National Laboratories

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) inspectors at Los Alamos National Laboratory raised concerns about staffing levels at the lab’s field office, warning that federal oversight might not keep pace with the site’s growing workload. According to a recent resident inspector report, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Los Alamos, N.M. Field Office is operating […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is seeking commercial partners for a patented fire mitigation technology designed to improve safety in advanced heat-pipe nuclear reactors, according to a recent technology licensing notice. Responses are due Dec. 19, 2026, according to the Department of Energy’s June 19 notice. The technology is intended to address one […]

Efforts to reduce administrative burdens and streamline operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s PF-4 plutonium facility have increased the amount of time the facility is available for production work, according to Mark Davis, deputy laboratory director for operations. Speaking Wednesday at a webinar by the Energy Facility Contractors Group about workplace efficiency initiatives, Davis said […]

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California has entered production for the Lynx supercomputing cluster, a new high-performance computing system designed to support nuclear weapons simulations and other key national security workloads. The system is part of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Commodity Technology Systems-2 program, an effort to provide advanced computing resources across the […]

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California has entered production for the Lynx supercomputing cluster, a new high-performance computing system designed to support nuclear weapons simulations and other key national security workloads. The system is part of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Commodity Technology Systems-2 program, an effort to provide advanced computing resources across the […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory updated its sitewide seismic hazard analysis and is expected to influence future facility design, safety-basis evaluations and infrastructure projects supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) nuclear weapons mission. According to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) report from May 22, the updated probabilistic seismic hazard analysis was recently approved […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory updated its sitewide seismic hazard analysis and is expected to influence future facility design, safety-basis evaluations and infrastructure projects supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) nuclear weapons mission. According to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) report from May 22, the updated probabilistic seismic hazard analysis was recently approved […]

President Donald Trump’s special envoys for Iran, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, reportedly consulted nuclear experts at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn. to prepare for a nuclear deal with Iran, according to Axios. The article also said the White House is trying to reach a memorandum of understanding with Iran to end […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory updated its sitewide seismic hazard analysis and is expected to influence future facility design, safety-basis evaluations and infrastructure projects supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) nuclear weapons mission. According to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) report from May 22, the updated probabilistic seismic hazard analysis was recently approved […]

The state of New Mexico has rejected the latest hazardous waste permit renewal application for the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, citing among other things deficiencies related to oversight of PFAS, sometimes called “forever chemicals.”  Concerns over explosive waste treatment operations and legacy waste management, were also cited by the New Mexico Environment […]

President Donald Trump’s special envoys for Iran, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, reportedly consulted nuclear experts at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn. to prepare for a nuclear deal with Iran, according to Axios. The article also said the White House is trying to reach a memorandum of understanding with Iran to end […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is starting work on a new facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that the agency says will strengthen U.S. capabilities to monitor foreign uranium enrichment activities and support nuclear nonproliferation missions. The Advanced Testbed and Operations Learning Laboratory, or ATOLL, will be a 21,000-square-foot facility designed to develop […]

The Department of Energy is reviewing roughly 80 internal orders under an initiative called “Project Velocity” aimed at accelerating work across the nuclear weapons enterprise, Los Alamos National Laboratory Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said last month. Speaking before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis said the effort is intended to streamline operations […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is starting work on a new facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that the agency says will strengthen U.S. capabilities to monitor foreign uranium enrichment activities and support nuclear nonproliferation missions. The Advanced Testbed and Operations Learning Laboratory, or ATOLL, will be a 21,000-square-foot facility designed to develop […]

The Department of Energy is reviewing roughly 80 internal orders under an initiative called “Project Velocity” aimed at accelerating work across the nuclear weapons enterprise, Los Alamos National Laboratory Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said last month. Speaking before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis said the effort is intended to streamline operations […]

About 81 million pounds of rubble have been cleared away from the two-acre footprint of the former Alpha-2 building site at the Y-12 National Security Complex at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. That amounts to about 3,500 truckloads of debris being hauled away from the former uranium enrichment […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said this month the U.S. nuclear weapons enterprise is entering a “fourth age of deterrence,” marking a shift from post-Cold War stewardship toward large-scale modernization and production. Speaking May 5 before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis described the current era as one driven […]

A key environmental document and Record of Decision (ROD) issued Thursday by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) clears the way for expanding operations for Sandia National Laboratories over the next 15 years. The “expanded operations alternative” endorsed the NNSA’s final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement and ROD should allow Sandia to build […]

A key environmental document and Record of Decision (ROD) issued Thursday by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) clears the way for expanding operations for Sandia National Laboratories over the next 15 years. The “expanded operations alternative” endorsed the NNSA’s final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement and ROD should allow Sandia to build […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory may require significant electrical infrastructure upgrades within several years as artificial intelligence programs, supercomputing systems and weapons modernization activities sharply increase power demand, the lab’s Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said this month. Speaking before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis said the laboratory is pursuing plans for a […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory may require significant electrical infrastructure upgrades within several years as artificial intelligence programs, supercomputing systems and weapons modernization activities sharply increase power demand, the lab’s Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said this month. Speaking before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis said the laboratory is pursuing plans for a […]

The United States nuclear weapons enterprise must be flexible, scalable and collaborative in coming years in a world where Russia and China are rapidly modernizing their nuclear triad, officials said during a Tuesday webinar held by the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance (ANWA) Deterrence Center. Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Eric […]

The United States nuclear weapons enterprise must be flexible, scalable and collaborative in coming years in a world where Russia and China are rapidly modernizing their nuclear triad, officials said during a Tuesday webinar held by the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance (ANWA) Deterrence Center. Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Eric […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory may require significant electrical infrastructure upgrades within several years as artificial intelligence programs, supercomputing systems and weapons modernization activities sharply increase power demand, the lab’s Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said this month. Speaking before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis said the laboratory is pursuing plans for a […]

The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Wash., needs better oversight of its consultants, the DOE’s Office of Inspector General said recently.   “We found that PNNL did not fully comply with applicable laws, regulations, and contract requirements in managing its professional and consultant services agreements,“ the DOE Office of Inspector General […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said this month the U.S. nuclear weapons enterprise is entering a “fourth age of deterrence,” marking a shift from post-Cold War stewardship toward large-scale modernization and production. Speaking May 5 before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis described the current era as one driven […]

The wildfire-prone New Mexico county where the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory is located has entered “stage 1 fire restrictions,” according to a recent post from the Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities. “Fire Marshal Colorado Cordova of the Los Alamos Fire Department (LAFD) has enacted fire restrictions to Stage 1, effective […]

The wildfire-prone New Mexico county where the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory is located has entered “stage 1 fire restrictions,” according to a recent post from the Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities. “Fire Marshal Colorado Cordova of the Los Alamos Fire Department (LAFD) has enacted fire restrictions to Stage 1, effective […]

Ted Wyka, the manager at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos Field Office, is retiring at the end of June, sources told the Exchange Monitor at a hearing in Santa Fe, N.M. Prior to his manager role, Wyka was NNSA’s principal deputy associate administrator for safety, infrastructure and operations, and NNSA’s cognizant secretarial officer […]

Ted Wyka, the manager at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos Field Office, is retiring at the end of June, sources told the Exchange Monitor at a hearing in Santa Fe, N.M. Prior to his manager role, Wyka was NNSA’s principal deputy associate administrator for safety, infrastructure and operations, and NNSA’s cognizant secretarial officer […]