SECURITY CLEARANCE AND THE SCIENTIST
J. A. Swartout · Chemical & Engineering News · 1950
I HAVE BEEN asked to represent the viewpoint of the scientists on the problem of personnel security clearance. Neither prolonged nor deep thought was required to show that this would be an exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, task. First, the scientists, unlike the other bodies represented, are not a compact group with only one expressed opinion and, second, my own opinions have undoubtedly been influenced by a long and close association with a personnel security review board. Therefore, I can reasonably claim to present only my own opinions. As a result of service for almost two years with the Oak Ridge Board, during which about a dozen cases were considered, a greater stress will perhaps be placed upon the details and mechanism of the clearance procedure than would be by the average scientist subjected to security investigation. Of greater importance than mechanism is obviously the consideration of the basic concepts underlying the security clearance problem. ...