In the face of opposition from employee groups and members of Congress, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has reduced the number of DOE employees who will be required to submit to polygraph tests, DOE officials confirmed Monday.
Under Richardson's original plan, more than 5,000 employees in sensitive occupations related to nuclear weapons research would have been subjected to polygraph examinations. The Washington Post reported on Saturday that only 1,000 employees at the department's nuclear weapons labs would be tested. DOE officials would not confirm that figure, saying the total number of employees in the polygraph pool would include more than just lab employees. The overall figure, they said, has yet to be determined.
On Aug. 18, Richardson issued an order requiring several thousand employees at the labs to submit to polygraph examinations. The polygraph policy is part of a larger security crackdown in the wake of allegations of Chinese espionage at the nuclear labs.
Amid opposition from lab scientists and members of Congress, DOE reviewed the policy at a series of hearings held at the labs and at the department's Washington headquarters.
Nearly all scientists who spoke at the hearings were critical of the polygraph policy. They expressed concern that the potential for inaccurate results would create an environment of fear and distrust at the labs. Some members of Congress, including Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., came out in support of the employees and pressured Richardson to revise the policy.
The revised security regulations are scheduled to be released Nov. 1. Nuclear weapons designers, security and counterintelligence officials, some employees at nuclear weapons production plants and some DOE political appointees will be among those required to submit to polygraphs, the Post reported. The test questions will cover four areas: espionage, sabotage, unauthorized disclosures of classified information and failure to report contact with people from sensitive countries.
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