Frantic search for lost data at Los Alamos

[Kadie]

Frantic search for lost data at Los Alamos
Director of UC-run lab called to S.F. for meeting with regents

Keay Davidson, Chronicle Science Writer
Thursday, July 15, 2004

The loss of two storage devices containing classified data at a University of California-run nuclear weapons laboratory is another blow to a university system trying to hang onto its half-century management of the lab.

The devices have been missing for at least a week at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and investigators say they are almost literally turning the lab upside-down in an effort to find them. They're even receiving help from a special team of investigators from Washington that U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham sent to New Mexico shortly after learning of the loss.

Los Alamos officials declined to say Wednesday whether the loss of the devices could threaten U.S. national security. Many such devices at the lab contain information on weapons ranging from chemical explosives to thermonuclear bombs capable of vaporizing cities.

"I can't be specific what the data consists of, I'm sorry. All I can say is this is a very serious issue," Los Alamos spokesman Kevin Roark told The Chronicle. He added: "The search does continue. It is possible that they may never be found."

more... http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/07/15/MNGKE7LMNK1.DTL

[kcwayne]

1. Call Dick Cheney's office

His friends at Halliburton probably sold the devices to Korea. If it was ok for Pakistan's chief nuclear scientist to cash out on nuke tech, why shouldn't American companies get in on the gravy train?

[madrchsod]

2. blame clinton

and everything will be ok....

[ignatius]

3. Hmmm..don't suppose this will have anything to do with the

terrorist attack that Ridge, Cheney and Bush just know is going to happen prior to the election?

[hunter]

4. "How to build a nucular bomb in your terr'ist kitchen..."

We're doomed, we're doomed!

Actually, nuclear weapons scientists in China, North Korea, Pakistan, Israel, Iran, etc., etc., might be interested in this stuff, but they already know how to make bombs.