- 'We have to make sure this facility, its workforce and
our community are strongly protected.'
-
- In the event of a terrorist attack, Oak Ridge's nuclear
weapons plant could not adequately protect its supply of bomb-grade uranium,
according to a federal watchdog group.
-
- The Washington, D.C.-based Project On Government Oversight
based its claims on unnamed government sources and a review last month
of protective security forces at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Oak
Ridge was apparently the first site to undergo the high-level security
exercise, which was conducted by the Department of Energy's office of Security
and Performance Assurance.
-
- "It (the review) was pretty ugly," said Peter
Stockton, a senior investigator with the watchdog group.
-
- Joe Davis, chief spokesman for DOE headquarters, said
this morning that the Y-12 security review was not finished and added that
he wasn't sure where the Project On Government Oversight got its information.
-
- "I don't know if their information is even correct,"
Davis said.
-
- Bill Brumley, the Oak Ridge chief of the National Nuclear
Security Administration, declined to discuss any details of the review
during a brief telephone interview Thursday afternoon. However, Brumley
said he recently discussed the review with high-ranking NNSA officials
- a typical procedure following such inspections.
-
- Officials with BWXT Y-12 also declined to comment on
the review or the Project On Government Oversight's claims. BWXT Y-12 manages
Y-12 for the NNSA - the quasi-independent agency within DOE that oversees
the nuclear weapons complex.
-
- Y-12, which is sometimes referred to as the "Fort
Knox of Uranium," plays a major role in the security of the nation
by its production and refurbishment of weapons components, storage of nuclear
material and prevention of the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
-
- Construction of Y-12 started in the early 1940s as part
of World War II's Manhattan Project. The uranium enriched at Y-12 ultimately
fueled the "Little Boy" bomb, which was dropped on Hiroshima,
Japan, near the end of the war in 1945.
-
- According to the watchdog group, most of the facilities
at Y-12 that store highly enriched uranium are at least 50 years old, and
were not designed to store large quantities of weapons-grade nuclear materials.
-
- For quite some time, Y-12's storage arrangements have
been considered a weak point in the nation's nuclear security, according
to some observers. And, in early 2001, the Project On Government Oversight
issued a report stating that the federal government had lax security at
its nuclear weapons facilities, including Y-12.
-
- If a terrorist gains access to the highly enriched uranium,
he or she could create a so-called improvised nuclear device in a matter
of minutes, according to Stockton. Though several varying definitions exist,
an improvised nuclear device is essentially a weapon designed to result
in the dispersal of radioactive material or in the formation of nuclear-yield
reaction.
-
- "It's not difficult," said Stockton of the
construction of the improvised nuclear devices. However, he would not discuss
how the weapons are made.
-
- U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District, described Y-12 as
the linchpin of the nation's nuclear weapons complex, adding that it plays
a strategic role in the defense of the country.
-
- "Every facet of our country's infrastructure faces
dramatically increased security challenges in the aftermath of Sept. 11,
2001, and our nation's vital nuclear weapons facilities face a dangerous
new type of threat," the congressman said.
-
- "I am briefed regularly and in depth by top NNSA
officials as they replace the aging structures, invest in cutting-edge
security technologies and increase the guard force to strengthen Y-12's
security posture. We have to make sure this facility, its workforce and
our community are strongly protected."
-
- A new storage facility for highly enriched uranium is
a key element in the modernization of the aging Oak Ridge weapons plant.
In previous interviews, BWXT Y-12 officials have said construction on the
facility would begin this year, with the end product being as big as "roughly
four football fields."
-
- "It's a step in the right direction," said
Stockton of the proposed storage facility. "I don't know if that's
going to solve the whole problem."
-
- Stockton said he also had it on good authority that someone
had been "taken out of their position" at the Oak Ridge NNSA
office, possibly as a result of the recent review.
-
- "No one has been demoted," said Brumley. "No
one has been fired. No one has been canned."
-
- However, the NNSA chief said he recently made some management
changes in his local office to "further strengthen" the organization.
Brumley told The Oak Ridger that Sharon Daly, who served as assistant manager
of safeguards and security, was detailed to an assignment focusing on the
technical aspects of security. The NNSA chief also said that Ken Ivey will
assume the top security position on an acting basis.
-
- Brumley also said Thursday afternoon he might bring in
some people from the NNSA's field office in Amarillo, Texas, for some temporary
assignments in Oak Ridge. The Amarillo office oversees the Pantex Plant.
-
- Wackenhut Services Inc. has provided security at the
Y-12 weapons plant since January 2000. Last September, the NNSA gave its
security contractor its highest scores to-date on an evaluation. According
to Wackenhut officials, the company received "outstanding" scores
in several areas including protective force training and rapid response
to changing security condition levels.
-
- Attempts to get a comment from the Oak Ridge Environmental
Peace Alliance were unsuccessful. The organization seeks to end the production
of nuclear weapons in Oak Ridge.
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