University leaders make case to keep managing Los Alamos lab

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — University of California leaders say that despite safety and operational lapses at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, the university system alone has the experience and expertise to manage the nuclear weapons lab — a role the school essentially has had since the lab's inception. University officials were in Santa Fe last week to meet with the University of New Mexico, New Mexico Tech, Santa Fe Community College and a representative with the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities to plead its case to continue to oversee the lab. Kim Budil, the University of California's vice president for national laboratories, said the lab "has consistently been rated for their excellence in science and in support of their missions" in the 12 years since the university began co-managing the lab as part of a consortium with three private companies, the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper reported . The university has managed Los Alamos since the 1940s. Then-lab Director Pete Nanos temporarily shut down operations in 2014 after a student was injured and classified disks went missing. Thousands of other issues came to light, and the Department of Energy put the lab contract out for bid in response. Despite serious concerns about how the university was managing Los Alamos, the University of California retained its oversight. It formed a consortium with private companies Bechtel, AECOM and BWXT, to become Los Alamos National Security LLC. But issues have persisted under the consortium, including significant safety lapses at the lab's plutonium facility. Those led to a pause in operations, poor federal performance reviews and improperly packaged drums of radiologically contaminated waste. Budil was joined by University of California Regent Ellen Tauscher, who also is a former California congresswoman who served as undersecretary of state for arms control and security affairs. They were also joined by Gary Falle, a former chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Energy under Bill Richardson, who now works in government relations for University of California. "We would like to be judged for our 75 years of national service, commitment to excellence, commitment to mission in science," Tauscher said. The current contract with Los Alamos National Security expires at the end of September 2018, with the new operator scheduled to assume control Oct. 1 under a five-year contract, with the potential for a second five-year term. The University of California declined to comment on its bid strategy for the new contract or to disclose whether the current members of Los Alamos National Security will be partners in the new bid. ___ Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com