National Laboratories

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 that he was employed at the lab since 1984 and fired in October 2013, upon raising […]

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 powerline that led to a day-long pause in maintenance work, according to a June 26 Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report released last week. The Associate […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/24/2015 While the Los Alamos National Laboratory has addressed safety and quality assurance recommendations made in three reviews between 2010 and 2014, the lab has struggled to implement several safety requirements, resulting in lengthy program safety review and approval processes, according to an Energy Department Inspector General’s Office follow-up report released […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/24/2015 Los Alamos National Laboratory is working to restart Plutonium Facility operations by the end of fiscal 2016 after an already two-year hiatus, according to a letter, released Tuesday, from National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz to the Energy Department Inspector General’s Office. Managing contractor Los Alamos National Security “has […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/24/2015 Sandia Corporation is required to pay a penalty of $577,500 for six classified information security violations, according to a July 13 Final Notice of Violation (FNOV) from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) released last week. The violations, dating back to 1997 and discovered in 2012 at Sandia National Laboratories’ […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/24/2015 Lockheed Martin Corporation, the incumbent in the management and operation contract competition for Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), responded to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) sources sought solicitation for SNL’s management following the current contract’s April 30, 2017 end date. In a statement to NS&D Monitor, Lockheed spokesman Matt Kramer confirmed […]

WC Monitor 7/24/2015 Bidding Opens for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Management Contract The Department of Energy on Wednesday released its request for proposals for the management contract at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) in Tennessee. The new management contract will be a cost-plus-award-fee deal. It will have a […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory has received federal approval to move forward with the first phase for restarting Plutonium Facility operations and contractors hope to start the second phase of the restart by the end of Fiscal Year 2015, Weapons Complex Morning Briefing has learned. The federal government has approved LANL’s June 5-submitted request for federal […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Enforcement will investigate a “near miss” electrical explosion involving three workers performing preventive maintenance at Idaho National Laboratory, according to a letter sent from DOE’s Enforcement Director to INL contractor Battelle Energy Alliance released yesterday. “Under the Major Fraud Act (MFA), as amended…this investigation may be a proceeding commenced by […]

An Energy Department Inspector General five-year follow-up investigation to a 2010 IG report found that Los Alamos National Laboratory had acted to improve nuclear safety at its Plutonium Facility, had established a Safety Basis Quality Review Board, and implemented a program to assign responsibilities and authorities, define policies and requirements, and provide for the performance […]

Sandia Corporation is required to pay a penalty of $577,500 for six classified information security violations, according to a July 13 Final Notice of Violation (FNOV) from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) released last week. The violations, dating back to 1997 and discovered in 2012 at Sandia National Laboratories’ New Mexico site, involved the […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/17/2015 Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) announced this week that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Mexico (UNM) that will maintain the two institutions’ decades-long history of research partnerships. The pact establishes a "Strategic Alliance" at the university’s Centennial Engineering Center, the news release says. According to […]

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Mexico (UNM) that will continue a decades-long history of research partnerships between the two institutions, SNL announced yesterday. The pact establishes a "Strategic Alliance" at the university’s Centennial Engineering Center, the news release states. According to a statement by Paul Hommert, […]

The Energy Department, IBM and NVIDIA yesterday announced plans to establish Centers of Excellence for Supercomputing at Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge national labs, according to a press release. The announcement was made at the International Supercomputing Conference in Frankfurt. The collaborations support IBM’s supercomputing contract with DOE, and will “enable advanced, large-scale scientific and […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 Newly revealed emails between Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMC) highlight officials’ coordinated attempts to secure a noncompetitive extension of the Management and Operating (M&O) contract with the Department of Energy (DOE). Despite those attempts, DOE posted in May a “full and open competition” notice for the […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 7/10/2015 Advanced Technologies and Laboratories has filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office after losing a contract to continue performing work at Hanford’s 222-S Laboratory. The contract, valued at $44.6 million, was awarded in late May to Wastren Advantage. It includes a two-year base period with options for three additional […]

WC Monitor 7/10/2015 SRNL Selected to Lead National Analytical Management Program The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has assumed leadership of the National Analytical Management Program (NAMP) and will serve as head of the Department of Energy’s Environmental Response Laboratory Network Coordination Office. The office will act as a central point of contact for organizations […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 Sandia National Laboratories’ role in nuclear modernization has contributed to the retention of a younger technical workforce, according to Paul Hommert, outgoing president and director of SNL. Speaking to NS&D Monitor July 8 on Capitol Hill, Hommert noted the “continuing challenge” to “attract and retain good people” with the necessary […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration has not decided on a path forward for the third phase of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Plutonium Facility Reinvestment Project—referred to as TA-55—after a decision was expected by July 5. “The NNSA continues to evaluate options for the TA-55 Reinvestment Project Phase III (TRP III); […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and National Security Technologies (NSTec) effectively managed the subcritical experiments they performed at the Nevada National Security Site’s (NNSS) U1a Complex, according to a June 26 audit report by the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General. “Nothing came to our attention to indicate that […]

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has assumed leadership of the National Analytical Management Program (NAMP) and will serve as head of the Department of Energy’s Environmental Response Laboratory Network Coordination Office. The office will act as a central point of contact for organizations looking to access highly-specialized analytical abilities in case of a large-scale […]

Sandia National Laboratories’ role in nuclear modernization has contributed to the retention of a younger technical workforce, Paul Hommert, outgoing president and director of SNL, said yesterday. Hommert noted the “continuing challenge” to “attract and retain good people” with the necessary technical expertise, particularly as the nuclear industry’s workforce and knowledge base continue aging. “Because […]

More details have emerged regarding Sandia National Laboratories’ (SNL) use of federal contract funds to lobby for the noncompetitive extension of a contract between Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Corporation subsidiary, and the Department of Energy (DOE), according to a DOE Office of Inspector General report. Last November’s report, which was released in full to […]

Advocacy group Los Alamos Study Group (LASG) yesterday said it was “appalled” by the possibility that the National Nuclear Security Administration might not complete the alternative seismic analysis for Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Plutonium Facility after the agency told the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board that it expected to complete the review in March 2015. […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory on June 1 submitted a recommendation to NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Don Cook to pursue a fire alarm system replacement for the lab’s TA-55 (Phase 3) Reinvestment project, according to a recently released Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report, dated June 5. LANL considered the replacement along […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory management hopes to accelerate the start of the contractor readiness assessment for the Plutonium Facility (PF-4) to late July, as part of its effort to restart operations at the facility, according to a recently released letter from LANL site representatives to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Dated May 29, the […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/26/2015 Sandia National Laboratories has selected Jill Hruby as its next president and director, the lab announced yesterday. Hruby, whose predecessor Paul Hommert is set to retire next month, will begin in her new position on July 17 following 32 years of technical and managerial work at the lab, according to […]

Sandia National Laboratories has selected Jill Hruby as its next president and director, the lab announced yesterday. Hruby, whose predecessor Paul Hommert is set to retire next month, will begin in her new position mid-July following 32 years of technical and managerial work at the lab, according to the notice. Hruby “will be the first […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory has designated new leadership for its Weapons Program and Operations divisions, according to an announcement released last week. Robert Webster will become the Weapons Program’s Principal Associate Director in charge of LANL’s “primary mission, assuring the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear deterrent,” the notice says. He previously held […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 The Energy Department on June 17 issued a Preliminary Notice of Violation (PNOV) to UT-Battelle, LLC, which could result in a more than $130,000 fine for violations of DOE worker safety and health regulations, according to a DOE press release. “DOE proposes civil penalty of $131,250 based on the safety […]