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doi:10.1126/science.290.5492.687c

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ScienceScope

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has asked a think tank led by John Hamre, a former deputy defense secretary, to study how the Department of Energy (DOE) can maintain security without jeopardizing science (Science, 6 October, p. 22). Ironically, last week's announcement came just days after Congress voted--over DOE's objections--to require more agency employees to take polygraph tests, which researchers say have hurt morale.

The report, due out next year from the Washington-based Center for Science and International Studies, is intended to show "how to make science and security compatible," says Maureen McCarthy of DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration. But skeptics wonder if the study will change the minds of congressional leaders dissatisfied with DOE's security efforts. "This is after the fact," opined policy analyst Al Teich of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (which publishes Science).

This year's defense authorization bill, for instance, would extend lie detector tests--currently required for about 1200 staffers at DOE labs--to up to 5000 more agency employees who handle sensitive information. It would also bar the Energy Secretary from exempting researchers from testing, even at the risk of degrading the science.