Los Alamos Audit Confirms Problems

An external review of purchasing procedures at Los Alamos National Laboratory has found many of the same lax controls uncovered by two former investigators who blew the whistle last year on alleged fraud and other problems at the nuclear weapons lab.

In a report released Thursday, an audit team led by former Energy Department Inspector General John Layton said it had examined $2.2 billion in transactions from October 2000 to last September and found major weaknesses that “increase the vulnerability of [Los Alamos] to potential fraud, waste and abuse.”

The auditors identified about $14,530 in potentially fraudulent purchases that will be referred to Energy Department investigators for study, Layton said. About $1.5 million in other purchases also appear questionable, but may simply require documentation and will be studied further at the lab, he said.

Los Alamos is run by the University of California for the Energy Department. Since the allegations of fraud and theft were made public last year, university and lab officials have removed or reassigned most top managers at Los Alamos.

But the report also recommended additional steps to increase controls, including better documentation and more frequent reviews. George P. Nanos, the lab’s interim director, said the audit team’s concerns “are being rapidly addressed” at Los Alamos.