• A nun, a painter, and a gardener walk into a secure nuclear facility...
    40 replies, posted
[URL="http://www.wate.com/story/19137062/three-vandals-arrested-at-y-12-national-security-complex"]Back in July[/URL], a trio of activists (Megan Rice, an 87 year old nun, Michael Walli, a 63 year old gardener, and Greg Boertje-Obed, a 57 year old painter) vandalized a U.S. nuclear facility. Not just any nuclear facility either, the Y-12 National Security Complex, a facility which takes care of weapons-grade uranium components for the U.S. nuclear stockpile. At the time, a spokeperson for the National Nuclear Security Administration claimed there was no danger and that the stockpile was "safe and secure", downplaying the incident. This seemed believable at the time, since the vandals were basically your grandparents. For reference: [IMG]http://wate.images.worldnow.com/images/19137062_BG4.jpg[/IMG] [SUB]Little old ladies: not known for infiltration skills[/SUB] [URL="http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/fissile-materials-working-group/security-y-12-nun-too-good"]It has since become apparent the "vandals" got much farther into the facility than they should have, and that something is definitely wrong with the Department of Energy's oversight of security contractors.[/URL] For the reading impaired, I'll offer a breakdown at the end of the story. [TABLE="class: outer_border, width: 1000, align: left"] [TR] [TD]In the early hours of July 28, Megan Rice, the now-famous 82-year-old nun and activist, and her accomplices -- Greg Boertje-Obed, a 57-year-old housepainter and veteran, and Michael Walli, a 63-year-old gardener -- broke into the Fort Knox of nuclear facilities: the Y-12 National Security Complex, which houses 300 to 400 metric tons of bomb-grade uranium. The three activists knew they were risking their lives by breaking into the facility; the guards at Y-12 are sanctioned to use deadly force on trespassers. But, as Rice told the Project on Government Oversight, the threesome never really believed they would make it past the first "PIDAS" (perimeter intrusion detection and assessment system) fence, which they assumed was probably electrified. It wasn't. [B]The activists used bolt cutters to get through three fences surrounding the complex completely un-noticed. Finally, around 4:30 a.m., Y-12 guards responded to what they thought was a maintenance crew banging on the walls.[/B] When Kirk Garland, the first guard on the scene, arrived at the "HEUMF" (highly enriched uranium materials facility), he found the three protesters outside the facility -- [B]within 20 feet of nuclear material.[/B] The activists were banging on the walls with hammers, after first hanging a few banners, splashing some fake blood around, and painting Bible verses on the facade. Although their intentions were peaceful, [B]the fact that three ordinary people were able to get so close to the most dangerous material on the planet is cause for serious concern.[/B] And so, it was with no small amount of curiosity that the nuclear security community was finally able to read through the findings of the [URL="http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/IG-0868_0.pdf"]Energy Department Office of Inspector General's investigation[/URL] into the breach. Unsurprisingly, the Energy Department found [B]"troubling displays of ineptitude in responding to alarms, failures to maintain critical security equipment, over reliance on compensatory measures, misunderstanding of security protocols, poor communications, and weaknesses in contract and resource management."[/B] Among the many vexing deficiencies in this report were the [B]numerous inoperable security cameras.[/B] Indeed, the camera that should have provided coverage of the activists' point of entry had been out of service for six months; yet, in a 2011 performance evaluation, [URL="http://blogs.knoxnews.com/munger/y12performance.pdf"]the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) determined that the facility's security was "excellent" and "good."[/URL] It's hard to imagine how the NNSA came to this conclusion given that there hadn't been a full force-on-force test of the facility since 2009. A force-on-force exercise is designed to fully measure a nuclear facility's preparedness against attack; it's the only real way to tell whether a site can protect the material it houses. Thanks to the break-in, the Energy Department's Office of Independent Oversight Program is finally conducting a full security review, including a force-on-force test -- at Y-12 and at every Category I location. However, [B]there is still concern among security experts that the Independent Oversight Program will be pressured to dumb down the tests to avoid further negative attention.[/B] Still, Energy Secretary Steven Chu has said, "The department has no tolerance for security breaches at any of our sites, and I am committed to ensure that those responsible will be held accountable." [B]Those responsible are the security contractors -- Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12 and Wackenhut Services, Inc. in Oak Ridge -- who knowingly allowed the security at Y-12 to fall far below acceptable levels. And yet, neither company has been held accountable in any discernable way. Of course, someone else is equally at fault: Secretary Chu himself.[/B] Chu has developed a federal hands-off-the-contractor culture at the Energy Department. This mentality was first demonstrated by Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman in a memo that put forth a safety and security plan for the Energy Department: "Contractors are provided the flexibility to tailor and implement security programs in light of their situation and to develop corresponding risk-and performance-based protection strategies without excessive Federal oversight or overly-prescriptive Departmental requirements. The obvious problems that result from so much contractor freedom are made clear by the recent inspector general report, which determined that [URL="http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/IG-0868_0.pdf"]this lack of federal oversight at least partially contributed to the success of the break-in: "When questioned as to why action was not taken to address growing maintenance backlogs, Federal officials told us that with the advent of NNSA's contractor governance system (Contractor Assurance System), they could no longer intervene."[/URL] In light of these findings, the inspector general had serious questions about the Energy Department's overall approach and determined that "current initiatives to reduce Federal oversight of the nuclear weapons complex, especially as they relate to security functions, need to be carefully considered." [URL="http://www.pogoarchives.org/m/nss/y12-20120827.pdf"]The NNSA, meanwhile, has issued a "show cause letter" to Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12 giving it 30 days to demonstrate why it shouldn't be fired.[/URL] (NNSA received a response but has so far refused to make it public.) [B]Astonishingly, at this time, the only person who has been fired since the debacle is one low-level guard: Kirk Garland -- the first to apprehend the activists.[/B] Aside from the fact that Garland clearly had nothing to do with the egregious failures of cameras and other security measures, he also acted with real bravery. Had this been an actual terrorist attack, Garland likely would have been killed instantly by the assailants. Yet, for his risk-taking, Garland was handed a pink slip. Garland had 30 years of experience at nuclear weapons sites, including 21 years at Rocky Flats and Pantex. [B]Although other Y-12 employees were reassigned or allowed to retire, Garland was fired -- allegedly for turning his back on the activists. However, in a Project On Government Oversight phone interview, Garland said that he didn't recall doing so. Moreover, in a separate interview with Megan Rice, the activist nun confirmed that she never saw Garland take his eyes off her or the other protesters.[/B] Besides, sacking a single guard will hardly fix the underlying problems at Y-12. The security contractors themselves must be thoroughly vetted and, once on the job, a watchful eye must be kept over them. Fortunately, this is an issue that Congress is starting to take seriously. [URL="http://energycommerce.house.gov/hearing/doe%E2%80%99s-nuclear-weapons-complex-challenges-safety-security-and-taxpayer-stewardship"]On September 12, the Energy and Commerce Committee questioned the officials in charge of Y-12 security. Each member of the bipartisan Oversight and Investigation subcommittee agreed that the break-in was appalling and that more federal oversight was necessary.[/URL] "By all accounts, contractor and site managers' failures at Y-12 allowed one of the most serious security breakdowns in the history of the weapons complex," said California Democrat Representative Henry Waxman at the hearing. "The ineptness and negligence is mind-boggling," agreed Tennessee Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn. It is important that these security concerns are taken seriously and thoroughly resolved. As the country that possesses the second-largest stockpile of fissile material in the world, the United States must ensure that security at its nuclear facilities acts as an example to other counties -- not as a warning.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [U]So, to recap:[/U] -[URL="http://wate.images.worldnow.com/images/19137062_BG4.jpg"]These[/URL] [URL="http://wate.images.worldnow.com/images/19137062_BG2.jpg"]old[/URL] [URL="http://wate.images.worldnow.com/images/19137062_BG3.jpg"]people[/URL] attempt to protest a highly guarded (as in [I]uses lethal force on intruders[/I]) nuclear facility, assuming they will be intercepted immediately at the first fence. -Lethal force appears to be code for "unelectrified fences and inactive cameras". The old people cut their way in with a pair of bolt cutters and make a big mess inside, uncomfortably close to nuclear material. -Security guard Kirk Garland finally apprehends them. -A month later, an investigation by the Department of Energy's Inspector General finds the facility security had been fucking up by the numbers. This is in direct contradiction to a National Nuclear Security Administration report from a year ago. That report turns out to be sketchy, the NNSA not having seen a proper test of Y-12 since 2009. -The DOE's Independent Oversight Program is scheduled to test Y-12. Concern is immediately raised that it will also be a bullshit "test". -Two factors are being scrutinized as causes for the breach: the incompetence of the contractors themselves, and the unwillingness of the DOE to actually pay attention to what they're doing. -So far, all the security contractor has done is fire Kirk Garland. According to the old people he captured, Garland did nothing wrong. It remains a mystery how Garland can be blamed for misconduct if the cameras his bosses left inoperable left no record of him performing misconduct. [B][I]-Y-12 still hasn't been tested.[/I][/B]
man i was gonna post this like way earlier but i forgot
This reminds me of something. I just can't put my finger on it...
I've already done a few reports and presentations on this. Our nuclear security facilities suck when it comes to both cyber and physical security.
I imagine a guard with his feet kicked up on the desk watching a small t.v while the three people just walk past.
That bitch is gangsta as fuck.
So they are basically trying to cover their tracks, again.
So! Who wants to take a field-trip?
The security tests are being pressured to be dumbed down... seriously... are these guys that retarded?
my bus went on a field trip to the beach, we made a wrong turn and ended up at the nuclear power plant (you can see the plant from the beach) we got turned back by a security guard with an AR15. Security isn't that bad but it definitely is lacking.
I feel bad for the Garland guy if he really stopped the intruders and now is getting kicked because of his superiors.
Makes you wonder what else is just sitting around not being checked to make sure old people can get in :v: Like that place that has every biological weapon ever created.
I remember when I could look through the fence that surrounds the Pickering station. It was like ten feet tall with razor wire on top. That was before 9/11. Today I think you even dare try to go near the fence without attracting attention.
lol loving the old womans mugshot
So wait, were they trying to martyr themselves by throwing themselves at "lethal force" facility?
whoops
This is actually really funny
[QUOTE=axelord157;37891516]This reminds me of something. I just can't put my finger on it...[/QUOTE] You must be talking about this [video=youtube;__4JiQI3N6Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__4JiQI3N6Q[/video]
[QUOTE=axelord157;37891516]This reminds me of something. I just can't put my finger on it...[/QUOTE] [video=youtube;McB9tsabPn0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McB9tsabPn0[/video]
[IMG]http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/849/nuclearwtf.jpg[/IMG] Get your shit together Barney!
There have been news stations all around the country that have done reports on the awful security of nuclear facilities for years. The care level of the government is usually as such that such stories are quickly forgotten about and nothing ever comes of them. I think Fox 7 did a bit on the nuclear reactor in Austin, Texas where they were able to park unmarked vehicles within a few dozen yards of the reactor facility without anybody questioning them, and even gain reactor access with little trouble. The reactor is only a small experimental reactor, but the radiation it could spread if damaged would still be a disaster, especially since it's located in an urban area.
[QUOTE=General J;37891544]I imagine a guard with his feet kicked up on the desk watching a small t.v while the three people just walk past.[/QUOTE] You forgot the coffee and the donuts.
Not even motion sensors on the fences? Seriously?
[QUOTE=Glorbo;37893545]Not even motion sensors on the fences? Seriously?[/QUOTE] They had censors, the guards just didn't bother to check them because wildlife tripped them all the time and they got sick of the false alarms.
[img]http://wate.images.worldnow.com/images/19137062_BG4.jpg[/img] Look at her. Those cold, calculating eyes and that knowing grin. That's a face that says "I'm going to fuck your shit up. And I'm going to get away with it, because I'm old and sweet."
[QUOTE=monkey11;37893032][video=youtube;McB9tsabPn0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McB9tsabPn0[/video][/QUOTE] This one is also relevant as well. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvH3YQGQwLM[/media]
And this is why we can't have nice things because people like them ruin the potential fun for everyone else.
[QUOTE=General J;37891544]I imagine a guard with his feet kicked up on the desk watching a small t.v while the three people just walk past.[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx1_6F-nCaw[/media]
It makes me wonder if they had had serious intentions, could they have gotten there hands on nuclear material?
[QUOTE=LordCrypto;37892206]So wait, were they trying to martyr themselves by throwing themselves at "lethal force" facility?[/QUOTE] I think they were expecting to get arrested before even getting to the first fence.
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