Jan. 17, 2003
Parking and security
Q: In the wake of [the incidents of Sept. 11, 2001], the Laboratory moved the security perimeter around the northern side of the Administration Building out, and no longer allows employee or visitor vehicles to park adjacent to the building. (Parking on the south side of the Administration Building requires passing through a manned guard station and presenting a Department of Energy badge for each person in the vehicle as well as a special vehicle pass for that guard station. All vehicles are subject to search upon entering or exiting the guard station.) While the change to parking on the north side was probably long overdue, I am somewhat puzzled by its current implementation. Every morning I see several private vehicles, presumably belonging to construction contract employees, parked inside the perimeter. A few days ago, the bed of one of the pickups was completely filled with firewood, so I am reasonably certain that it could not have been searched. What are the requirements for permission to park inside the barrier? What type of ID checks and/or searches are performed? If Q-cleared employees who work in the building cannot be trusted to park there, who can? And is this current parking arrangement consistent with the Lab's overall security posture?
A: Thank you for bringing this to our attention for clarification. Current Laboratory protective strategies require that large commercial delivery vehicles be inspected at the truck screening post at the base of East Jemez Road if at least one person within the vehicle does not have a Laboratory or DOE security badge and delivery and pick-up of items is within a security condition (SECON) post.
Your statement is correct regarding the admission of personnel through the Protective Force post on the south side of the Administration Building and presenting a DOE badge for each person in the vehicle as well as a special vehicle pass for private vehicles. However, that post is on a security area boundary with restrictive access requirements.
The north side of the Administration Building within the "horseshoe" is not a security area. However, following the events of Sept. 11, Lab leadership thought it prudent to restrict vehicle traffic within that area (for obvious reasons). The vehicles you described appear to be privately owned small trucks, and are not considered commercial delivery/pick up vehicles. Therefore they do not fall under strict inspection/access requirements based on the type of vehicle, even if one of the occupants may not be in possession of a Lab or DOE security badge. Parking of these vehicles within the barriers, while discouraged, is not uniformly prohibited and sometimes required due to construction activities. However, if you're unsure about whether a vehicle is authorized inside that area, you should immediately contact the PTLA shift captain at 5-7912. The protective force will then dispatch a patrol to investigate the situation and take appropriate action upon arrival at the scene.
We sincerely appreciate your interest in security at the Lab and hope we have adequately addressed your concerns.
For more information, contact Mike Grimler of Security Integration (S-2) at 5-7326.
--Darryl Overbay, Group Leader, S-2