Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 12/11/2015 Y-12 contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security has reportedly made significant progress in resolving corrosion issues within a segment of the fire-protection system at the plant’s Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, which holds the nation’s primary stockpile of weapon-grade uranium. According to reports from Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board staff, “microbiologically-influenced corrosion” […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 12/11/2015 Deficiencies in the issues management program at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Los Alamos Field Office has led to ineffective tracking of corrective actions and inconsistent documentation, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General (IG) said this week. A Dec. 7 letter and audit report from the IG to the […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 12/11/2015 The Department of Energy’s (DOE) internal estimates for the long-term cost of nuclear weapons modernization operations exceed by over $4 billion President Barack Obama’s projections in the fiscal 2016 annual DOE and Department of Defense (DoD) joint report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in a report released Thursday. The […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 12/11/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is seeking small businesses that could offer psychological assessment services to the agency’s Office of Personnel and Facility Clearances and Classification, according to a sources sought notice issued last week. The notice says the NNSA’s Albuquerque Complex is conducting market research for an “anticipated […]

NS&D Monitor 12/11/2015 IN THE NNSA Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), managing contractor of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, is seeking expressions of interest for "architecture-engineering services" for an emergency operations center at the site, according to a sources sought solicitation posted by the Department of Energy (DOE) last week. The DOE said the new […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is seeking small businesses that could offer psychological assessment services to the agency’s Office of Personnel and Facility Clearances and Classification, according to a sources sought notice issued last week. The notice says the NNSA’s Albuquerque Complex is conducting market research for an “anticipated contract” worth $11 million over […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), managing contractor of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, is seeking expressions of interest for "architecture-engineering services" for an emergency operations center at the site, according to a sources sought solicitation postes by the Department of Energy (DOE) last week. The DOE said the new facility will be a "design-bid-build project" […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 12/4/2015 Members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) identified reviews of quality assurance, emergency preparedness and response, and Department of Energy (DOE) directives as fiscal 2016 priorities at National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) labs. Speaking at a public business meeting last week regarding DNFSB’s work plan for the fiscal year, […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 12/4/2015 Investigations by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Inspector General’s Office (IG) from an April 1 to Sept. 30 reporting period resulted in nine criminal convictions, the recovery of $30.2 million in fines, and 12 suspensions and debarments, according to the IG’s semiannual report to Congress released this week. The IG’s […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 12/4/2015 Hourly workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex approved a new five-year collective bargaining agreement on Thursday, concluding four weeks of negotiations on a positive note for the workforce and the government’s managing contractor for the nuclear weapons facility, Consolidated Nuclear Security. The ratified agreement will provide about 1,100 union […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 12/4/2015 Consolidated Nuclear Security, the government’s managing contractor at the Y-12 nuclear weapons site in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is advancing plans to address the National Nuclear Security Administration’s mandate to reduce the enriched uranium inventory in the plant’s aged 9212 complex. A critical part of that effort apparently will involve stepping […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 12/4/2015 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has identified deficiencies in the Pantex Plant’s emergency preparedness and response program, according to a Nov. 24 letter from DNFSB Chairwoman Joyce Connery to Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. The letter notes that certain accident scenarios – such as tornados, flooding, or earthquakes […]

NS&D Monitor 12/4/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY The U.S. Department of Labor has scheduled outreach events for next week in New Mexico to provide assistance with compensation and medical benefit claims for nuclear weapons workers and uranium miners. Attendees will receive information on the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, which “compensates current or former employees […]

The U.S. Department of Labor has scheduled outreach events for next week in New Mexico to provide assistance with compensation and medical benefit claims for nuclear weapons workers and uranium miners. Attendees will receive information on the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, which “compensates current or former employees . . . who were diagnosed […]

Unionized workers at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant will vote Thursday on whether to approve a new five-year collective bargaining agreement with site manager Consolidated Nuclear Security.   Atomic Trades and Labor Council President Steve Jones confirmed Tuesday that a tentative agreement had been reached after a month of negotiations with CNS. But he declined […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has identified deficiencies in the Pantex Plant’s emergency preparedness and response program, according to a Nov. 24 letter from DNFSB Chairwoman Joyce Connery to Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. The letter notes that certain accident scenarios – such as tornados, flooding, or earthquakes – could cause the dispersal […]

National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz and colleagues were at the Savannah River Site on Nov. 19, where they among other things participated in a mockup of a dilution process for nuclear material at the site’s K-Area. This was in preparation for the possibility that 34 tons of U.S. weapon-grade plutonium will be diluted […]

Members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) identified reviews of quality assurance, emergency preparedness and response, and Department of Energy (DOE) directives as fiscal 2016 priorities at National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) labs. Speaking at a public business meeting yesterday about DNFSB’s work plan for the fiscal year, DNFSB group leads noted that conducting […]

An article published in the Nov. 19 Weapons Complex Morning Briefing misidentified the location within the Savannah River Site of a plutonium storage error. The incident occurred in the site’s HB Line.

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Pantex Plant is successfully implementing its explosives safety program but must correct some practices that could be hazardous to personnel, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) determined in a program review released this week. The plant, responsible for nuclear explosives […]

As is our annual practice, NS&D Monitor will not publish next week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. The next regular issue will be in your inbox on Dec. 4. The Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will be published Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week, and we will issue bulletins should any major news break in the interim.

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 Funding for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility is expected to be included in the final fiscal 2016 appropriations bill after President Barack Obama’s official funding request clattered its way through scrupulous Energy Department-commissioned reviews, contentious congressional negotiations, and reported private meetings between DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration brass […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 Some welding on the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) may be redone following a violation detected during an inspection last month. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted that design documents for work at the MFFF included inadequate welding measurements based on standards established by the American Welding […]

NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 IN THE NNSA The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) held yesterday a pre-proposal conference for the Nevada National Security Site’s (NNSS) management and operating contract competition. The conference for prospective contract bidders took place at the Embassy Suites Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev., and followed the NNSA’s Nov. 6 request for […]

Brian Bradley WC Monitor 11/20/2015 Funding for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility is expected to be included in the final fiscal 2016 appropriations bill after President Barack Obama’s official funding request clattered its way through scrupulous Energy Department-commissioned reviews, contentious congressional negotiations, and reported private meetings between DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration brass […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 11/20/2015 The improper storage of plutonium by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) employees resulted from a willful procedure violation by the SRNS work team, according to the Department of Energy. SRNS discovered on Sept. 3 that a group of three operators and a first-line manager stored a sample size of plutonium […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 11/20/2015 Some welding on the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MOX) may be redone following a violation detected during an inspection last month. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted that design documents for work at MOX included inadequate welding measurements based on standards established by the American Welding Society. […]

The improper storage of plutonium by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) employees resulted from a willful procedure violation by the SRNS work team, according to the Department of Energy. SRNS discovered on Sept. 3 that a group of three operators and a first-line manager stored a sample size of plutonium in a container that was […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Pantex Plant is successfully implementing its explosives safety program but must correct some practices that could be hazardous to personnel, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) determined in a program review released this week. The plant, responsible for nuclear explosives assembly, disassembly, and evaluation, is […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has scheduled a pre-proposal conference for the Nevada National Security Site’s (NNSS) management and operating contract competition. The conference for prospective contract bidders will be held Thursday, Nov. 19, at the Embassy Suites Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev., and follows the NNSA’s Nov. 6 request for proposals for […]