While the Energy Department's weapons laboratories have completed counter-espionage training sessions, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson Thursday ordered a department-wide "stand-down" to provide security training to employees.
Smarting from allegations that Chinese spies stole nuclear secrets from DOE labs, Richardson said all sites with national security missions will spend the entire day Aug. 3 in security training sessions. By the end of August,employees at all DOE facilities will have completed the training, Richardson said.
"Every one of our workers must realize, if they don't already, that every job carries with it a security obligation," Richardson said. "Without exception, participation is required."
In April, all classified computers at DOE's three weapons labs-Los Alamos and Sandia in New Mexico and Lawrence Livermore in California-were shut down for two weeks amid concerns about security breaches. Then in June, weapons lab personnel participated in a two-day security training program.
Make-up sessions will be provided for employees who are out of the office on Aug. 3. Employees who cannot leave their duties that day will also be provided with make-up sessions.
DOE on Thursday also announced that it would stop a decades-long practice of opposing most worker health claims. The department will pay workers' compensation to workers who were made sick after being exposed to beryllium. As many as 20,000 workers may have been exposed to beryllium at DOE sites, the department estimates. Chronic Beryllium Disease has been identified in 115 current and former DOE workers. The move will cost DOE about $13 million a year, Richardson said.