ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – The safety record at the U.S. laboratory that created the atomic bomb is facing intensifying criticism as work ramps up to produce a key component for the nation’s nuclear weapons cache.
A series published this week by the Center for Public Integrity cites numerous internal reports and other documents outlining federal regulators’ concerns about safety lapses at Los Alamos National Laboratory over the years, including spilled plutonium and workers positioning plutonium rods in a way that could have been disastrous.
In an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press, Los Alamos officials took aim at critics and reassured employees of the safety of the lab’s facility for making plutonium cores used to trigger the explosions in nuclear bombs.
“As employees, you should be proud of your laboratory’s accomplishments over the past decade to strengthen our ability to operate safely and securely,” according to the memo, dated Monday. “While there will often be external organizations and individuals which advance a misleading narrative, it is not an accurate reflection of our work.”
It said the plutonium facility’s operations and safety programs have successfully undergone more than a dozen independent external reviews and that it’s close to being fully operational after safety problems forced work to be suspended in 2013.