Project On Government Oversight: Difference between revisions

POGO has conducted numerous investigations into the Los Alamos National Laboratory.<ref>[http://www.pogo.org/investigations/nuclear-security/lanl.html Los Alamos National Laboratory Files] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707025243/http://www.pogo.org/investigations/nuclear-security/lanl.html |date=2010-07-07 }}. The Project On Government Oversight website.</ref> LANL has been the subject of several controversies in the past, including employees charging personal expenses to government accounts,<ref>Schactman, Noah. (November 8, 2002) [https://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2002/11/56270 "Los Alamos on Hot Seat Again]. [[Wired News]].</ref> lost equipment or documents (including hundreds of computers containing classified information),<ref>Kilian, Michael. (January 3, 2003) [http://pogoarchives.org/m/ep/ep-030103-chicagotribune.pdf "Los Alamos Loses Director Under Clouds of Scandals"](PDF). [[Chicago Tribune]].</ref><ref>Trulock, Notra. (March 5, 2003) [http://www.aim.org/publications/weekly_column/2003/03/05.html "Lab Scandal Undermines Nuclear Credibility]. [[Accuracy in Media]].</ref><ref>Trounson, Rebecca and Ralph Vartabedian. (January 29, 2005) [http://pogoarchives.org/m/hsp/hsp-LATimes-01292005.pdf "A Slew of Safety, Security Weaknesses Found at Los Alamos]. [[Los Angeles Times]].</ref> and a memorandum to employees to "be careful what they say" to safety and security inspectors.<ref>Wald, Matthew. (July 5, 2003) [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/05/world/threats-responses-nuclear-safety-arms-official-brushes-off-complaint-about-audit.html "Arms Official Brushes Off a Complaint About Audit"]. [[New York Times]].</ref> In 2009, 69 computers disappeared, although plant officials insisted that the computers did not contain the most highly classified information.<ref>Reichbach, Matthew. (February 12, 2009) [http://newmexicoindependent.com/18263/69-computers-missing-at-lanl "69 Computers Missing at LANL"]. [[The New Mexico Independent]].</ref> 2009 also saw a scare in which 2.2 pounds of missing plutonium prompted a [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]] investigation into the plant. The investigation found that the "missing plutonium" was a result of miscalculation by LANL's statisticians and did not actually exist, but the investigation did lead to heavy criticism of the plant by the DOE for security flaws and weaknesses that the DOE claimed to have found.<ref>Vartabedian, Ralph. (March 26, 2009) [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-mar-26-na-nuke26-story.html "Los Alamos' Security Flaws Exposed"]. [[Los Angeles Times]].</ref><ref>Webb, Greg. (February 27, 2009). [http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/ts_20090227_5921.php "New Security Lapse at Los Alamos Triggers Angry Response from Energy Department"]. [[NTI]].</ref>