Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
An Associated Press report published by ABCNews.com under the title, “UC Halts Los Alamos’ Classified Work” mentions the possibility of a polygraph hunt for potential security violators as Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) attempts to locate two data storage devices containing classified information. Excerpt: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. July 16, 2004 — All classified work at Los …
Jonathan Knight reports in the news section of the journal Nature, Vol. 428, p. 243. This short article is cited here in full: A national security expert says he was forced to resign last year because of his vocal opposition to the use of lie detectors at his nuclear weapons lab. Alan Zelicoff, formerly a …
Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy comments in his Secrecy News e-mail publication: TELLER ON POLYGRAPH In the perennial dispute over the legitimacy of polygraph testing as a tool for security screening of government employees, the late physicist Edward Teller sided with his scientific colleagues at the national laboratories …
The Albuquerque Tribune comments on polygraph screening in this editorial, cited here in full: Truth tests are flawed, so cut ’em out, DOE First, give the Department of Energy some credit. Then yank its chain – until it altogether stops using polygraph tests to try to find spies in its nuclear weapons program. The oft-troubled …
Bob Park of the American Physical Society comments on Department of Energy polygraph policy in his weekly What’s New column: 2. POLYGRAPH ROULETTE: DOE HAS MASTERED “THE EXPECTATION GAME.”A two-year study by the National Academy of Sciences, “The Polygraph and Lie Detection,” showed polygraph testing to be less than worthless (WN 18 Apr 03). You …
Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy comments in his Secrecy News e-mail publication: DOE RESTRUCTURES POLYGRAPH PROGRAM Under pressure from members of Congress, scientific critics and others, the Department of Energy said that it will reduce its reliance on polygraph testing to screen its employees. “The approach I am …
Andrea Widener reports for the Contra Costa Times. Excerpt: Under mounting pressure, the Department of Energy will scale back its massive polygraph testing program to half its previous size, a move that may halt mandatory screening tests for some nuclear weapons workers. The decision is a sudden turnaround for the DOE, which this summer had …
Staff writer Ian Hoffman reports for the Oakland Tribune. Excerpt: In an about-face, top U.S. nuclear weapons officials said they plan on scaling back polygraph testing for thousands of weapons scientists and workers, in part to avoid driving them away. Yet the U.S. Energy Department’s proposed reduction of polygraph testing still would leave enough top …
Associated Press correspondent Robert Gehrke reports in this article published in Newsday. Excerpt: WASHINGTON — The Energy Department plans to use fewer polygraph tests to detect espionage at energy labs after a study said employees could be unjustly accused — in effect reversing a policy that grew out of the Wen Ho Lee investigation. The …
Richard Willing reports for USA Today. This short article is cited here in full: WASHINGTON — Citing ongoing doubts about the accuracy of lie detectors, a top Energy Department official said Thursday the department plans to eliminate routine screening of most employees. About 20,000 Energy Department workers, including many with access to secret weapons programs, …