Nuclear weapons lab's keys are lost

Nuclear weapons lab's keys are lost
November 9, 2003
BY DAVID RENNIE Advertisement

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. nuclear weapons laboratory must replace up to 100,000 locks at a cost of more than $1.6 million, after staff lost several sets of master keys to the complex, then failed to notify superiors, it emerged Friday.

The extraordinary series of security blunders at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is outlined in a scathing report by the U.S. Energy Department's inspector general.

According to the report, officials at the laboratory have lost nine master keys and three magnetic key cards to the top-secret research facility. In some cases, officials still do not know when or how the keys went missing.

In at least one instance, a loss only came to light after a locksmith blew the whistle on security officers who tried to have duplicate master keys made to replace a set they had lost. Such master keys are only entrusted to a handful of staff.

The Livermore laboratory was founded in 1952 as the United States entered its long nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. Scientists at Livermore developed nuclear warheads for numerous weapons, including the Minutemen series.

The University of California, which runs the Livermore laboratory for the federal government, has been sharply criticized for security blunders at another site it manages, the Los Alamos National Laboratory.