The report, meanwhile, was critical of the Department of Energy for relying on the aging defense nuclear facilities.

“DOE continues to rely on aging facilities to carry out hazardous production missions,” Peter Winokur, the chairman of the safety board, wrote in the report. “One of the examples of this persistent problem includes the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research facility at Los Alamos.

“It requires significant capital expenditures for replacement or for repair and upgrade of key systems. The board understands that in several instances replacement facilities have been authorized by Congress to address this aging infrastructure. However facilities may not be ready for another decade.”

In its report, the safety board was especially worried about the possibility of a seismic event at the Los Alamos lab.

In the past three months, there have been two earthquakes just under 3.0, according to the U.S. Geological Survey within 50 miles of Los Alamos. But lab officials have insisted that there were no seismic tremors on LANL grounds.

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