Researchers At US National Labs To Take Lie-Detector Tests

As early as August 1999, the US Department of Energy (DOE) will begin conducting widespread lie-detector tests on scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL; Los Alamos, NM) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL; Albuquerque, NM). The tests have been scheduled in response to criticism about poor security at the DOE's nuclear weapons labs.

As many as 2,500 people may be tested in the first year. The tests will be focused on people with top secret ''Q'' clearance, including most of the weapons scientists. Only two other US agencies use lie-detector tests on workers—the CIA and the National Security Agency.

Researchers at both labs have expressed concern about the tests because they perceive them to be a violation of their personal rights. DOE Secretary Bill Richardson said that the tests would be focused on rooting out potential espionage and would avoid lifestyle questions. In discussions with researchers at LANL and SNL, Richardson has vowed to aggressively combat discrimination against scientists at the labs that may occur as an offshoot of the labs' tightened security.

The lie-detector tests are part of a tightened lab security plan that was launched in March 1999. At that time, investigators discovered that a LANL scientist who had been under suspicion of possible espionage had transferred thousands of top-secret files from the lab's classified system to his personal office computer. It has never been determined whether any of the information left the lab, although some believe the information was sent to the Chinese government.

Because of this alleged security breech, momentum has grown recently in the US Senate for a radical restructuring of the DOE that would insulate its nuclear weapons programs under a largely autonomous agency. Richardson is strongly opposed to the idea, although there is moderate support for it in the Senate.

For more information, call the DOE at 202-586-3012.