Missing Los Alamos disks located

Two missing computer drives containing nuclear secrets were discovered within

the secure confines of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, officials said

today.

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said the two hard drives, which disappeared

more than a month ago, were found within the secure area that houses the

vault in which they had been kept. The vault holds materials of the Nuclear

Emergency Search Team.

The hard drives were visually validated, and the FBI is conducting official

validation of their authenticigy, according to DOE. Top DOE officials and

the FBI had conducted an exhaustive search of the New Mexico facility beginning

June 1, when it was disclosed the drives had been missing for three weeks.

FBI officials also began conducting polygraph tests on 26 people who

had unescorted access to the vaults where the material was held.

Retired Air Force Gen. Eugene Habiger, DOE's top security official,

told Congress this week that DOE believed the material had been misplaced,

not stolen.

Nevertheless, the disclosure brought immediate condemnation from members

of Congress who criticized DOE for failing to tighten security at Los Alamos

and other nuclear facilities run by the agency.