Response from Los Alamos Ntional Laboratory to the Los Alamos Study Group

Los Alamos National Laboratory
Government Relations Office
CER-1 [Communications and External Relations, Government Relations Office]
505-667-3905/505-667-0365 fax

Dear Mr. Mello:

I would like to take the opportunity to respond to your letters dated June 10 to Bill Sprouse of the Laboratory's Security Support Group, and specifically your requests for citizen inspections and tours of Los Alamos National Laboratory.

I will first address your request for quarterly citizen inspections of Laboratory programs and facilities. Unfortunately, access to all of the facilities mentioned in your letter is restricted; it is given only to those with the proper security clearances and program involvement. Also, for national security reasons, we are unable to offer briefings on Laboratory programs to the general public. Therefore, we cannot accommodate your request for quarterly citizen inspections.

With respect to your request for a motorized tour of the Laboratory on August 7, we are also unable to accommodate this request. To meet the security requirements of a post-9/11 environment, the Department of Energy and the Laboratory have increased protective measures across the Laboratory, including restricting public access to the Pajarito Road corridor along which most of the facilities specified in your letter are located. Our protective force controls access to all sensitive facilities around TA-3, and security personnel are authorized to approach private vehicles coming onto Laboratory property at any time. Large private vehicles, such as buses and trucks, will be approached and are not allowed to park on Laboratory property.

As you know, the Bradbury Museum, located in the Los Alamos town site, exists to accommodate informational visits by the general public, including northern New Mexico schools and community groups. The Museum may provide an alternative option to meet your informational needs without the security requirements that are present on Laboratory property. In addition, the Laboratory conducts a number of public informational sessions throughout the year. We invite you to attend these sessions. Most of these sessions are held in the regional communities surrounding the Laboratory making them very convenient for the public to attend. We make every effort to publicize these events well in advance, however feel free to contact us if you need further information on specific events.

I trust this letter addresses your inquiries about your intended visit in August and public access to Los Alamos National Laboratory. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (505) 665-7778.

Sincerely,
Patrick Woehrle
Office Leader

cy:
DIR, A100 [this appears to be Director Pete Nanos's office] AD-OPS, A104 [this appears to be the Associate Director for Operations, Jim Holt]
AD-A, A108 [this appears to be the A.D. for Administration, Rich Marquez]
B. Sprouse, S-5, G733 [our original point of contact for security]
L. Toland, CER-30, A117 [our original point of contact in community relations, i.e. everything other than security]
CER-DO, A112 [Communications and External Relations, Director's Office, David Macumber, Patrick Woehrle's boss]
IM-9, A150 [unclear; possibly information management for scanning or microfilming]