Oak Ridge contractor arrested in sting

Friday, 20 July 2007

[US Department of Justice, 19 July; Associated Press, 20 July] A former contract worker at the East Tennessee Technology Park, part of the Oak Ridge federal reservation in Tennessee, USA, pleaded not guilty before a federal judge yesterday to charges that he stole classified information about enriching uranium and attempted to sell it to foreign governments. Roy Lynn Oakley, aged 67, is a former employee of Bechtel Jacobs, the US Department of Energy's (DoE's) prime environmental management contractor at the site. The gaseous diffusion plant at Oak Ridge, which is separate from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), was used to enrich uranium for weapons and was shut in 1987. Oakley's job was reportedly to break up metal rods so they could be disposed of. He is accused of trying to sell these rods, which his attorney said were not made of uranium or dangerous. He was arrested in January after he allegedly tried to sell the material to undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents posing as foreign nationals. If convicted of the offence, Oakley faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Assistant attorney general for national security, Kenneth Wainstein, said: "While none of the stolen equipment was ever transmitted to a foreign government or terrorist organization, the facts of this case demonstrate the importance of safeguarding our nuclear technology and pursuing aggressive prosecutions against those who attempt to breach the safeguards and put that technology in the wrong hands."

[US Department of Justice, 19 July; Associated Press, 20 July] Aformer contract worker at the East Tennessee Technology Park, part ofthe Oak Ridge federal reservation in Tennessee, USA, pleaded not guiltybefore a federal judge yesterday to charges that he stole classifiedinformation about enriching uranium and attempted to sell it to foreigngovernments. Roy Lynn Oakley, aged 67, is a former employee of BechtelJacobs, the US Department of Energy's (DoE's) prime environmentalmanagement contractor at the site. The gaseous diffusion plant at OakRidge, which is separate from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL),was used to enrich uranium for weapons and was shut in 1987. Oakley'sjob was reportedly to break up metal rods so they could be disposed of.He is accused of trying to sell these rods, which his attorney saidwere not made of uranium or dangerous. He was arrested in January afterhe allegedly tried to sell the material to undercover Federal Bureau ofInvestigation (FBI) agents posing as foreign nationals. If convicted ofthe offence, Oakley faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.Assistant attorney general for national security, Kenneth Wainstein,said: "While none of the stolen equipment was ever transmitted to aforeign government or terrorist organization, the facts of this casedemonstrate the importance of safeguarding our nuclear technology andpursuing aggressive prosecutions against those who attempt to breachthe safeguards and put that technology in the wrong hands."

Further information

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

WNN: DoE completes removal of UF6 from ORNL