'60 Minutes' raises concerns over nuclear security '60 Minutes' raises concerns over nuclear security (February 27, 2004)

Guard at Livermore Lab charges that its security has 'no substance'
by Bob Thomas

The TV news magazine "60 Minutes" ran a segment Feb. 15 on anti-terrorist security at the nation's nine nuclear weapons factories and labs, singling out the two run by the University of California: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

Livermore Lab was also in the news last week when the National Nuclear Security Administration announced that the Livermore facility will house twice the current amount of plutonium if a new 10-year plan of the Department of Energy goes through. The proposal would permit up to 3,300 pounds of plutonium to be stored at the Lab, up from 1,540 pounds. Existing programs at the Lab would be increased, including working with nearly 10 times as much tritium gas, a radioactive form of hydrogen, to prepare for nuclear weapons testing.

In the "60 Minutes" report, Ed Bradley interviewed Richard Levernier, a senior DOE security specialist, who ran mock terrorist attacks to test the security of the nuclear facilities. Despite knowing the date and approximate time of the simulated attacks, there was a 50 percent failure rate in repelling the simulations.

Levernier told of an unannounced January inspection of a Colorado facility where scheduled patrols were not observed.

"Upon further investigation, we found that the vast majority of the patrols were in the facility watching the Super Bowl game," said Levernier. "People should know that the Department of Energy facilities cannot withstand a full terrorist attack."

The report criticized Livermore Lab for the loss of keys to high security areas, and said the Lab was slow to report the losses. It also featured Matthew Zipoli, a member of a SWAT team of security guards at Livermore Lab.

"It's all window dressing. There's really no substance to the security," said Zipoli. "It's what looks good from the outside."

Zipoli also said that guards are required to participate in drills with neighboring police departments but no drills had been held in recent years.

"I've been here for 24 years, and our SWAT team worked with them years ago, but haven't done any drills in the recent past," said Capt. Mike Fraser of the Pleasanton Police Department.

The Livermore Police Department did not return calls by press time.

"60 Minutes" also reported that Lab guard Zipoli had been fired for allegedly organizing a walkout of guards at LLNL, although he claims he was fired in retaliation for pressing his criticisms of security at the Lab. Ultimately, Zipoli was reinstated at the Lab.

"The issues raised were nothing new," said Livermore Lab spokeswoman Lynda Seaver. "In many cases the issues were addressed and corrected long before they came to public attention, and others immediately after being brought up to lab management. Overall we feel that it was a completely inaccurate picture of the high level of security at the Lab."

Seaver noted that the Department of Energy recently gave Livermore Lab good marks in a number of areas, in a report that will be released in upcoming weeks. "Our security principles have been validated several times," she said. "Security has always been a top priority here, it's a requirement of DOE and NNSA."

Bradley also interviewed Linton Brooks, head of the NNSA, which oversees security for the nation's nuclear weapons facilities. It is responsible, according to "60 Minutes," for safeguarding over 10,000 atomic warheads and tons of weapons grade materials. Brooks says security at these facilities is "perfectly acceptable."

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