Los Alamos

The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has as of this week treated half of its stock of containers filled with a volatile mix of remediated nitrate salts and organic kitty litter, a spokesman said Tuesday. Thirty of 60 drums of waste from Cold War-era nuclear weapons operations have been processed at the Energy […]

It was a packed house at the Los Alamos National Laboratory this week, when the Energy Department hosted would-be bidders on a new, decade-spanning contract to manage and operate the nuclear weapons facility. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which is managing the forthcoming procurement for DOE, did not release an official headcount or attendees […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration said Thursday it is is pleased with the outcome of a federal operational readiness review (FORR) for the Transuranic Waste Facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, in which 12 of the 13 functional areas passed muster. “This was a successful review in the eyes of […]

At the prodding of a senior U.S. senator, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is working on a “thorough review” of its primary plutonium-pit production facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, a spokesman for the semiautonomous Energy Department agency said Tuesday. In early August, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) — after reading […]

Scott Gibbs is returning to the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico more than three years after retiring from a senior management position at the Department of Energy facility. Gibbs will be back at LANL on Sept. 5 as deputy director for mission assurance, lab spokesman Matthew Nerzig said by email Monday. Gibbs’ […]

A federal operational readiness review (FORR) for the Transuranic Waste Facility at the Las Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico was completed earlier this month, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board reported recently. The review at the Energy Department facility began in late July and was scheduled for completion on Aug. 9, according to […]

At the prodding of a senior U.S. senator, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is working on a “thorough review” of its primary plutonium-pit production facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, a spokesman for the semiautonomous Energy Department agency said Tuesday. In early August, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) — after reading […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has as of this week treated half of its stock of containers filled with a combustible mix of remediated nitrate salts and organic kitty litter, a spokesman said Tuesday. Thirty of 60 drums have been processed at the Energy Department site’s Waste Characterization, Reduction, and Repackaging Facility. […]

Waste Control Specialists has withdrawn a request for an exemption from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to store select radioactive waste from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The exemption became unnecessary after all shipments of transuranic waste to Waste Control Specialists’ storage complex in West Texas were halted when a container of material from Los Alamos […]

Scott Gibbs is returning to the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico more than three years after retiring from a senior management position at the Department of Energy facility. Gibbs will be back at LANL on Sept. 5 as deputy director for mission assurance, lab spokesman Matthew Nerzig said by email Monday. Gibbs’ return is […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico last week halted treatment of remediated nitrate salts for two days after a fire suppression system was damaged at the facility where the work is being conducted. The Department of Energy lab is treating 60 drums filled with a combustible mix of organic kitty litter and irradiated salt […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Monday revealed it tested components of the B61-12 gravity bomb intended it is developing as part of the U.S. nuclear modernization effort. The two qualification flights took place Aug. 8 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, the NNSA said in a press release published on its website. An […]

Management at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has acknowledged it will not meet upcoming contractual milestones for treatment of nitrate salts, according to a recently released site report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The news comes just days ahead of the scheduled period for the Department of Energy to award […]

The University of California, a senior partner in the current management and operations contractor for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, indicated Wednesday it is “likely” to make a play for a follow-on contract expected to go out for bids in September. “The decision on whether or not to bid rests with the UC Board of Regents and […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has invited would-be bidders for the mammoth Los Alamos National Laboratory management and operations contract to tour the weapons lab on Aug. 29. Those interested in attending the tour must complete the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) badge request form and fax it to Pam Valdez at (505) 664-0273 by […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) could be just days from awarding a new contract for legacy nuclear cleanup operations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. A major procurements update from EM, dated Aug. 11, says the contract was due to be issued from June to August of this year. The […]

Amid fiery and furious fact-checking and blame-chucking in the general press over the credit President Donald Trump appeared to take for modernizing the U.S. nuclear deterrent, the National Nuclear Security Administration recently observed the 22nd anniversary of the White House prohibition on explosive nuclear-weapons testing. The steward of the national nuclear deterrent marked the milestone in […]

In official replies to questions about the next big contract for the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, the Energy Department responded to some local concerns that the next lab manager might not be as good for the community as the current manager. However, the agency appeared to preserve at least the option […]

Not long after locals did the same, all members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation said this week they have concerns about the Energy Department’s plan for the next national laboratory contract in northern New Mexico. In a list of six concerns over the next decade-spanning management and operations contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), lawmakers […]

Management at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has acknowledged it will not meet upcoming contractual milestones for treatment of nitrate salts, according to a recently released site report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The Energy Department laboratory’s Waste Characterization, Reduction, and Repackaging Facility (WCRRF) is treating 60 containers of remediated […]

AECOM’s earnings in its fiscal third quarter grew company-wide and in the business segment that provides services widely across the Department of Energy complex. The quarter was highlighted by a $3.6 billion Air Force contract win in AECOM’s Management Services branch and a record $394 million in free cash flow, according to the Aug. 8 […]

Notwithstanding President Donald Trump’s widely disputed tweet on Wednesday regarding the strength of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, plenty of work remains at the Energy Department facilities that support the nation's deterrent. My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before.... — Donald […]

In a long-awaited development that figures to send ripples throughout the Energy Department’s Cold War nuclear cleanup program, Jacobs Engineering of Dallas will acquire engineering services company CH2M for $2.85 billion in cash and stock. Jacobs will also assume $416 million of CH2M debt under the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory is still waiting on word regarding a new contract for legacy nuclear cleanup at the Department of Energy facility in New Mexico, an official said Tuesday. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) in September 2016 issued its final request for proposals for the contract, which could be worth up to […]

The County of Los Alamos, N.M., is unhappy with the Energy Department’s plans for the follow-on management and operations contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The comments were included in an email to DOE signed by David Izraelevitz, chair of the Los Alamos County Council, also on behalf of the body’s vice chair and several […]

The County of Los Alamos, N.M., is unhappy with the Energy Department’s plans for the follow-on management and operations contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The comments were included in an email to DOE signed by David Izraelevitz, chair of the Los Alamos County Council. In the letter, the county said it had “serious concerns” […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory is still waiting on word regarding a new contract for legacy nuclear cleanup at the Department of Energy facility in New Mexico, an official said Tuesday. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) in September 2016 issued its final request for proposals for the contract, which could be worth up to […]

Contractors that over a decade ago competed for the current management and operations contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are not yet saying whether they intend to bid on the upcoming new prime contract at the site. The National Nuclear Security Administration last week released a draft request for proposals for […]

After a federal judge blocked Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists’ takeover by EnergySolutions of Salt Lake City, the Texas company is still trying to figure out what to do with more than 100 potentially flammable containers of transuranic waste it is storing for the Energy Department. Asked what the canceled merger means for the company’s contract […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has released a draft request for proposals for the next management and operations contract for its Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, while the facility takes steps to address a recent error in shipping special nuclear material, the latest in a series of safety and security issues that have plagued […]