National Laboratories

Only one of the major partners in the conglomerate that operates the Los Alamos National Laboratory for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) registered for an Oct. 5 tour of the site in connection with a big legacy cleanup contract the Energy Department just put out for bids, DOE records show. According to a pretour […]

Amid other defense waste developments at the sprawling Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, a recent report from lab prime contractor Los Alamos National Security (LANS) continued what has become an annual drumbeat for moving newly generated low-level waste off-site. In its Los Alamos National Laboratory 2015 Annual Site Environmental Report, published last week, LANS […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Plutonium Facility (PF-4) has returned to full operations following a years-long pause in the facility’s fissile material operations, the National Nuclear Security Administration said this week. Fissile material operations at the nation’s only fully capable plutonium research and processing facility were suspended in June 2013 because of criticality safety […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory prime contractor Los Alamos National Security has prohibited access to potentially explosive containers of tritium waste at the Area G waste management area, according to a recently published report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Reached by email Wednesday, lab spokesman Peter Hyde said he could not reply to questions about the status of […]

Only one of the major partners in the conglomerate that operates the Los Alamos National Laboratory for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) registered for an Oct. 5 tour of the site in connection with a big legacy cleanup contract the Energy Department just put out for bids, DOE records show. According to a pretour […]

Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), the management and operations contractor for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, is seeking multiple construction firms to compete in an upcoming solicitation for construction and design build services. The sources sought notice posted Saturday said LLNS plans to award multiple master task agreements for services involving “either design-build […]

The Department of Energy announced last week that it would provide $2.785 million for a five-year project to determine potential “issues of concern” for a Native American pueblo near the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Santa Clara Pueblo is one of four pueblo governments in the state that participate in a program […]

Waste Control Specialists (WCS) said Tuesday it has received permission from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to keep a potentially dangerous batch of federal transuranic waste in Andrews, Texas, for another two years. The company in June sought permission to retain custody of the improperly packaged, radioactive nitrate-salt waste from the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National […]

The Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico said Wednesday it is evaluating data from a safety test of the U.S. B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb. In the March 9 trial, a B61-12 test unit was placed on a 10,000-foot rocket sled track that launched the fake but otherwise realistic device into a steel and concrete wall. The intent […]

Waste Control Specialists (WCS) said Tuesday it has received permission from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to keep a potentially dangerous batch of federal transuranic waste in Andrews, Texas, for another two years. The company in June sought permission to retain custody of the improperly packaged, radioactive nitrate-salt waste from the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) […]

The Department of Energy announced last week that it would provide $2.785 million for a five-year project to determine potential “issues of concern” for a Native American pueblo near the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Santa Clara Pueblo is one of four pueblo governments in the state that participate in a program intended […]

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) on Monday honored retired Air Force Gen. Larry Welch with the John S. Foster Jr. Medal, an annual award established last year to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to nuclear security. “Gen. Welch’s exceptional leadership in support of U.S. nuclear security has without a doubt made our […]

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) on Monday honored retired Air Force Gen. Larry Welch with the John S. Foster Jr. Medal, an annual award established last year meant to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to nuclear security. “Gen. Welch’s exceptional leadership in support of U.S. nuclear security has without a doubt made […]

Even with U.S. use of molybdenum-99 dropping in recent years, the nation faces a possible shortage of the crucial medical radioisotope when Canada’s National Research Universal reactor halts regular production next month, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report also found that global efforts to minimize and ultimately […]

Even with U.S. use of molybdenum-99 dropping in recent years, the nation faces a possible shortage of the crucial medical radioisotope when Canada’s National Research Universal reactor halts regular production next month, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report also found that global efforts to minimize and ultimately […]

The city of Santa Fe, N.M., on Sept. 16 made public a Department of Energy report that says it will take about 20 years and cost up to $4 billion for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management to clean up some 5,000 cubic meters of Cold War-era nuclear waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). It […]

A decades’ worth of cleanup work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), which including options is valued at $1.7 billion, is officially out for bids, the agency’s Office of Environmental Management announced late Wednesday. The work entails cleaning up Cold War-era waste, both toxic and radioactive, scattered throughout the sprawling, 36-square-mile LANL campus. Big […]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — With its budget for legacy nuclear cleanup squeezed, the Energy Department thinks remediation projects across the country could benefit from a change in strategy similar to what was laid out this summer in an expansive new framework approved for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, senior agency officials said last week at a […]

A decades’ worth of cleanup work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), which including options is valued at $1.7 billion, is officially out for bids, the agency’s Office of Environmental Management announced late Wednesday. The work entails cleaning up Cold War-era waste, both toxic and radioactive, scattered throughout the sprawling, 36-square-mile LANL campus. Big […]

The city of Santa Fe, N.M., on Friday made public a Department of Energy report that says it will take about 20 years and cost up to $4 billion for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management to clean up some 5,000 cubic meters of Cold War-era nuclear waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. It is the first time […]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — With its budget for legacy nuclear cleanup squeezed, the Energy Department thinks remediation projects across the country could benefit from a change in strategy similar to what was laid out this summer in an expansive new framework approved for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, senior agency officials said last week at a major […]

Even with U.S. use of molybdenum-99 dropping in recent years, the nation faces a shortage of the crucial medical isotope when Canada’s National Research Universal reactor halts production next month, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report also found somewhat halting global efforts to minimize and […]

Sandia Corp., the management and operations contractor for the Sandia National Laboratories, is working to improve its program to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of classified information following a review by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) that revealed some issues. EA evaluated two such incidents of unauthorized disclosure that Sandia Corp. […]

Sandia Corp., the management and operations contractor for the Sandia National Laboratories, is working to improve its program to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of classified information following a review by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) that revealed some issues. EA evaluated two such incidents of unauthorized disclosure that Sandia Corp. […]

Lawrence Livermore National Security, the management and operations contractor for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, is seeking a contractor to provide fire suppression and rescue services, according to a solicitation posted last week. The services will involve “fire prevention, [personnel] training, and site familiarization activities necessary to prepare for emergency operations,” the notice says. […]

Retired Air Force Gen. Larry Welch has been chosen as the second recipient of the John S. Foster Jr. Medal, established last year by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The award honors “innovative and inspirational leadership in providing a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent to ensure international peace and strategic stability,” the lab said […]

Researchers from the Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico have teamed up to develop a new liquid membrane that uses enzymes to capture carbon dioxide 100 times faster than traditional polymer-based CO2 capture membranes. The new substance, a “memzyme,” combines a silica-based membrane support and carbonic anhydrase to create a membrane 10 […]

Lawrence Livermore National Security, the management and operations contractor for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, is seeking a contractor to provide fire suppression and rescue services, according to a solicitation posted last week. The services will involve “fire prevention, [personnel] training, and site familiarization activities necessary to prepare for emergency operations,” the notice says. […]

Several projects from National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) laboratories have been chosen as finalists for R&D Magazine’s 2016 R&D 100 Awards, which recognize 100 innovative technologies throughout the past year. Some of these projects feature applications for the NNSA’s stockpile stewardship operations, which are intended to ensure the continued operational viability of a safe, secure, […]

The Sandia National Laboratories has not fully implemented its system to track “nuclear safety soft spots,” or nuclear weapons safety-related design issues, the Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office (IG) found in a report released Monday. The report said that while Sandia developed a process to track these safety issues, it did not fully implement […]