Laura Paskus’ one-sided article, “New
Mexico goes head-to-head with a nuclear juggernaut,” has
largely parroted the viewpoint of the local anti-LANL (Los Alamos
National Laboratory) organizations (HCN, 11/24/03: New Mexico goes
head-to-head with a nuclear juggernaut). I am a LANL employee,
although the opinions expressed here are my own.
The
problems with this article begin in the first paragraphs, in which
Paskus presents a highly skewed background description of Los
Alamos, designed to present it as a dark and repressive place. With
statements like “lab employees can, to some degree, express
their personal politics,” she insinuates that dissent is
discouraged. In fact, Lab employees enjoy more freedom to express
personal politics than is commonly seen in private industry (where
I also spent many years employed) — probably a result of
LANL’s heritage of being run by the University of
California.
Although most of the facts Paskus quotes are
technically correct, many are half-truths presented without
background or qualification. For instance, she quotes the recent
report by the Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety (a local
anti-LANL group) “showing that cesium-137 has reached the Rio
Grande,” without mentioning that the levels detected are at
the ragged edge of the minimum detectable with the test used, and
that even if accurate, these levels are consistent with those
resulting from worldwide radioactive fallout from nuclear testing
in the 1950s and early 1960s. Further, in describing LANL’s
new Biosafety Level 3 Facility, Paskus leaves the impression that
LANL is developing bioweapons. This is not true — one of the
missions is to examine defenses AGAINST terrorist
bioweapons.
Paskus makes a half-hearted effort to present
both sides of the issues discussed, but commonly quotes anti-LANL
viewpoints as fact while quoting LANL representatives in such a way
as to insinuate they are lying or hiding something. Her article
falls far short of the well-researched, fair and unbiased coverage
of environmental issues that used to be the standard for High
Country News.
Blake P. Wood
Los Alamos, New
Mexico
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Story was biased against Los Alamos.
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