iran has already introduced uranium to four centrifuges at the Kalaye Electric facility, Jane’s Defense Weekly reported this week (see GSN, June 12).  The centrifuges were allegedly tested to prepare for the larger facility at Natanz.

The recent IAEA report says that 1.9 kilograms of uranium, previously imported from China, is missing.  Iranian officials said the uranium was lost through leaking valves on a storage container (Koch/Ben-David, Jane’s Defense Weekly, June 25).

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Pakistan II:  Authorities Arrest Two Found With Nuclear Documents

Pakistani military intelligence last week arrested two Italian nationals who were found with classified documents related to Pakistani nuclear facilities, authorities said Saturday (see GSN, June 19).

The two men were arrested in southern Pakistan on suspicion of collecting information about the Pakistan Atomic Energy Center in the city of Dera Ghazi Khan, said District Police Officer Qamar-uz-Zaman.  Since the arrest, all foreigners have been banned from entering the city without special permission, Zaman said (Agence France-Presse, June 21 in FBIS-NES, June 23).

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South Asia:  State Department Clarifies End of Sanctions

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department issued a notice in the Federal Register last week seeking to clarify export control policy toward India and Pakistan by reiterating that all U.S. sanctions against the two countries have been lifted (see GSN, June 13).

The notice re-expressed the department’s policy of considering export license requests for defense-related exports to India and Pakistan on a case-by-case basis, rather than the previous policy of denial established in 1998.  The notice does not represent a new shift in U.S. policy, but instead seeks to clarify lingering uncertainties about the status of U.S. sanctions against India and Pakistan, a State Department official told Global Security Newswire yesterday, calling the notice an “item of good government.”

In 1998, the United States imposed sanctions on India and Pakistan after the two countries each conducted nuclear weapons tests.  In 2001, soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush waived those sanctions on the basis that they were no longer in the U.S. national security interest, according to last week’s Federal Register notice.  Last year, U.S. sanctions that were imposed on the Pakistani Defense Ministry and the Pakistani Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission for engaging in ballistic missile-related cooperation with Chinese entities expired, the notice said.

The State Department official said he was unaware of any particular significance to the timing of the issuing of last week’s notice, citing the time often needed to prepare such measures.  The official also said he was unaware of any requests from either India or Pakistan for such a clarification of U.S. policy.

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Iran:  Tehran Prepared to Negotiate Over Additional Protocol

Iran is apparently moving away from a showdown over its nuclear development and is prepared to hold talks with U.N. officials, Reuters reported today (see GSN, June 20).

“We will definitely try to cooperate more than before with the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] and give them the necessary assurances about Iran’s activities,” said Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran’s nuclear agency.  The United States has accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, but Iran says it is only developing peaceful nuclear power technology to meet the demands of a growing population.

Aghazadeh said Iran is not necessarily opposed to signing the Additional Protocol to its IAEA safeguards agreement, which would allow more intrusive monitoring of Tehran’s nuclear activities.

“We have never said we don’t want to sign the Additional Protocol … Our view about the protocol is positive,” he said.  “Naturally, the way we will choose is the way of cooperation and reaching an acceptable settlement for both sides,” he added (Paul Hughes, Reuters, June 22).

Aghazadeh said he wants to begin negotiations for the nuclear inspections soon, but “there are ambiguities that need to be removed” from the Additional Protocol.  Iran will “study the demands of the agency” and “wishes to commence discussions with the IAEA as soon as possible,” he added (Agence France-Presse/Washington Times, June 22).

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said that some segments of Iran’s leadership support the protocol.

“There is support inside Iran — in some parts of the government — for an additional protocol,” ElBaradei said.  “The longer there are negative doubts, the worse it is for Iran.  If I were in their shoes I’d take a peace offensive,” he added (Roula Khalaf, Financial Times, June 23).

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United States I:  Senator Criticizes Energy Department on Sandia Security

A U.S. senator has accused the U.S. Energy Department of failing to fulfill promises to investigate security problems at Sandia National Laboratories, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, March 21).

In a letter sent Friday to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) cited a long list of reports of fraud and security problems at the facility.  While the letter did not provide much detail into the exact nature of the security problems, it did mention the loss of keys “to every lock at the lab right up to the glass doors to the reactor.”

“You need to address these and other security matters at the nuclear weapons labs,” Grassley said in the letter.

“The labs are in harm’s way,” Grassley said in the letter.  “There is plenty of loud thunder.  Lightning will surely follow.  The labs are in danger of getting zapped,” he said.

In addition, Grassley also said that two investigators who raised questions about security at Sandia, Pat O’Neill and Mark Ludwig, have reported that they were transferred to work in a rodent-infested trailer, that they were reassigned to noninvestigative work and that they had their annual pay raises reduced.

National Nuclear Security Administration spokesman Anson Franklin said that security at the U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories is the highest priority of both the NNSA and the energy secretary.  “We have multiple and redundant means at each facility to ensure that our secrets and materials are not at risk,” Franklin said (Matthew Wald, New York Times, June 23).

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United States II:  Energy Department to Hold Hearings on Sites for Proposed Pit Facility

The U.S. Energy Department is expected to hold public hearings this week in Amarillo, Texas, on the department’s proposed sites for a facility to produce new “pits,” or triggers, for nuclear weapons (see GSN, June 3).

One of the sites the department is considering for the Modern Pit Facility is the Pantex Plant in Texas, where nuclear warheads are assembled and dismantled, according to the Associated Press.  Other sites under consideration include the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Carlsbad site in New Mexico, the Nevada Test Site, and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

Energy officials are expected to decide by April of next year whether and where to proceed with the facility’s construction, AP reported.  Construction is slated to begin in 2011 and is expected to be completed by 2017.  The facility would then be set to begin producing new nuclear weapons triggers in 2020 and could produce between 125 to 450 triggers per year (Associated Press, June 23).

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