Los Alamos management of waste facility faulted

[bananas]

Source: Associated Press

A project to replace an aging and degrading radioactive waste treatment facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory is 11 years behind schedule and its price tag has nearly tripled because of ineffective management, according to a government audit released Wednesday.

<snip>

The audit is the latest in a series of government reports to detail cost overruns and delays by projects overseen by the NNSA, prompting Congress to appoint a task force that is studying a potential overhaul of the DOE-run agency.

<snip>

"The planning and design reversals, confusion, and incompetence documented in this report boggle the mind and exceed what seems possible," said Greg Mello, executive director of the watchdog Los Alamos Study Group. "It's like a Laurel and Hardy movie, starring Bechtel-led (Los Alamos National Security) and NNSA. It happens again and again, on almost all projects."

<snip>

Mello, however, called for resignations and steep fines, noting the same contractors are to blame for problems and overruns on other key projects at Los Alamos, including the security system at its most sensitive area.

<snip>

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/los-alamos-management-waste-facility-170550664.html

[alfie]

1. Why do we keep contracting out what should be government jobs?

eom

[bananas]

2. The Military-Industrial Complex

For a lot of things, it is efficient - the government specifies its needs, and companies compete on cost for the contracts.

We never kept a standing army until WWII led to nuclear weapons.
We had been a nation of farmers.
When needed, we would draft an army, then release them when the fighting was over.
They would go back to being farmers.
WWII left us with nuclear weapons and a cold war with Russia.
And a large industrial base.

[Trillo]

3. Just wait until we end up with NthNSA.