[CPEO-MEF] Los Alamos contract

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Press Release

Nuclear Watch New Mexico * Tri-Valley CAREs

for more information, contact
Jay Coghlan, Executive Director, Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, 505.989-7342
Marylia Kelley, Executive Director, Tri-Valley CAREs, 925.443-7148

for immediate release, December 21, 2005

Nuclear Weapons Business as Usual: Despite Past Performances Bechtel and 
UC Awarded Los Alamos Contract

Santa Fe, NM and Livermore, CA - Today, the Department of Energy (DOE) 
awarded $512 million over seven years for the management contract of Los 
Alamos National Laboratory to "Los Alamos National Security LLC," a 
corporate consortium consisting of Bechtel, Inc. and the University of 
California as the main partners. In verbal remarks while announcing the 
award, DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman noted how Los Alamos created a new 
era for mankind with the creation of nuclear weapons, comparable to the 
invention of the printing press, all "in the highest ideals of peace and 
civilization."

DOE officials repeatedly stressed that, in their view, a great strength 
of the UC/Bechtel proposal is that it "provides a forum for the 
integration of the nuclear weapons complex as a whole." Los Alamos is 
one of eight sites in the complex, which is now at a turning point. 
Despite the investment of $68 billion into the so-called Stockpile 
Stewardship Program, whose claimed purpose was to ensure existing 
nuclear weapons reliability without full-scale testing, all three design 
labs (including Los Alamos) are claiming the Program is no longer 
sustainable. Instead, they are arguing for new designs to ensure 
reliability, but their real concern appears to be that the existing 
weapons are politically too big to use - - they want smaller, more 
"usable" weapons, and nuclear "bunker-busters" to attack buried targets, 
as per the Bush Administration's 2002 Nuclear Posture Review. 
Additionally, new draft Pentagon doctrine proposed to give regional 
commanders increased authority to call upon the President for 
authorization to use nuclear weapons for a variety of reasons, including 
"rapid and favorable war termination on U.S. terms."

The nuclear weapons complex exists to support these policies, which 
Tri-Valley CAREs and Nuclear Watch New Mexico believe run counter to the 
highest ideals of peace and civilization. Through its award apparently 
Bechtel and UC seek to lead in the further integration of this growing 
weapons complex, which is perhaps already well exemplified at Los 
Alamos. The Lab is not only a premier nuclear weapons design facility, 
but also, in the DOE's own words, the second largest production site, 
with increased plutonium pit ("triggers") production on its way. Total 
Los Alamos Lab funding is currently two-thirds for nuclear weapons 
research, development, testing and production programs, with, for 
example, no current funding for renewable energy technologies.

During the award announcement a DOE official noted that UC "has had 
concerns with regards to past performance," a diplomatic reference to 
the past decade of security, safety, and fiscal management problems and 
scandals. In fact, DOE was so displeased with UC performance in 2004 
that it withheld two-thirds of the performance-based LANL management 
fee. Nevertheless, DOE officials declared today that Lab operations will 
be improved simply because the four corporate partners will bring "what 
they do best" to LANL management, while giving no examples or details. 
The DOE also asserted today that federal oversight would not be 
diminished during the contract transition, perhaps true because it has 
already been so reduced. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, an 
independent safety board chartered by Congress, has recently noted that 
federal oversight at LANL is only a third of what is needed.

Bechtel and its subsidiaries also have a long and checkered history with 
DOE. In July 2003, a partnership of Bechtel and BWX Technologies refused 
to release investigation reports on a nuclear accident at Oak Ridge 
National Laboratory. Just this month, DOE released a report highly 
critical of Bechtel's construction of the Hanford Vitrification Plant, 
designed to glassify high-level radioactive waste, whose cost overruns 
and delays are jeopardizing legally required milestones for cleanup of 
the country's most contaminated site. In 2003 Bechtel was fined $192,500 
for a series of violations at Oak Ridge and Paducah, KY. In May 2005, 
BWXT and Bechtel were fined $123,750 for nuclear safety violations 
associated with a procedure to remove a cracked explosive component from 
a retired nuclear weapon at Pantex, TX. Outside of DOE work, the EPA has 
identified Bechtel as responsible for 730 incidents of hazardous waste 
spill and the Corporation was fined $31 million dollars for cost 
overruns on the "Big Dig" in Boston. Still, all is overlooked while DOE 
asserts that Bechtel's corporate expertise will bring business 
excellence to LANL.

Jay Coghlan, Executive Director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, commented, 
"Most of all the award to the UC/Bechtel team smacks of being a 
political decision to protect the privileged lifestyles of Los Alamos 
County, which the census bureau just identified as the richest county in 
the country. I think that DOE just didn't want to upset the UC gravy 
train. Given the University's and Bechtel's past performances, I don't 
see how an objective decision contract could have given them the 
contract award."

Marylia Kelley, Executive Director of the Livermore, California-based 
Tri-Valley CAREs commented: "With this first ever competitively bid 
contract process, DOE had an historic opportunity to bring a needed 
'breath of fresh air' to Los Alamos Lab's future - and by extension to 
the nation and world. However, from the narrow requirements published in 
the Request for Proposals onward, the Department sought instead to 
maintain 'business as usual' for nuclear weapons programs. In this 
regard, neither of the final two bidders offered a new vision for Los 
Alamos." Kelley added, "Here in California, we will continue to advocate 
for civilian missions for Livermore Lab in its upcoming contract process."

There were three declared bidding teams for the Los Alamos contract: 
University of California/Bechtel Corporation; Lockheed Martin/University 
of Texas; and Nuclear Watch New Mexico/Tri-Valley CAREs. The last team 
offered a real alternative and proposed to subordinate LANL's aggressive 
nuclear weapons programs under a Lab Office of Nonproliferation that 
would comply with international treaties, such as the 1970 
NonProliferation Treaty. This would have provided solid leadership by 
example in countering the nation's gravest security threat, recognized 
by both presidential candidates - - the proliferation of nuclear 
weapons. Sadly, DOE summarily rejected that proposal, and now the bid 
has been awarded to more business as usual.

###

The rejected NukeWatch/TVC contract bid is available at 
www.trivalleycares.org and www.nukewatch.org.

Marylia Kelley
Executive Director
Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment)
2582 Old First Street Livermore, CA USA 94551
<marylia@earthlink.net>
<http://www.trivalleycares.org> - is our web site address. Please visit 
us there!
(925) 443-7148 - is our phone
(925) 443-0177 - is our fax


--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
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