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Nuclear Security Head Forced to Resign

Posted on: Friday, 5 January 2007, 09:00 CST

U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman has asked the head of the country's nuclear security agency to resign.

Bodman said he asked for Linton Brooks, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, to step down after a serious security breach at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, CNN reported Friday.

The deputy secretary and I repeatedly have stressed to NNSA and laboratory management the importance of these issues being addressed, rectified and prevented in the future, Bodman said in a statement. While I believe that the current NNSA management has done its best to address these concerns, I do not believe that progress in correcting these issues has been adequate.

The secretary said he concluded that it is time for new leadership at the NNSA.

I repeatedly have told (Department of Energy) and laboratory employees, and in particular senior managers, we must be accountable to the president and the American people not just for efforts, but for results, he said.

The move follows a November report by Energy Department Inspector General Gregory Friedman that concluded that security procedures in key areas at Los Alamos were nonexistent, applied inconsistently, or not followed, The Washington Post reported.

Source: United Press International

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