Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 5/1/2015 Even though the post-2021 budgetary landscape—as many nuclear modernization programs move from research-and-development to the production phase—will likely threaten investments in strategic deterrence, the United States should still follow plans to modernize the full nuclear weapon portfolio, a Senate appropriator told a Capitol Hill audience this week. “Will there be […]

The House Armed Services Committee yesterday approved preliminary legislation aimed at expediting cited delays in Defense Department-to-Congress communication regarding strategic forces. Noting a lack of DoD disclosure to Congress about “several specific problems” uncovered by last year’s Nuclear Enterprise Reviews, HASC Strategic Forces Chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) introduced a bill during the marathon full […]

Even though the post-2021 budgetary landscape—as many nuclear modernization programs move from research & development to the production phase—will likely threaten investments in strategic deterrence, the U.S. should still follow plans to modernize the full nuclear weapon portfolio, a Senate appropriator told a Capitol Hill audience yesterday. “Will there be funding challenges after 2021, after […]

Secretary of State John Kerry during a diplomatic forum in New York yesterday urged Russia to return to compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and underscored that the U.S.’ offer to Russia to reduce nuclear stockpiles by one-third below New START levels remains on the table.  “I want to emphasize our deep concerns regarding […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 Discussions have been “productive” between the New Mexico Environment Department and the Department of Energy on state compliance orders, NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn said last week, adding that he hopes to soon reach a resolution. In December, NMED levied compliance orders that included a total of $54 million in fines […]

Schedule Unclear for Resuming IWTU Startup Tests WC Monitor 4/24/2015 As new details have been made public on the latest set of technical issues experienced during startup efforts at the Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, the Department of Energy is staying quiet on whether additional time may be needed before testing efforts can resume. The […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 4/24/2015 Consolidated Nuclear Security, the Bechtel-led team that took over management of the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants last year, is saving approximately $2 million a week under its cost-savings plan, according to Richard Goffi, the Booz Allen Hamilton vice president helping to head up transformation activities for the CNS […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor  4/24/2015 House appropriators are concerned that a heavy workload on the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program could endanger the agency’s modernization efforts. In the report accompanying the House version of the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations Act, House appropriators said they were worried that the “aggressive” schedule for […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 4/24/2015 The Nuclear Enterprise reviews completed last year showed that the triad is running at a $9 to $25 billion recapitalization and sustainment deficit—not including bombers and ballistic missile submarines—a shortfall that will take “years” to fix, a top National Nuclear Security Administration official told Senators April 22. “We did not […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 4/24/2015 The 2015 Review Conference (RevCon) for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty starts on Monday at UN Headquarters in New York, and treaty advocates expect disarmament and a WMD-free zone in the Middle East to dominate discussions this year. “On nuclear disarmament, I think there’s a lot of expectation that there’ll be […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor  4/24/2015 Consolidated Nuclear Security is combining the technology-transfer functions at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants into a single organization. CNS took over management of the two plants under a single management contract, effective July 1, 2014. The contractor said the central office for technology transfer should stimulate growth in […]

DOE Finds Weaknesses in Pantex Emergency Response Procedures NS&D Monitor 4/24/2015 The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments was critical of a Pantex emergency response exercise, identifying several weaknesses with the procedure in a recent report. While DOE said in the report that plant manager Consolidated Nuclear Security “exhibited generally good command and control” during […]

In what amounts to a partial endorsement of the recommendations of the Congressionally mandated NNSA governance panel, the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee yesterday unveiled legislation that would create a DOE/NNSA panel to establish an implementation plan for reforming the management of NNSA and improving efficiency across the weapons complex. The panel would base […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security, the Bechtel-led team that took over management of the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants last year, is saving approximately $2 million a week under its cost-savings plan, according to Richard Goffi, the Booz Allen Hamilton vice president helping to head up transformation activities for the CNS team. Goffi addressed the Congressional […]

The Nuclear Enterprise reviews completed last year showed that the triad is running at a $9 to $25 billion recapitalization and sustainment deficit—not including bombers and ballistic missile submarines—a shortfall that will take “years” to fix, a top National Nuclear Security Administration official told Senators yesterday. “We did not evaluate any of the replacement programs […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments was critical of a Pantex emergency response exercise, identifying several weaknesses with the procedure in a recent report. While DOE said in the report that plant manager Consolidated Nuclear Security “exhibited generally good command and control” during the exercise, it said information wasn’t acquired, recorded or disseminated […]

WC Monitor 4/17/2015 IN DOE Chip Lagdon, the Department of Energy’s Chief of Nuclear Safety, is preparing to retire from federal service, WC Monitor has learned. Langdon’s retirement request was recently approved by senior DOE officials, though the exact timing of his departure remains unclear. Langdon has served as Chief of Nuclear Safety since January […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 4/17/2015 The Fiscal Year 2016 Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account could help the U.S. avert the “disaster” that sequestration would visit upon the Nuclear Enterprise, but the emergency war fund cloaks the long-term budget crunch facing strategic forces, the ranking member on a House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee said during […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 4/17/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration won’t make a decision this year on adding the management of Savannah River tritium operations to Consolidated Nuclear Security’s Y-12/Pantex management and operating contract, NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz told employees at the Savannah River Site this week. In an April 16 visit to the site, […]

Nonprolif. Account Funding Largely Matches $1.9 Billion Request Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 4/17/2015 Lawmakers on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee cleared their version of the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill this week, and while there is a slight funding cut for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program, subcommittee Chairman […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 4/17/2015 The Defense Department can’t afford to build the Ohio-class Replacement (OR), the long range strike-bomber, the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, the long-range standoff weapon, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer said this week. Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics said the nuclear triad modernization will cost about […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 4/17/2015 With a significant focus in the National Nuclear Security Administration on modernizing the nation’s nuclear stockpile, lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee this week urged the agency to maintain a balance between production activities and maintaining scientific capabilities. Speaking at an April 15 budget hearing, Sen. Deb […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 4/17/2015 Union-represented workers at the Pantex Plant are eyeing a possible strike over medical, sick leave and other benefits, but union officials remain in negotiations with contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security. Clarence Rashada, president of the Metal Trades Council, said the council, a 10-union coalition that represents roughly 1,200 Pantex workers, held […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 4/17/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week kicked off a special investigation of an unplanned chemical reaction earlier this month at the Nuclear Fuel Services facility in Erwin, Tenn. According to the NRC, a two-liter bottle containing cleaning materials, nitric acid and a small amount of uranium underwent an unplanned chemical […]

After the November Nuclear Enterprise Reviews (NER) found investment shortfalls in nuclear forces, the Navy is requesting an additional $407 million for its leg of the nuclear triad in Fiscal Year 2016, and $2.2 billion over the Future Years’ Defense Program, the chief of Navy’s strategic missile force stated yesterday in written testimony to House […]

Pantex union workers are eyeing a possible Pantex Plant strike over medical, sick leave and other benefits, but union officials remain in negotiations with contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security. Clarence Rashada, president of the Metal Trades Council, said the council, a 10-union coalition that represents roughly 1,200 Pantex workers, held a weekend rally to inform its […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration still hasn’t made a decision on whether it will exercise an option in Y-12/Pantex manager Consolidated Nuclear Security’s contract to fold in Savannah River tritium operations, and the agency hasn’t given any concrete signs when it will make the decision. In a letter to Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) last month […]

CBFO Manager Joe Franco to Take Senior Post at DOE Richland Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/10/2015 With the announcement this week that Joe Franco is stepping down as Manager of the Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office for a senior position at DOE’s Richland Operations Office, officials said that a replacement would need to maintain […]

At PFP, Large Counterweight Accidently Dropped on Canyon Floor WC Monitor 4/10/2015 At the Plutonium Finishing Plant decontamination project last month a 1,140-pound counterweight accidently fell 12 feet to the canyon floor, though no workers were in the area at the time and it is not believed to have caused damage. The crane is remotely […]

Several Companies Interested in Supplying Y-12 With Depleted Uranium NS&D Monitor 4/10/2015 Consolidated Nuclear Security, the government’s managing contractor at Y-12, said this week that it has received “several” responses to a notice issued in mid-January seeking up to 6,800 tons of high-purity depleted uranium for production purposes. Contractor spokeswoman Ellen Boatner said those responses […]