Access Control
& Security Systems

The nation's nuclear weapons research laboratories are in the middle of another uproar over security, and one congressman says their managers have failed to grasp "the stern realities" of today's increased threats from terrorists.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham last week ordered a broad overhaul of security at the weapons labs where lapses have ranged from misuse of credit cards and missing computers to guards who were found asleep on duty.

At the same time, the General Accounting Office released a report saying the long-term security upgrades necessary to meet the increased terrorist threat are not expected to be in place and tested at the department's nuclear weapons complex for two to five years.

All three major nuclear weapons labs -- Sandia and Los Alamos in New Mexico and Lawrence Livermore in California -- have been embarrassed by security incidents in recent months.

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• On A Higher Plane
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