At Los Alamos, Secrecy Is the Opposite of Safety

The Energy Department scrambled to delay a report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board about a significant threat of radiation release from Los Alamos National Laboratory, a citizen watchdog group revealed.

The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) said the report showed DOE, which runs Los Alamos, had underestimated the odds of radiation release that could result from an earthquake there. After POGO discovered it, the story was covered by major news media.

• "Defense Board Catches Los Alamos Trying to Dodge Plutonium Safety Vulnerability," Project on Government Oversight, October 27, 2009.
• "Study Finds Quake Risk at Los Alamos," Los Angeles Times, October 28, 2009, by Ralph Vartabedian.