{"id":577389,"date":"2018-05-09T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T14:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=577389"},"modified":"2018-05-14T09:46:18","modified_gmt":"2018-05-14T15:46:18","slug":"two-leading-bidders-for-los-alamos-lab-contract-have-checkered-safety-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/05\/two-leading-bidders-for-los-alamos-lab-contract-have-checkered-safety-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Two leading bidders for Los Alamos Lab contract have checkered safety records"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_68140\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-68140\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/LANL-771x443.jpg\" alt=\"Los Alamos National Laboratory\" width=\"771\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/LANL-771x443.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/LANL-336x193.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/LANL-768x441.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/LANL-1170x672.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/LANL.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Larry Lamsa \/ Creative Commons<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Alamos National Laboratory.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In the coming weeks, the U.S. Department of Energy will select a new team to run Los Alamos National Laboratory, the birthplace of the atomic bomb and one of the government\u2019s most important nuclear weapons facilities.<\/p>\n<p>The prize: A contract lasting up to 10 years and worth more than $22 billion, with the prospect of hundreds of millions more in bonuses.<\/p>\n<p>The leading contenders: Defense contractor Bechtel and the University of California, which have run the lab as partners since 2006. Their joint management company, called Los Alamos National Security, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/news\/local_news\/feds-won-t-renew-contract-for-private-lanl-operator\/article_fa11e970-8bc2-530a-8d22-6e50626e6dcd.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lost its contract<\/a> for serious accidents, as well as worker health and safety violations, and amassed $110 million in fines and lost performance bonuses for those lapses.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article was produced through a partnership between\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/two-leading-bidders-for-lucrative-los-alamos-lab-contract-have-checkered-safety-records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ProPublica<\/a>,\u00a0a Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom, and The Santa Fe New Mexican, which is a member of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/atpropublica\/meet-the-seven-reporters-joining-us-on-propublicas-local-reporting-network\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ProPublica Local Reporting Network<\/a>. Sign up for ProPublica\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.propublica.org\/forms\/newsletter_daily_email\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Now, Bechtel and UC are competing against one another for the new contract as the Department of Energy embarks on a new era of nuclear weapons production, one expected to grow budgets and staff to levels not seen since the end of the Cold War.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts and experts say the fact that Bechtel and UC are even in contention for such a plum contract shows that the government prioritizes the lab\u2019s nuclear-related work over workplace safety. Indeed, the evaluation criteria for applicants places more emphasis on experience with nuclear facilities than it does safety or health considerations.<\/p>\n<p>A third team, led by the University of Texas system, is also bidding for the new contract.<\/p>\n<p>David Jonas, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who previously served as general counsel of the National Nuclear Security Administration, said contractors can \u201crehabilitate themselves\u201d but acknowledged that the bids by Bechtel and UC posed a conundrum, in which past experience can cut both ways.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny new management team, if they have got half a brain, is going to have to address the issue of culture,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cIt is arguably harder for someone who established the culture to change it, but somebody\u2019s got to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Energy selected the consortium led by Bechtel and UC to take over Los Alamos in 2006 after a series of significant safety and security lapses and mistakes by the California system, which had run the lab exclusively since the 1940s. Despite being effectively <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2003\/05\/troubled-nuke-lab-up-for-grabs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fired for these problems in 2003<\/a>, UC was allowed to be part of the new leadership structure. The consortium represented a powerful force, rich with deep political ties and a longstanding nuclear heritage.<\/p>\n<p>The new management structure was for-profit and included bonuses intended to improve performance. But problems persisted. Since 2006, the National Nuclear Security Administration\u2019s annual review of Los Alamos has given lab managers consistently high marks \u2014 averaging 90 percent \u2014 and related bonuses for their success with nuclear missions. But these successes were tempered by much lower scores \u2014 averaging 61 percent \u2014 for operations and infrastructure, categories that include worker health, safety and environmental programs.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The lab failed to meet NNSA operational standards for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/prod\/files\/2018\/02\/f48\/FDO%2520Letter%2520to%2520Los%2520Alamos%2520Field%2520Office%2520FY13%2520Performance%2520Fee%2520Recommendation_Redacted%5B1%5D.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">three<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/prod\/files\/2018\/02\/f48\/FY14%2520LANS%2520FDO%2520Letter_Redacted%5B1%5D.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">years<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/prod\/files\/migrated\/nnsa\/2017\/11\/f45\/FY2015%20LANL%20FDO%20Letter_Redacted.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in a row<\/a>, between fiscal years 2013 and 2015, with problems that included losing control of radioactive materials on more than one occasion, leading to the spread of contamination, worker overexposure to fumes and other injuries.<\/p>\n<p>In early 2014, an improperly packaged Los Alamos waste drum burst in Southern New Mexico and exposed more than 20 workers to radiation, shutting down the nation\u2019s only nuclear waste disposal site for nearly three years \u2014 and costing the lab\u2019s operators $57 million that was docked from their bonus. Soon after, an electrical arc explosion led to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/news\/local_news\/energy-department-increases-scrutiny-of-lanl-operator-after-electrical-accidents\/article_6e5625eb-4663-5b4a-8407-e02201baf963.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the hospitalization of two workers<\/a>, the second electrical incident in a two-month period.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/prod\/files\/2016\/03\/f30\/DOE-OIG-16-07.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A 2016 audit of the lab<\/a> by the Department of Energy\u2019s inspector general also found that from 2009 to 2014, lab managers failed to address 73 percent of nearly 200 \u201chigh-significance\u201d items related to environment, health and safety, nearly half of which were marked \u201cresolved\u201d even though the root issue had not been fixed. The report also called into question the lab\u2019s ability to fix \u2014 and in many cases even document \u2014 known problems.<\/p>\n<p>In the last year, the lab has been criticized by the Department of Energy\u2019s inspector general <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/federal-watchdog-identifies-new-workplace-safety-problems-at-los-alamos-lab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">for losing track<\/a> of beryllium, a toxic metal used in nuclear weapons production, small amounts of which can cause lung cancer. Separately, a federal safety board faulted Los Alamos for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dnfsb.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/document\/13011\/Emergency%20Preparedness%20and%20Response%20at%20LANL%202017-100-074.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ongoing shortcomings<\/a> in its ability to respond to emergency situations and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/news\/local_news\/report-lanl-twice-violated-nuclear-safety-standards-in-aug\/article_6692f11d-6c8d-5b4c-8f5d-1972330d3df6.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">for violations of safety rules<\/a> involving fissionable materials, which can cause a runaway nuclear reaction. Workers have been burned by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/news\/local_news\/lab-fire-highlights-ongoing-lanl-waste-problems\/article_cb737522-2724-54ad-aa6b-2232e6485ecf.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">unlabeled hazardous waste<\/a> and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dnfsb.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/document\/14651\/Los%20Alamos%20Week%20Ending%20March%2023%2C%202018.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">contaminated<\/a> with radiation on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/news\/local_news\/three-los-alamos-lab-workers-contaminated-in-accident\/article_32d1f5e5-5752-57c2-b7c3-fd279c9769a3.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">several occasions<\/a> since August as the lab embarks on building grapefruit-sized plutonium triggers that ignite nuclear bombs.<\/p>\n<p>The lab also has had successes over the last decade, including creating technology used for the Mars rover and in advanced disease research. In the last year, the NNSA called the lab\u2019s engineering performance \u201csuperior\u201d and said it met goals for four major weapons systems.<\/p>\n<p>The NNSA began the move toward changing contractors in 2015. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/prod\/files\/migrated\/nnsa\/2018\/01\/f46\/de-sol-0011206_rfp_body_lanl.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">soliciting applicants<\/a> to take over the lab this October, it called for a \u201cculture change\u201d at Los Alamos, a sprawling, 35 square-mile campus of nearly 12,000 employees.<\/p>\n<p>The process has been largely secret, but the identities of three bidders have become public.<\/p>\n<p>The University of California has partnered with Texas A&amp;M University, Energy Secretary Rick Perry\u2019s alma mater. The two universities already work together to run Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.<\/p>\n<p>Bechtel has partnered with Purdue University in Indiana. Purdue conducts research with Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. Bechtel has had its name attached to a seemingly endless list of federal projects dating back to the Hoover Dam and been attached to nuclear weapons projects nearly as long as UC. Currently, Bechtel manages several other federal nuclear projects in Washington, Tennessee and Texas. Several of its former executives, meanwhile, have staffed key cabinet positions in the past 45 years.<\/p>\n<p>The third bid is anchored by the University of Texas system, also in Perry\u2019s home state, which has no experience running a national laboratory. UT was part of a bidding team for the lab in 2005, alongside Lockheed Martin. UT also made an unsuccessful bid for Sandia\u2019s contract in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>UC officials recently defended their operation of the lab. Kim Budil, a physicist and the vice president for national laboratories at UC, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/news\/local_news\/uc-leaders-make-case-to-keep-managing-los-alamos-lab\/article_9cd86668-b81e-57fb-88c7-c45bfe5ae966.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told The New Mexican<\/a> in November that while missteps have occurred, \u201cwe have worked hard to try to address those and to improve the operational quality of the laboratory. We realize that needs to be a continued focus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stephanie Beechem, a spokeswoman for UC, declined to comment on the university\u2019s current bid but said in an email last week that the current management team it helps lead is strongly committed to \u201censuring the continued high quality and integrity of [Los Alamos\u2019s] critical national security missions.\u00a0UC and its partners continue to strive for the most safe and secure operation and management of [Los Alamos] as we focus on this national security mission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A spokesman for Bechtel, Fred DeSousa, said in an email that while the company would not comment on the current bidding process, it is proud of its accomplishments at Los Alamos. He said the partnership between the company and the university \u201cresulted in dramatic improvements in worker safety, information security, technical and office infrastructure, and business efficiencies while maintaining or improving the laboratory\u2019s world-class standings as a premier institution of research, development, and national security science.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Spokespeople for Texas A&amp;M, the University of Texas and Purdue declined to comment until the contract decision has been announced, citing respect for the bidding process.<\/p>\n<p>A spokeswoman for the nuclear security agency did not answer a question about why Bechtel and the University of California are under consideration given their poor safety performance as current lab managers. Instead, she referred a reporter to general information about the bidding process on the agency\u2019s website<strong>,<\/strong> which outlines the elements it is seeking in a new contractor as well as the criteria used to evaluate bidding teams.<\/p>\n<p>Allison Bawden, the director of natural resources and the environment at the Government Accountability Office, said the nuclear security administration is insular in selecting new lab managers, choosing between the handful of large companies with an entrenched history in the energy or defense sectors. The agency relies on \u201cpast performance,\u201d but that mostly involves experience running a nuclear lab and not safety issues.<\/p>\n<p>A 2016 GAO <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/680\/678921.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> found the Department of Energy\u2019s management and operation contracts have, since the 1990s, been \u201ca high-risk area vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse.\u201d The Energy Department spent $19 billion the prior fiscal year on 22 such contracts for national labs, but the department rarely considered alternative management structures or analyzed \u201clessons learned\u201d from previous contracts before awarding new ones, the GAO said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout considering broader alternatives,\u201d the report concludes, \u201cDOE cannot ensure that it is selecting the most effective scope and form of contract, raising cost and performance risks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bawden added that when companies form management teams, it makes it difficult to separate out the performance of one or two members from the rest of the team. Public input isn\u2019t sought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere isn\u2019t a lot of information out there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>If UC or Bechtel is selected, it wouldn\u2019t be the first time the government chose a contractor with a recently troubled past.<\/p>\n<p>In December, the Department of Energy <a href=\"http:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/news\/local_news\/lanl-contract-raises-questions-about-bwxt\/article_523f99b5-d529-5735-8319-161abe90f70e.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">awarded a five-year, $1.4 billion contract<\/a> to BWXT, in partnership with Newport News Nuclear, to oversee the environmental management of vast quantities of nuclear and hazardous waste produced during the Cold War at Los Alamos. BWXT is part of the current management team at Los Alamos and also helps run the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southern New Mexico, where the 2014 drum accident occurred.<\/p>\n<p>BWXT had its bonus reduced by $207,000 after workers were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/articles\/department-energy-cites-bwxt-conversion-services-llc-worker-safety-and-health-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">splashed with toxic chemicals<\/a> at an Ohio facility in 2015 and was penalized $100,000 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/prod\/files\/2018\/03\/f49\/Consent%20Order%2C%20Nuclear%20Waste%20Partnership%2C%20LLC.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">for an electrical injury<\/a> at the New Mexico pilot plant last year. In March, the company\u2019s chief counsel, responsible for compliance, said he would resign by the end of the summer.<\/p>\n<p>Jud Simmons, a spokesman for BWXT, said the departure is unrelated to the company\u2019s work or performance and referred questions about the company\u2019s performance to another spokeswoman who said she was unable to comment by deadline.<\/p>\n<p>The University of California and Bechtel also have a history of fines apart from their current joint management team.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to several million dollars in fines it racked up for work done at Los Alamos between 1996 and 2005, the University of California was fined $1.3 million during that same period for health and safety violation at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The fines were largely waived because it operated the lab as a nonprofit. As at Los Alamos, the government terminated the university\u2019s exclusive contract at Lawrence Livermore and UC now operates the lab as part of a consortium.<\/p>\n<p>Bechtel has accrued several million dollars in fines for health and safety violations at other facilities. In 2012, a worker\u2019s toes were amputated while working at Hanford nuclear site in Washington state and Bechtel was fined for \u201csystemic weaknesses\u201d in worker safety and for failing to \u201ccontrol potential hazards.\u201d The incident came on the heels of an electrical arc incident at Bechtel\u2019s Tennessee facility. And in late April of this year, the Department of Energy withheld more than $500,000 in potential bonuses from Bechtel after a worker was injured from a burst pressurized steam pipe at the company\u2019s waste treatment facility in Washington.<\/p>\n<p><em>Rebecca Moss covers energy and the environment, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, for The Santa Fe New Mexican. Email her at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:rmoss@sfnewmexican.com\">rmoss@sfnewmexican.com<\/a>\u00a0and follow her on Twitter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rebeccakmoss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@rebeccakmoss<\/a>.<\/em><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/pixel.propublica.org\/pixel.js\" async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defense contractor Bechtel and the University of California have run the lab as partners for the last decade and amassed a record of worker health and safety violations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[119,1187,275,116],"class_list":["post-577389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-energy-policy","tag-lanl","tag-national-labs","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}