The scandal over two missing computer drives containing nuclear secrets
from the Los Alamos National Laboratory is raising new questions about whether
the Energy Department can handle security at its defense facilities.
Members of Congress expressed outrage last week over the disclosure
that lab employees discovered classified material missing on May 7, but
did not report it to their superiors for three weeks. Energy officials,
as well, vented their frustration over the breakdown in their security system.
"Frankly, if one of these people had discovered his car stolen from
a garage, they would not have waited one day," said Energy Deputy Secretary
T.J. Glauthier.
Lab director John Browne said he was not going to make any excuses. But
he said Los Alamos was faced with chaos last month when raging wildfires
threatened to engulf the area and destroy the lab.
"I'm not going to use the fire as an excuse for this," Browne said. "People
do make mistakes under stress."
But lawmakers said this is the latest in a long stream of security violations
involving Energy facilities. Last year, former Los Alamos scientist Wen
Ho Lee was charged with copying top-secret computer files that have never
been found. He's now awaiting trial.
Lawmakers began raising new questions about security within hours after
the latest lapse was disclosed, and they dismissed Energy officials' explanations
that computer drives may have been misplaced, not stolen.
"Some of their most sensitive nuclear information seems to have walked
out the door," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence.
"I seriously question whether we have better security at our Wal-Marts
than at our labs," said Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.).
Lawmakers also were angered because Energy Secretary Bill Richardson
declined to appear at the hearing. As the nation's chief Energy official,
he is responsible for overall security at Energy's nuclear facilities. Although
he issued a statement expressing his outrage, he did not appear before the
intelligence committee hearing June 14.
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