National Laboratories

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/25/2015 The Department of Energy (DOE) has called on the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) managing contractor to give greater attention to ensuring the proper execution of corrective actions following misclassification incidents revealed earlier this year, according to an Office of Enforcement letter released this week. The Sept. 18 letter to […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/25/2015 The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) should use alternative storage locations at its Plutonium Facility (PF-4) to facilitate nuclear material-at-risk (MAR) minimization and protection from hazards associated with earthquakes or fires, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) letter sent to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/18/2015 The Department of Energy (DOE) is questioning millions of dollars in “unresolved costs” at Sandia Corp. in fiscal 2013 and several years prior, according to a DOE Inspector General’s Office (IG) report released this week. Sandia Corp., a Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMC) subsidiary that has managed and operated Sandia National […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 9/18/2015 The Centerra Group started working its protective forces subcontract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory on Wednesday, ending SOC’s 23-year run heading security at the Department of Energy facility. A LANL spokesman said by email that the contract’s base period expires Sept. 30, 2018, but it contains an option for […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) is questioning millions of dollars in “unresolved costs” at Sandia Corp. in fiscal 2013 and several years prior, according to a DOE Inspector General’s Office (IG) report released yesterday. Sandia Corp., a Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMC) subsidiary that has managed and operated Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) since 1993, is required […]

Los Alamos National Security has awarded Centerra Group its protective forces contract, a Los Alamos National Laboratory spokesman has confirmed. SOC, LLC, has provided security at the lab since 1992, and in 2010 beat G4S Government Solutions (then WSI), and several other companies to extend its contract another five years. SOC’s contract expires on Sept. […]

James Chavez has been appointed new vice president of Sandia National Laboratories’ (SNL) Energy, Nonproliferation and High Consequence Security Division and International, Homeland and Nuclear Security Program Management Unit, SNL announced yesterday. Chavez, who will begin in his new position on September 11, previously worked as the director of the Monitoring Systems and Technology Center […]

Chris Schneidmiller WCM Monitor 9/4/2015 The Idaho National Laboratory needs a more stringent approach to determine whether it must update its assessment of the potential threat posed by earthquakes to the facility, the head of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in a letter this week to the Department of Energy. Department rules mandate […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 A team of contractor personnel determined early last month that the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility (WETF) is “ready to safely operate,” according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) site representative report released this week. Gas processing operations at WETF were paused in 2011 […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 The Department of Energy issued this week a preliminary notice of violation (PNOV) to Los Alamos National Security, the company that manages the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), for nuclear criticality safety violations at its Plutonium Facility (PF-4) at Technical Area 55 (TA-55). LANS’ violations are of “high safety significance” […]

The Department of Energy issued this week a preliminary notice of violation (PNOV) to Los Alamos National Security, the company that manages the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), for nuclear criticality safety violations at its Plutonium Facility (PF-4) at Technical Area 55 (TA-55). LANS’ violations are of “high safety significance” to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Aug. 25 […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 8/28/2015 Sandia Corp. will pay $4,790,042 to settle claims that it used federal funding to lobby federal agencies and Congress to secure a noncompetitive extension of its management and operation contract for the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Aug. 21. The alleged lobbying, which […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 8/28/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has called on its Los Alamos Field Office to create a working group that will solicit proposals for a “state-of-the-art seismic performance analysis” of the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Plutonium Facility (PF-4) as a step toward further strengthening the facility against earthquakes, according […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 8/28/2015 Some operations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Plutonium Facility have resumed following approval from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Field Office last month, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) site representative report released last week. “Nuclear operations associated with the T Base II machining activity” were […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has called on its Los Alamos Field Office to create a working group that will solicit proposals for a “state-of-the-art seismic performance analysis” of the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Plutonium Facility (PF-4), according to an Aug. 18 letter sent to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The NNSA’s July 22 […]

Sandia Corp. will pay $4,790,042 to settle claims that it used federal funding to lobby federal agencies and Congress to secure a noncompetitive extension of its management and operation contract for the Sandia National Laboratories, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday. The alleged lobbying, which would violate the Byrd Amendment and the False […]

Some operations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Plutonium Facility have resumed following approval from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Field Office last month, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) site representative report released last week. “Nuclear operations associated with the T Base II machining activity” were restarted at the facility, according […]

Aging fire suppression system equipment leaves the Department of Energy’s (DOE) national nuclear laboratories vulnerable to greater fire-related risks, according to a DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments review released last week. DOE’s nuclear facilities “generally do not have enough inherent energy to release or disperse a significant amount of radiological material,” the report says, but […]

The safety significant and safety class ventilation and confinement systems used at the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Technical Area 55 (TA-55) plutonium facility to mitigate the risk of accidental radioactive material release are generally reliable but exhibit some shortcomings in internal procedures and management, according to a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Enterprise […]

Technology Integration Group (TIG) will pay $5.9 million to the U.S. government in a civil settlement following claims “that the company inflated the price of computers sold through another company to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for use at Sandia National Laboratories,” the U.S. Department of Justice announced this week. The claims against TIG […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Waste Characterization, Reduction, and Repackaging Facility (WCRRF), which is used to decontaminate and repackage transuranic waste, remains in “cold standby mode” following the discovery of between 8 and 10 inches of standing water on the roof of the structure, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) site […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 8/7/2015 Peace activists are gathering this week at various National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) laboratories to participate in protests and commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the United States’ atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Events include a remembrance ceremony yesterday organized by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA) at […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 8/7/2015 BWX Technologies’ (BWXT) Technical Services Group (TSG) is “positioning” for Department of Energy (DOE) work that could include management and operation of Sandia National Laboratories and other facilities, Sandy Baker, BWXT president and CEO, said during the company’s second-quarter results conference call yesterday. “Looking forward, TSG is actively positioning for […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  8/7/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration fined Los Alamos National Security $192,500 for multiple violations of Energy Department classified information security requirements, according to a July 28 letter from NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz to Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan. A DOE investigation found in 2012 that LANS, the contract […]

Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan early last month communicated to all LANL personnel his “expectations for management responsibilities” to support employee safety and security, according to a letter sent from the Energy Department’s Los Alamos Field Office representative to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board released yesterday. “This direction follows a […]

Peace activists are gathering this week at various National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) laboratories to participate in protests and commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the United States’ atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Events include a remembrance ceremony today organized by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA) at the entrance to the Y-12 […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration issued a Final Notice of Violation (FNOV) and a civil penalty of $192,500, to Los Alamos National Security, LLC, for multiple violations of Energy Department classified information security requirements, according to a June 28 letter from NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz to LANS President Charlie McMillan. A DOE investigation found in […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 New Mexico Tech (NMT) and New Mexico State University (NMSU) have formed a consortium that will bid on the management and operation contract for Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). Earlier this year the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a sources sought solicitation for SNL’s management and will award the contract following an […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 Former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) employee Anthony Rivera filed a complaint to Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz earlier this month alleging that he had been fired after reporting hazards at the lab to management. Rivera told NS&D Monitor he was employed at the lab since 1984 and fired on […]

NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 LANL Official Outlines Improvements Necessary for Proper Work Control Practices A Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) official has issued guidance on proper work control practices following several "poor work control practices" incidents, including the downing of a power line that led to a daylong pause in maintenance work, according to a June […]