Exam Said to Be Leaked to Guards at Nuclear Site

[bananas]

Source: New York Times

The security guards at a nuclear weapons plant who failed to stop an 82-year-old nun from reaching a bomb fuel storage building earlier this year were also cheating on a recertification exam, according to an internal investigation by the Department of Energy, which owns the weapons plant.

The exam, with answers, was circulated to guards at the Y-12 National Security Complex, near Oak Ridge, Tenn., before they sat down to take it, according to the report, by the department’s inspector general. The report, released on Wednesday, said that the cheating was enabled by the department itself. It was routine practice for the department to involve contractor personnel in preparation of such exams, because the federal government did not know enough about the security arrangements to write the exam without the help of the contractor.

A federal security official sent the exam by encrypted e-mail to “trusted agents” at the management contractor, B&W, but did not instruct those executives to keep it secret from the people who would have to take it, according to the report. The government found out about the cheating only because an inspector visiting the plant noticed a copy of an exam on the seat of a patrol vehicle the day before guards were to take it.

<snip>

The inspector general, Gregory Friedman, said the failure to secure the exam before it was administered was “inexplicable and inexcusable.” Contractor officials treated the test “as if it were a training aid,” he wrote. Part of the problem, he said, was “contractor governance” by the Energy Department. Almost all the work done by the department is performed by contractors.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/us/guards-at-breached-nuclear-site-in-tennessee-cheated-on-exam-report-says.html

[KG]

1. but don't ya know, gov't doesn't work, so let's privatize the world...

[winstars]

2. "Noticed a copy of the exam on the seat of a patrol vehicle" WTF, so smug and whatever that

they don't even bother to hide the frigging exam from anyone walking by... Contractors, yeah, hows that working out?

[happyslug]

3. "The federal government did not know enough about the security arrangements..."?????

It was routine practice for the department to involve contractor personnel in preparation of such exams, because the federal government did not know enough about the security arrangements to write the exam without the help of the contractor.

In simple terms, the Government does not know what the proper answer should be if asked "If you saw an 82 year old nun, cutting through the wire and running toward the reactor, what should you do next?".

Most security items are fairly standard, what to do if X occurs. If the plan includes calling the local police, the number called would be different, but not the fact that you make a call. The security plan may change do to what gate to close, but it should include the closing of gates in the area of the breach, if not ALL gates.

I hate to say this, sounds like an excuse to hire under trained personnel as security people. Every so often (Can varies, but at least once a year) people should be given refreshed courses, but that take guards off the site and increases costs. The cheaper solution is just tell the guards here are the procedure and have them read them on the job (They will, but after a while will stop and that is the problem).

In my opinion, the position of the Federal Government is they do NOT want to find any problems and the best way to do that is to always rely on the local contractor to do the test. The Local Contractor will make sure they pass the test, even if they have to cheat, but the Federal Agency can claim it did all it could do. Remember the solution would be a NATIONAL guard force that requires annual training. That is expensive and the utility companies do NOT want to pay for that. Thus the federal agency to keep the utilities happy adopted this dumb rule. More do to with money then anything else.