Oak Ridge Today

B&W Y-12 says it has made compelling case to keep contract

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Chuck Spencer

Chuck Spencer

Six weeks after an unprecedented security breach, B&W Y-12 said in a press release Wednesday that is has demonstrated a compelling case to federal officials to let it keep managing and operating the Y-12 National Security Complex.

“The July 28 event brought to light gaps in our maintenance and security operations, and we are using it as a catalyst for a comprehensive and objective examination of all our operations,” said B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Chuck Spencer.

During the July 28 security breach, three unarmed anti-nuclear weapons activists allegedly sneaked into Y-12, evaded guards, cut fences, penetrated a high-security area, and spray-painted slogans and splashed human blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

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U.S. House subcommittee grills federal officials on Y-12 security breach

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Transform Now Plowshares

During a Wednesday hearing, a House subcommittee questioned federal officials about a July 28 intrusion into a high-security area at the Y-12 National Security Complex by the three anti-nuclear weapons activists pictured above. From left to right, the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

Members of a U.S. House subcommittee grilled federal officials during a Wednesday morning hearing on the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, calling it “appalling” and an “all-out failure,” and asking who had been fired and who was responsible for various problems—such as security cameras that didn’t work.

Some of the harshest criticism came from U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican who represents the 7th District in middle and west Tennessee.

She cited a Washington Post report published online on Tuesday that said government investigators had warned of lax security at the site in classified reports nearly two years ago. Among the issues identified then were security cameras that didn’t operate, sloppy equipment maintenance, and poorly trained guards, the Post reported.

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Y-12 security breach subject of congressional hearing

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Note: This story was updated to add a link for watching the hearing live.

The July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex is expected to be one of the topics discussed during a Wednesday morning hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Witnesses scheduled to testify during the hearing of the U.S. House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee include Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman and DOE Inspector General Gregory H. Friedman.

Poneman will be accompanied by Thomas P. D’Agostino, National Nuclear Security Administration administrator, and Glenn S. Podonsky, DOE’s chief health, safety, and security officer.

A webcast could be available on this page: http://energycommerce.house.gov/studio/webcasts. The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee should be Webcast A.

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Judge releases third Y-12 protester

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Greg Boertje-Obed

Greg Boertje-Obed

A federal judge has released the third protester arrested at the Y-12 National Security Complex after an unprecedented July 28 security breach, a court representative said Tuesday.

Greg Boertje-Obed will return to Duluth, Minn., and he must follow conditions that are similar to those imposed on the two other anti-nuclear weapons activists released Aug. 3, said a representative of the U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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Third Y-12 protester has detention hearing today, trial rescheduled

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Greg Boertje-Obed

Greg Boertje-Obed

The third protester who has remained in jail since a July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex has a detention hearing at 2 p.m. today in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

Greg Boertje-Obed had previously waived his right to a detention hearing, and he has remained jailed in Blount County. The other two anti-nuclear weapons activists, Megan Rice and Michael R. Walli, were freed Aug. 3.

Meanwhile, U.S. Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley has rescheduled the trial of the protesters to Feb. 26, 2013. The case will be tried before U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Phillips.

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B&W Y-12 considering what information to release from ‘show cause’ response

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Note: This story was updated at 9:10 a.m.

Monday was the deadline for B&W Y-12 to respond to an Aug. 10 “show cause” letter from the National Nuclear Security Administration. That letter, which followed a July 28 security breach, gave the company 30 days to explain why its contract should not be terminated.

B&W Y-12 did not immediately release its response Monday.

“B&W Y-12 is determining whether we’ll be able to release information contained in the response,” the company said in a statement. “Additionally, it’s only appropriate to allow NNSA some time to consider the document before any content is released to the public.”

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Former nuclear safety chief back at Y-12 as temporary COO

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Joe Henry

Joe Henry

Joe Henry, the former chief of nuclear safety operations at the Y-12 National Security Complex, is returning to temporarily serve as chief operating officer.

B&W Y-12 announced the appointment today.

The new position has been created to aid the plant’s president and general manager in overall site management, focusing in particular on operations, a press release said.

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WSI reassigns Y-12 security director after test questions found in patrol vehicle

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Note: This story was updated at 1:49 p.m. Sept. 6.

The new director of the protective force at the Y-12 National Security Complex has been reassigned after a federal inspector allegedly found papers in a patrol vehicle that included answers to a test scheduled to be given to guards as part of an investigation following an unprecedented July 28 security breach.

A U.S. Department of Energy official said the stack of papers found last week also included a copy of a test designed to quiz a random sample of a few dozen guards on policies and procedures, as well as a “post check” interview sheet. The “post checks” question security officers on procedures and performance tests, such as deploying gas masks. The papers were not supposed to be shared, said the DOE official, speaking on background.

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B&W Y-12 notifies WSI Oak Ridge of possible contract termination

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WSI Oak Ridge could lose its security contract at the Y-12 National Security Complex if it doesn’t take action to address recent security concerns, B&W Y-12 announced Tuesday.

WSI received a notice of a potential contract termination “for default” on Aug. 31, two days after an unspecified Aug. 29 “on-site personnel incident” that allegedly involved a WSI staff member. However, B&W Y-12 didn’t provide more details in a press release it sent out Tuesday.

“At no time during the personnel incident was there risk to the Y-12 employees, community, or to the special nuclear materials,” the release said.

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Seeking delay, Y-12 protesters have Friday hearing in federal court

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A Friday hearing has been scheduled for the three protesters accused of sneaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 and spray-painting slogans and splashing human blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

The three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—have asked Magistrate Judge C. Clifford Shirley to delay their Oct. 10 trial in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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Y-12 camera didn’t work, hammering trespassers mistaken for maintenance

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Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility

Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility (Photo courtesy of NNSA/B&W Y-12)

Note: This story was last updated at 10:40 p.m.

A special federal report published Wednesday documents alleged failures that allowed three anti-nuclear weapons activists to sneak into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, penetrate a high-security area, and spray-paint slogans and splash human blood on a building that stores bomb-grade uranium.

Among the findings: A critical security camera in an area penetrated by the protesters hadn’t worked for about six months, and guards assumed the trespassers were maintenance workers when they used hammers to beat on the walls of the uranium storage building, officially known as the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility.

The failures in the $150 million security system at Y-12, which has “long enjoyed a reputation as one of the most secure facilities in the United States,” raised serious questions, said the 18-page report by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inspector General.

“We identified troubling displays of ineptitude in responding to alarms, failures to maintain critical security equipment, over-reliance on compensatory measures, misunderstanding of security protocols, poor communications, and weaknesses in contract and resource management,” said the report, signed by Inspector General Gregory H. Friedman.

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IG report finds ‘multiple system failures’ at Y-12, inept alarm responses

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The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inspector General has released a report on the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and it found “multiple system failures on several levels,” including ineptitude in responding to alarms, failures to maintain critical security equipment, misunderstanding of security protocols, and poor communications.

There was also an over-reliance on “compensatory measures,” and weaknesses in contract and resource management, said the 18-page report, released about one month after the security breach. In addition, “contractor governance and federal oversight failed to identify and correct early indicators of these multiple system breakdowns.

“When combined, these issues directly contributed to an atmosphere in which the trespassers could gain access to the protected security area directly adjacent to one of the nation’s most critically important and highly secured weapons-related facilities,” according to a summary of the report posted on the OIG website.

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