Oak Ridge Today

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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Top management changes at WSI after Y-12 security breach

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Two administrators at security contractor WSI Oak Ridge have been replaced after three anti-nuclear weapons activists penetrated the high-security Protected Area at the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, allegedly splashing blood and spraying paint on a uranium storage building.

Lee Brooks, former general manager at WSI Oak Ridge, has been replaced by Steve Hafner, who will serve as acting general manager, a press release said. Hafner is senior vice president and director of safety, security, and environment for Mission Support Alliance in Hanford, Wash.

Brooks and Gary Brandon, former director of the Y-12 Protective Force, are waiting to be reassigned by G4SGS, the WSI Oak Ridge press release said. WSI is a G4SGS company.

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Secretary Chu: Y-12 security breach ‘unacceptable,’ guards suspended

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Steven Chu

Steven Chu

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said guards involved in an unprecedented security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex last week have been suspended, and the general manager of the contractor protective force has been removed.

Two members of the general manager’s leadership team have also been removed from their positions, Chu said in a statement.

In addition, a federal official at the site has been temporarily reassigned, pending the outcome of the investigation into the July 28 intrusion into the high-security Protected Area on the west end of Y-12 by three anti-nuclear weapons activists, Chu said.

“The Department has no tolerance for security breaches at any of our sites, and I am committed to ensuring that those responsible will be held accountable,” Chu said.

Chu did not name the suspended guards or the employees who have been removed or reassigned.

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