Nuclear warhead plant slammed for 'significant lack of attention' in handling of plutonium

Los Alamos National Laboratory, the famous nuclear research site once responsible for developing the first atomic weapons, has been cited for safety lapses in a scathing report by the Nuclear National Safety Administration, reported New Mexico Searchlight on Monday.

"Five years ago, LANL began embarking on a controversial mission — to produce an annual quota of plutonium pits, the triggers for nuclear weapons," said the report, noting that Pit Technologies division head Matt Johnson assured the public it was "probably one of the safest places in New Mexico."

However, "A recent NNSA investigation ... cited [it] for its 'significant lack of attention or carelessness' in protecting workers and the public, as a Preliminary Notice of Violation read. Released on May 18, the findings detailed four 'nuclear safety events' that took place over a five-month period in 2021, including one glove box breach, two floods, and an instance in which too much fissionable material was placed in one area."

In another incident cited by the report, water — which can cause spontaneous fission reactions when it comes into contact with plutonium — made it through the ventilation system into a room that stores the "glove boxes" for handling radioactive material. Other incidents include a worker nearly being crushed by a falling container of radioactive waste, and a worker inhaling hazardous plutonium oxide powder.

The report, which said that the organization in charge of the laboratory focused too much on individual “human errors rather than on the conditions that make those errors more likely,” resulted in NNSA withholding $1.5 million from a 2021 contract awarded to the facility.

The lab, for its part, has responded to reports by saying, “PF-4 is one of the safest places in the country as a result of the many redundant safety and security measures in place to protect our workforce, the environment, and the community ... In the case of glove box breaches, training and controls identified the breaches and allowed us to address them immediately."

Data has shown that nuclear power facilities, in particular, are among the safest type of industrial facility in the United States. However, incidents of carelessness have been documented around the country, particularly around facilities that manage nuclear weapons and their materials. In March, six leaders at the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota were fired after a nuclear safety inspection turned up violations in how equipment and vehicles were being handled.