Retention bonuses paid to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory guards to keep them at the site as it downsized its security posture were reasonable, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General said in a report released yesterday. The IG said it investigated claims that the lab experienced “excessive” security costs while it maintained security to protect Category I/II special nuclear material, but it found no problem with $15.2 million in retention bonuses distributed from Fiscal Year 2010 to FY 2012 that helped the site maintain its guard force. The NNSA said Friday that it had completely removed special nuclear material requiring the highest, and most expensive, levels of protection, and that it expects to save $30 million a year by reducing security at the lab. In its report, the IG said that guards earned $50,000 bonuses if they stayed at the lab through Sept. 30, 2012. “According to a Livermore official, the retention bonuses helped to maintain the number of security personnel at the levels required for Security Category I/II protection throughout the deinventory, as well as maintain the morale amongst the impacted security personnel,” the IG said. The NNSA also authorized a 12-month transition phase through Sept. 30, 2013, to help guards move to other jobs after the deinventorying effort was complete. The lab will lay off guards over the next few months as part of a workforce restructuring plan.
DOE IG FINDS NO PROBLEMS WITH LIVERMORE STRATEGY TO MAINTAIN GUARD FORCE
The IG also said it found no evidence that the NNSA misappropriated federal funds to reestablish an environmental testing capability, or that it improperly reconstituted the testing capability for use on a refurbishment study of the W78 warhead. The acceleration testing machine was built in 2011, the IG said, and will be used for various stockpile stewardship work, including on the W78.
DOE Science office seeks security support at Oak Ridge
The Department of Energy’s Office of Science is shopping for a contractor to support security services at its Oak Ridge Site facilities in Tennessee, according to a Tuesday procurement notice. “The mission of the support service contractor is to provide an array of site-wide security support functions that support Safeguards and Security responsibilities in a […]