Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY National Security Technologies (NSTec), the contractor that manages and operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), is seeking a subcontractor for Global Security Directorate technical support services. The contractor’s Global Security Directorate supports U.S. nonproliferation; counterterrorism; and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear detection initiatives. The subcontractor will provide “cyber […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 The United States has reduced the number of its deployed strategic warheads below New START treaty limits, while Russia has increased its numbers in the same category, according to the latest aggregate State Department data on strategic offensive arms. In effect since 2011, New START requires each country by February […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration has approved Critical Decisions 1 and 3-A for an electrorefining project at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, setting the stage for replacing an “analogous capability” for purifying uranium metal that is currently housed in the 70-year-old 9212 complex at Oak Ridge. According to information in […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 National Security Technologies (NSTec), the contractor that manages and operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and the Remote Sensing Laboratory, faces chemical workplace hazard identification challenges, the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments said in an enforcement letter released last week. The letter cites "an incident involving a worker exposure to […]

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 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, the Energy Department’s Savannah River Field Office spokesman Jim Giusti said in an email yesterday. “All of the requirements for K area to enter […]

National Security Technologies (NSTec), the contractor that manages and operates the Nevada National Security Site and the Remote Sensing Laboratory, faces chemical workplace hazard identification challenges, the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments said in an enforcement letter released last week. The letter cites "an incident involving a worker exposure to n-propyl bromide" at the Remote Sensing […]

The Savannah River Site’s K Area Complex was expected to enter deliberate operations on Monday, after facility contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions on Sept. 11 halted all nonessential nuclear and non-nuclear operations, the Energy Department’s Savannah River Field Office stated in an Oct. 9 press release. SRNS last week started deliberate operations for non-nuclear, solid […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 A series of issues involving bulging drums and related problems have prompted standing orders, corrective actions, and increased scrutiny of some of the storage of hazardous materials at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge. Periodic issues with waste or storage drums are not that uncommon, but it appears […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 An agreement has been reached between Pantex Plant contract manager Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) and the union representing site workers, CNS announced over the weekend. More than 1,000 workers at the nuclear-weapon assembly and disassembly plant went on strike after their collective bargaining agreement expired at the end of August, […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 With the strike at the Pantex Plant settled, Consolidated Nuclear Security will now join the Atomic Trades and Labor Council at the negotiating table in an effort to work out a new long-term labor contract for crafts workers at the Y-12 nuclear weapons facility. CNS manages both Y-12 and Pantex […]

NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY BWX Technologies (BWXT) announced this week that Rex Geveden will become the company’s chief operating officer later this month. Starting Oct. 26, Geveden will execute BWXT’s government and commercial nuclear operations in the U.S. and Canada, the contractor said. Geveden most recently served as executive vice president at Teledyne […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 The Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) complied with Department of Energy (DOE) regulations and environmental standards in calendar year 2014, according to the NNSS Environmental Report prepared by site managing contractor National Security Technologies and released on Thursday. The site that conducts high-hazard operations for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 The Department of Energy (DOE) is questioning $1.5 million in “unresolved” subcontract costs with the contractor that managed and operated the Y-12 National Security Complex from 2000 and 2014, according to a DOE Inspector General’s Office (IG) report released this week. Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Y-12 (B&W Y-12) – […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance for decades and a nationally known peace activist, said he got a home visit on Monday from agents who identified themselves as members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and who wanted to question him about photographs he had […]

NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 NSTec Extends 30 Union Contracts at Nevada Site Contracts for the 30 unions representing personnel at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) have been extended, facility management and operations contractor National Security Technologies (NSTec) announced this week. NSTec said it “successfully completed contract negotiations” that resulted in the extension of 28 contracts […]

NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY BWX Technologies (BWXT) announced this week that Rex Geveden will become the company’s chief operating officer later this month. Starting Oct. 26, Geveden will execute BWXT’s government and commercial nuclear operations in the U.S. and Canada, the contractor said. Geveden most recently served as executive vice president at Teledyne […]

A series of issues involving bulging drums and related problems have prompted standing orders, corrective actions, and increased scrutiny of some of the storage of hazardous materials at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn.   Periodic issues with waste or storage drums are not that uncommon, but it appears there have been […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) is questioning $1.5 million in “unresolved” subcontract costs with the contractor that managed and operated the Y-12 National Security Complex from 2000 and 2014, according to a DOE Inspector General’s Office (IG) report released yesterday. Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Y-12 (B&W Y-12) – a limited liability company made up […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will extend by three months its contract with Synergy Solutions, Inc. (SSI) for personnel security program support services, according to a justification and approval document posted last week. The contract involves personnel security program support services to NNSA’s 49,000 contractor and federal employees with security clearances, including "personnel security access […]

An agreement has been reached between Pantex Plant contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) and the union representing the plant’s workers, CNS announced yesterday. More than 1,000 employees at the nuclear weapon assembly and disassembly plant went on strike when their collective bargaining agreement expired at the end of August, rejecting the reduction of employee benefits […]

Brian Bradley WC Monitor 10/2/2015 The Savannah River National Laboratory this week restarted non-nuclear, solid waste management, and tritium operations, after 400 grams of plutonium placed in a container not marked for transport forced site contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions on Sept. 3 to shut down all of its nonessential nuclear and non-nuclear operations, SRNS […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/2/2015 A former employee at the Y-12 National Security Complex filed a legal complaint last Friday against former Y-12 managing contractor BWX Technologies (BWXT) alleging he was unlawfully fired as retaliation for reporting the company’s violations of federal regulations to the Department of Energy (DOE). Michael Doughty, a Y-12 employee since […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/2/2015 Days after a federal mediator intervened to facilitate labor negotiations between the contractor of the Pantex Plant and unionized workers, negotiations have been temporarily paused. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) announced on Sept. 25 that negotiations were “temporarily recessed . . . to give the parties an opportunity […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/2/2015 The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is urging the Department of Energy (DOE) to re-evaluate the benefits package at the heart of the strike at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant and calling for special attention toward the facility’s deferred maintenance issues. Unionized workers at the Pantex Plant have […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/2/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced last Friday it is inspecting BWX Technologies’ (BWXT) Lynchburg, Va., fuel facility following the discovery of a criticality safety incident. The NRC is investigating “the circumstances surrounding the discovery that workers may have exceeded controls for criticality safety in a production line glovebox,” the […]

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is urging the Department of Energy (DOE) to re-evaluate the benefits package at the heart of the strike at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant and calling for special attention toward the facility’s deferred maintenance issues. Unionized workers at the Pantex Plant have been on strike for more […]

The Energy Department expects that all nonessential nuclear operations will resume at the Savannah River Site this week, after 400 grams of plutonium placed in a container not marked for transport forced site contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions on Sept. 3 to shut down all nonessential nuclear and non-nuclear operations, Monica Regalbuto, assistant secretary of […]

Days after a federal mediator intervened to facilitate labor negotiations between the contractor of the Pantex Plant and unionized workers, negotiations have been temporarily paused. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) announced on Friday that negotiations were “temporarily recessed . . . to give the parties an opportunity to review new information and engage […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is inspecting BWX Technologies’ (BWXT) Lynchburg, Va. fuel facility following the discovery of a criticality safety incident, the NRC announced last Friday. The NRC is investigating “the circumstances surrounding the discovery that workers may have exceeded controls for criticality safety in a production line glovebox,” the announcement says. The safety controls are […]