Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

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 Society. The MFFF is the […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 11/13/2015 The state of South Carolina is mulling legal options in responding to a key plutonium disposal milestone the Department of Energy will miss at the Savannah River Site’s controversial Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). The state’s decision could include the attempted levying of millions of dollars in fines over […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 11/13/2015 The state of South Carolina is mulling legal options in responding to a key plutonium disposal milestone the Department of Energy will miss at the Savannah River Site’s controversial Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). The state’s decision could include the attempted levying of millions of dollars in fines over […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 11/13/2015 The Electrorefining (ER) Project at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant is still in its infancy, but the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has already identified some safety-related concerns in conceptual design and planning documents. In an Oct. 29 letter to National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank G. Klotz, DNFSB Chairwoman […]

Activists Press Alexander for Details on UPF An activist group has initiated a letter-writing campaign aimed at prodding Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations energy and water subcommittee, to release more information about plans for the multibillion-dollar Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The group hopes the campaign, timed […]

An activist group has initiated a letter-writing campaign aimed at prodding Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn,), chairman of the Senate Appropriations energy and water subcommittee, to release more information about plans for the multibillion-dollar Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The group hopes the campaign, timed with the looming expiration of the current […]

WC Monitor 11/6/2015 Definitive Historical Record of U.S. Nuclear Testing Updated The National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office, in collaboration with the three national weapons laboratories and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, has updated the most “definitive” record on the conduct of U.S. nuclear weapons tests, NNSA’s Nevada Field Office announced on Monday. Updates […]

Chris Schneidmiller NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 The Sandia National Laboratories this year lost a device that contained radioactive polonium 210, the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) said last week. The New Mexico facility in 2014 leased two static-eliminating inline alpha ionizers that each contained 10 millicuries of the substance, Steven Simonson, director of […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 The House of Representatives on Thursday passed its new version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2016 with a vote of 370-58 following an agreement between Congress and the White House that cuts $5 billion in previously authorized funding from the Department of Defense budget. The new […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 Tritium production is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s “most pressing defense mission need,” according to the recently released “Tritium and Enriched Uranium Management Plan Through 2060” from the Energy Department. Tritium for use in the NNSA’s weapons program is produced by burning unencumbered low-enriched uranium at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) yesterday released its request for proposals for the follow-on contract for management and operation of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The contract will feature a five-year base period and five-year option period and is expected to be worth $500 million-$600 million per year. […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 A former Babcock & Wilcox employee is suing the company, along with recent spinoffs BWXT and BWXT Nuclear Operations Group, for at least $1.5 million as a result of lost compensation and benefits and other damages she said resulted from her wrongful termination in 2013, according to a complaint filed […]

Pantex Plant Security Gets High Marks in DOE Inspection The Pantex Plant security force scored almost unprecedented high marks during a July-August inspection by a 100-member team from the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments, according to plant manager Consolidated Nuclear Security. Michael Mitchell with Protective Force Operations and Training at Pantex said in a […]

Y-12 Building Irritant Disappears A persistent problem with “airborne irritants” near the Y-12 site’s oldest facility has apparently dissipated or disappeared, at least for the time being. The issue at Building 9731 – the original pilot plant at Y-12 during the World War II Manhattan Project – first cropped up in February. It later was […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office, in collaboration with the three national weapons laboratories and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, has updated the most “definitive” record on the conduct of U.S. nuclear weapons tests, according to NNSA’s Nevada Field Office announced yesterday. Updates to “United States Nuclear Tests—July 1945 through September 1992,” include […]

Tritium production is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s “most pressing defense mission need,” according to the recently released “Tritium and Enriched Uranium Management Plan through 2060” published by the Energy Department. Tritium for use in the NNSA’s weapons program is produced by burning unencumbered LEU at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar nuclear plant. The […]

The Sandia National Laboratories this year lost a device that contained radioactive polonium 210, the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments [EA] said last week.   The New Mexico facility in 2014 leased two static-eliminating inline alpha ionizers that each contained 10 millicuries of the substance. One was sent to a Department of Defense […]

WC Monitor 10/30/2015   NSTec Names New President The company that manages the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) on Wednesday announced that it was promoting an executive to the position of president. National Security Technologies (NSTec) Vice President for Program Integration Christopher Deeney will replace Raymond Juzaitis, who is retiring. Deeney for a limited time […]

NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 NSTec Names New President The company that manages the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) on Wednesday announced that it was promoting an executive to the position of president. National Security Technologies (NSTec) Vice President for Program Integration Christopher Deeney will replace Raymond Juzaitis, who is retiring. Deeney for a limited time will […]

NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 Charges Filed in Y-12 Security Breach A 34-year-old Clinton, Tenn., man remains in jail in lieu of $25,000 bond on charges related to his alleged breach of security Oct. 22 at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge. A Sessions Court hearing for Timothy Daniel Preston is set for Nov. 3 in […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration has not commented on whether it has taken punitive actions against Consolidated Nuclear Security, the management and operations contractor at the Y-12 site, for a significant shipping error in July in which the wrong amount of highly enriched uranium was sent to a private company in New […]

NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 Contractor Criticality Safety Infraction Reported at Sandia A contractor in September caused a criticality safety breach that forced the evacuation of a section of the Sandia National Laboratories, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report released this month. The worker was taking measurements at the SNL Annular Core […]

A contractor in September caused a criticality safety breach that forced the evacuation of a section of the Sandia National Laboratories, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report released this month.   The worker was taking measurements at the SNL Annular Core Research Reactor facility on Sept. 8 while preparing to […]

The vehicle fleet of National Security Technologies (NSTec), the contractor that manages and operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), was rated among the top in North America for fuel efficiency, NSTec announced on Thursday. The 100 Best Fleets program designated NSTec’s Fleet, Fuel, and Equipment Service operation the fourth best in the nation among […]

Brian Bradley WC Monitor 10/23/2015 The Savannah River Site’s H Canyon is expected to enter deliberate operations next week, and HB Line should start deliberate ops by the end of November, SRS announced on Wednesday. Site contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions entered a company-wide operational pause of all nonessential nuclear and non-nuclear operations on Sept. […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/23/2015 Consolidated Nuclear Security, the government’s managing contractor for the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, has paid a total of $33,620 in fines for violation of Department of Transportation regulations during a July 13 shipment of highly enriched uranium. Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act revealed that […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/23/2015 The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, which has seemingly been a magnet for security incidents in recent years, experienced another headline-grabbing event before dawn Thursday when a man drove his car through the plant’s main security portal, crashed his vehicle beside a parking lot while fleeing guards, and then fled into […]

The ExchangeMonitor Publications & Forums is accepting nominations for the Johnny Foster Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented at the Eighth Annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit, scheduled for Feb. 16-19, 2016, in Arlington, Va. The award is named for former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Johnny Foster, who was the inaugural honoree in 2013. It […]

The Atomic Trades and Labor Council and Consolidated Nuclear Security are scheduled to meet Wednesday to establish ground rules and other labor contract pre-negotiation issues, and actual negotiations for Y-12 National Security Complex workers are slated to begin on Monday, Oct. 26. “I’m optimistic that we’re going to get it done and end up with a […]

Brian Bradley WC Monitor 10/16/2015 The Savannah River Site’s K Area Complex will move to deliberate operations on Monday, after facility contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions on Sept. 11 halted all nonessential nuclear and non-nuclear operations, Energy Department Savannah River Field Office spokesman Jim Giusti said by email this week. “All of the requirements for […]