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Los Alamos inquiry may involve the FBI

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Energy Department officials said Wednesday they want the FBI to help investigate the disappearance of two classified computer discs at Los Alamos National Laboratory, but cautioned there is nothing to suggest that espionage was behind the latest in a series of security breaches at the nuclear weapons lab.

In a memo to National Nuclear Security Administration chief Linton Brooks, Deputy Energy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow said that although the agency has not found "evidence of activity with a hostile intelligence motive," criminal charges may be warranted under the law that places strict controls on restricted data.

All classified work at Los Alamos was shut down last Thursday by the lab's manager, the University of California, after the discs were found to be missing. A day later, lab director Pete Nanos stopped nearly all work at the lab.

The missing discs are among several embarrassing problems to hit Los Alamos recently, including a number of other security lapses and a scandal over fraudulent use of credit cards. The Energy Department has responded by seeking bids for management of Los Alamos, which the university has run since the lab was founded 61 years ago.

Officials have not said what was on the two missing discs, which may simply have been destroyed without the required paperwork.

A "cavalier attitude" among researchers about security procedures seems to be at the root of the problem, said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee who visited the lab this week.

The committee plans hearings in September.

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