Fewer Guards at Nuclear Weapons Facilities

August 20, 2002

WASHINGTON — The number of guards protecting nuclear materials and facilities nationwide has been slashed by 40 percent, jeopardizing their security, a Democratic lawmaker says.

Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts released Energy Department figures Monday showing that between 1992 and 2001 DOE whittled its security forces from 7,091 employees to 4,262.

Among those hit were the Strategic Petroleum Reserves in Louisiana, where security forces were reduced from 233 to 113. Security personnel at the Nevada Test Site were cut from 276 to 115. Rocky Flats, a former nuclear weapons plant outside Denver, had security forces cut from 380 to 154.

``It is clear that DOE has continued its long tradition of aggressive indifference to the security of its nuclear weapons facilities,'' Markey said in a statement.

Bryan Wilkes, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the figures don't paint an accurate picture. He said security was scaled back as facilities shut down after the Cold War, but hundreds of guards have been hired since Sept. 11, which is not reflected in Markey's figures.

``Any implication that nothing has changed in our security since Sept. 11 is patently ridiculous,'' Wilkes said.

Wilkes said Markey has been briefed on the changes.

While the bulk of the cuts in security forces came during the Clinton administration, Markey spokesman Israel Klein said a Republican Congress must take part of the blame for not spending enough on security.

The security cuts were among the findings in a report Markey prepared based on more than 200 pages of documents he requested from DOE. Much of the material was classified and could not be released.

Markey also said records showed computer hackers have broken into DOE computers numerous times since 1999. The breaches varied in their severity, but some were ``root-level'' compromises, which meant the hacker had enough access that a virus could be installed.

Wilkes said the Energy Department has added ``firewalls'' between computer systems and patched holes in computer security and continually re-evaluates its system.

``They weren't a coordinated effort and none of those systems which were attacked and compromised contained any classified or sensitive information,'' he said.

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