http://blogs.knoxnews.com/munger/2012/08/wrap-up-on-another-stunning-da.html

Wrap-up on another stunning day at Y-12

In an extraordinary effort to address more security concerns following Saturday's break-in by protesters at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, the government's contractor shut down all nuclear operations, placed the working stocks of enriched uranium in secure vaults, and set up a schedule for thousands of Y-12 workers to take refresher courses on security do's and don'ts.

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Peter Stockton, senior investigator with the Project On Government Oversight, a watchdog group in Washington, D.C., has analyzed security at government nuclear facilities for decades. As embarrassing as Saturday's intrusion by protesters was, Stockton said the stand-down order suggests that even more "drastic flaws in security" have been found at Y-12.

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The protesters who breached Y-12 security -- Sister Megan Rice, 82, Las Vegas, Nevada; Michael R. Walli, 63, Washington, D.C.; and Greg Boertje-Obed, 57, of Duluth, Minn. -- were arraigned Monday on federal trespassing charges. Their preliminary hearing is set for Thursday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, and U.S. Attorney Bill Killian indicated it's possible that additional charges could be placed against the three.

Meanwhile, additional protests are being planned this weekend in connection with the anniversary of the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, near the end of World War II. Y-12 enriched the uranium that was used in the "Little Boy" bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and the Oak Ridge plant remains a mainstay in the nation's nuclear weapons capability.

The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance holds a peace vigil every Sunday evening near the entrance to Y-12, and some peace activists are planning to stay overnight at Y-12 -- calling it "Occupy Y-12" -- and prepare for the early-morning ceremonies on Monday, Aug. 6., when participants read the names of those who died from the A-bomb blast.

Posted by Frank Munger on August 1, 2012 at 10:16 PM