report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board found that Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is not adequately prepared for a fire emergency. The report criticizes the fire protection program at LANL and the oversight by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at LANL. The Board is an independent federal agency that provides safety oversight of the nuclear weapons complex.
The report states, "Although LANL and [NNSA] have increased their attention to fire protection and taken some actions to improve fire protection, resolution of issues has been piecemeal. The Board believes that a more comprehensive, multi-year approach fully identifying and prioritizing fire protection issues would lead to greater assurance of adequate fire protection at LANL."
Problems identified were related to insufficient staff, insufficient budget and the lack of a comprehensive plan. The report states that insufficient staff is a root cause of other deficiencies. LANL currently needs four more employees by their own projection to maintain the program. They are also understaffed in their emergency response group. Personnel are not readily available during off-shift hours and are frequently off-site because of other duties.
LANL has not completed inspection, testing and maintenance of its equipment on a consistent or timely basis. Review of fire protection inspection, testing and maintenance records showed that up to 2,000 pieces of LANL fire protection equipment are not properly recorded. This results in an inability to predict failures or the need for new equipment.
Furthermore, LANLŐs Wildland Fire Management Plan has not been updated to meet Department of Energy requirements. LANL and NNSA both cut the funding for fire prevention work. The report states that leaving the prevention work incomplete will result in the potential for unnecessary wildfire threats to nuclear facilities.
In response to ongoing concerns, LANL and NNSA have taken action. They have completed studies, hired one staff member, reorganized the Emergency Operation Management Office and a made a partial upgrade to the site-wide fire alarm system. However, low priority work, such as at some nuclear facilities, will not be addressed in the upgrade. This will result in some facilities having fire alarm systems of questionable long-term reliability, while others will remain in code violation.
Many of the recommendations made in the report, some over 13 years old, have not been addressed by LANL. The report asserts that LANL and NNSA must raise the priority of fire protection. The report states, "while LANL now appears to recognize the need for a comprehensive long-term effort to address these deficiencies, that effort needs to be sustained and warrants higher management priority than it has received in the past."
Activist are concerned by the lack of commitment at LANL for fire protection as demonstrated in this report. Joni Arends, of CCNS, said, "We are surprised by the unresolved issues raised by the Board. Congress made a $345 million investment at LANL following the Cerro Grande fire. It is inexcusable that five years later so few improvements have been made. Where is the accountability?"
