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News Releases McMillan, NNSA officials address safety board
Don Cook and Charlie McMillan at the DNFSB hearing.
November 21, 2011—Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan joined a panel of high-ranking officials to address the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board at the start of a seven-hour public meeting and hearing in Santa Fe on Thursday (November 17).
The Board, created by Congress to provide safety recommendations for DOE defense-related nuclear facilities, focused on three topics:
- Seismic safety at the Lab’s plutonium facility
- Emergency preparedness and response, and
- Facility safety
The American taxpayer expects me to provide assurance that we can execute our missions as safely as possible, across the Lab. I’m here to do just that," McMillan said. "I am confident in the continuing safety of our facilities and operations."
Video archive available
Others testifying before the Board included NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Donald Cook, NNSA Los Alamos Site Officer Manager Kevin Smith, and LANL Principal Associate Director for Operations and Business Carl Beard.
Watch video of the hearing at the DNFSB website. Fast-forward to the meeting start at approximately nine minutes in.
Fast Facts
People
11,127 total employees
Los Alamos National Security, LLC 8,683
SOC Los Alamos (Guard Force) 419
Contractors 606
Students 1,101
Place
Located 35 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 36 square miles of DOE-owned property.
More than 2,000 individual facilities, including 47 technical areas with 8 million square feet under roof.
Replacement value of $5.9 billion
Budget FY 2012: Approx. $2.2 billion
57% Weapons programs
9% Nonproliferation programs
7% Safeguards and Security
8% Environmental Management
4% DOE Office of Science
4% Energy and other programs
11% Work for Others
Workforce Demographics (LANS and students only)
34% of employees live in Los Alamos, the remainder commute from Santa Fe,
Española, Taos, and Albuquerque.
Average Age: 46
70% male, 30% female
43% minorities
63% university degrees
· 23% hold undergraduate degrees
· 16% hold graduate degrees
· 24% have earned a Ph.D.
Major Awards
121 R&D100 awards since 1978
31 E.O. Lawrence Awards
The Seaborg Medal
The Edward Teller Medal
The Nobel Prize in Physics, Frederick Reines