Congressman questions Test Site security

[NVMojo]

WASHINGTON -- A Massachusetts lawmaker is demanding answers from new Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman about security at the Nevada Test Site.

Democratic Rep. Edward Markey fired a letter to Bodman on Thursday outlining several security lapses and asking Bodman whether the private security firm Wackenhut should be allowed to continue to provide security.

"Wackenhut's performance is consistently well below par, and its continued presence at DOE nuclear weapons facilities raises serious questions about the dpartment's ability to secure its nuclear weapons and weapons-usable materials," Markey wrote.

Markey cited two incidents. In an August 2004 "force-on-force" exercise at the Test Site, guards failed to stop a mock terrorist attack on a fortified bunker designed to keep weapons-grade plutonium safe, known as the Device Assembly Facility. There was no nuclear material in the facility at the time.

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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-gov/2005/feb/18/518315758.html