In a special meeting at the White House last week, President Reagan and Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci asked Department of Energy Secretary John Herrington to answer one question: Is the nation's nuclear stockpile in jeopardy? There was ample reason for their concern. A few days earlier, Building 771 at the Government's Rocky Flats plutonium-processing plant in Colorado became the second weapons facility to be shut down in less than two months, after three people were exposed to radioactive material. Simultaneously, a Government report charged DOE-run weapons-research labs with lax security during visits by foreign experts, including some from Soviet bloc...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
