The State - News from Sept. 10, 1986

A committee at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is studying a proposal for mandatory drug testing of employees at the nuclear weapons facility. Lab spokesman Norris Smith said the study was undertaken at the suggestion of “someone in Washington” who “said we need to look at possible changes in the human reliability program, of which drug testing is one aspect.” The testing, if ordered, would also affect the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The two facilities, operated by the University of California under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy, design nuclear weapons and are involved in other defense programs. UC Berkeley Chancellor Ira Michael Heyman has said he opposes drug tests of university employees, but the university has not yet taken a stand on the Energy Department proposal.