NO METH THEFTS AT FEDERAL SITES

AUDITORS: 'We were told that there have been no identified instances to
date where employees from Y-12 or ORNL have been arrested in connection
with illegal methamphetamine.'

There are no signs that chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine have
been stolen from Oak Ridge's nuclear weapons plant or its major research
facility, according to auditors. The Department of Energy's Inspector
General's Office reported that finding in an audit released Wednesday
afternoon. The Ninth Judicial District Drug Task Force requested the
inspection because meth is recognized as one of the greatest drug threats
in Tennessee.

"We did not find any indicators of theft of precursor chemicals from Y-12
or ORNL during our inspection," the report stated.

"However, given the existence of precursor chemicals at these sites and the
heightened concern that these chemicals could be targeted for theft, we
believe that supplementary steps could be taken to reduce the possibility
of site chemicals being diverted for the illegal production of
methamphetamine."

While there are a number of precursor chemicals used to produce meth, DOE's
Inspector General's Office narrowed its review to those "that are not
easily obtained or that are tedious to gather."

These chemicals included potassium metal, anhydrous ammonia,
pseudoephedrine, iodine, ether and lithium metal. According to the audit,
investigators also looked at red phosphorous "because the method commonly
used to acquire it is to scrape it from the heads of matches, which is
tedious and time consuming; hence, bulk holdings of this chemical can be an
attractive target for theft."

Auditors figure that more than 8,000 federal and contractor personnel have
access to ORNL and Y-12 on a daily basis.

"In discussions with an area law enforcement official, we were told that
there have been no identified instances to date where employees from Y-12
or ORNL have been arrested in connection with illegal methamphetamine," the
audit reported.

"The individuals responsible for maintaining the chemical inventories at
Y-12 and ORNL said that they were unaware that certain chemicals could be
used in the production of methamphetamine. Therefore, no special controls
or procedures had been implemented for these chemicals."

For example, in one review at an ORNL building, auditors found that more
than 1,000 employees have access to the building, and most of the labs are
kept unlocked due to safety concerns.

"We found a sealed container labeled 'red phosphorous' in an unlocked
room," the document stated. "The container held 1.5 pounds of red
phosphorous and was placed in the room awaiting disposal. When we returned
to the laboratory over two months later, we found that the red phosphorous
remained unsecured."

The audit noted that one law enforcement official said the local street
value for ready-to-use red phosphorous is approximately $90 per gram.
Therefore, the estimated local street value of the 1.5 pounds of red
phosphorous awaiting disposal is over $61,000, according to the document.

In its report, the Inspector General's Office suggested that the local
DOE-related facilities implement additional internal controls pertaining to
the precursor chemicals and consider implementing additional checks and
balances in the process for purchasing narcotics.