Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

Marine Corps veteran Jeffrey Johnson has been named as the National Nuclear Security Administration’s chief of Defense Nuclear Security and Associate Administrator for Defense Nuclear Security, the agency said yesterday. Johnson previously served as the head of U.S. Marine Corps Civilian Law Enforcement, and according to the NNSA, he has broad experience protecting nuclear weapons, […]

Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen Davis is taking over as the top military official in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program, replacing Brig. Gen. James Dawkins as the agency’s Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator for Military Application, the NNSA said Friday afternoon. Davis most recently served as the Assistant Deputy Director for Nuclear, Homeland Defense, […]

Officials Push for New Air Force Modernization Fund, Make the Case for Strategic Funding Sandia Labs Chief Says B61 OK Under a CR—For Now NNSA Advisory Panel Wrapping Up Work, but Report’s Release Before or After Election Unclear LANL Director Emphasizes Advantages of Keeping Cleanup Work in Contract U.S. Officials to Continue Push for CTBT […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 9/19/2014 The Congressional advisory panel on the governance of the nuclear security enterprise is close to completing its work, co-chairman Norm Augustine said in a recent interview with NS&D Monitor, but it’s unclear when the report will be released. Speaking on the sidelines of a National Lab Day event Sept. 16, […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 9/19/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration appears to be moving forward with plans to implement the Red Team recommendation on an alternative strategy to the all-in-one and too-expensive Uranium Processing Facility. According to a newly released staff memo by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, NNSA Uranium Program Manager […]

Longtime UPF Procurement Manager Rich Brown Leaving for UK Project NS&D Monitor 9/19/2014 Rich Brown, the longtime procurement manager on the Uranium Processing Facility project, is leaving UPF to support a new project in the United Kingdom for Bechtel Systems and Infrastructure. He will be replaced by Bechtel procurement official Mark Swager, UPF Project Director […]

The Congressional advisory panel on the governance of the nuclear security enterprise is close to completing its work, co-chairman Norm Augustine said in a recent interview with NS&D Monitor, but it’s unclear when the report will be released. Speaking on the sidelines of a National Lab Day event Tuesday, Augustine said it’s still being determined […]

National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz next week will make his second visit in two months to the Savannah River Site, this time traveling there without Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. Klotz was among a delegation that visited the site in late July with Moniz, but he’ll be back at the site Sept. 24 to […]

The Air Force portion of the B61 warhead life extension program — which involves tail kit assembly — is on schedule for a first production unit in 2020, top Air Force officials said yesterday. The modernization involves consolidating the current four B61 variants – B61-3, B61-4, B61-7 and B61-10 – into a single B61-12 variant. […]

Just two weeks before the potential start of a ‘cold standby’ for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project, the National Nuclear Security Administration has not announced what plans for the project are at the start of the new fiscal year Oct. 1. “Until Congress gives us either a [Continuing Resolution] or a bill with […]

Here’s a look at some of the events we will be following this week: Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will also be on hand at the U.S. Institute for Peace today at 12:30 p.m. for a conference on nuclear testing along with NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 9/12/2014 The looming possibility that tritium operations at the Savannah River Site could be folded into Consolidated Nuclear Security’s Y-12/Pantex contract has tritium employees worried about a change in benefits and management concerned about the operational impacts that would accompany a loss of talent and knowledge if a large number of […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 9/12/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration has ordered new Y-12 contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security to dig deeper into a series of abnormal events over the past couple of years, assess whether there are any systemic issues that have been missed or undocumented and come up with a path forward that will […]

Suggesting that it is too late to negotiate with Russia over alleged violations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, argued yesterday that the U.S. should expand its missile defense capabilities and “reinstate” funding to modernize the nation’s nuclear arsenal and weapons complex […]

New Y-12 contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security said it has completed an internal investigation into a security violation that occurred in June and determined that no classified information was “compromised.” The Department of Energy’s Office of Enforcement and Office of Enterprise Assessments said last week that it is investigating the potential “mishandling and unauthorized access to […]

Apparently exasperated with the inability to improve security at the Y-12 National Security Complex, NNSA Production Office Manager Steve Erhart has ordered the plant’s new contractor to dig deep, find out what’s causing the spate of abnormal events and come up with a way to fix any systemic problems. In an Aug. 11 letter to […]

Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 9/5/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is calling on the Department of Energy to strengthen its emergency response capabilities and this week issued its first formal recommendation in nearly two years. The recommendation was prompted, in part, by DOE’s response to a truck fire and radioactive material release at the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 9/5/2014 With Russian President Vladimir Putin increasingly emphasizing Moscow’s nuclear firepower amid growing tensions with the United States over Ukraine, nuclear weapons experts suggested this week that Russia’s nuclear bluster could provide more ammunition to supporters of modernizing the U.S. nuclear stockpile and weapons complex. Speaking Aug. 29 at a youth […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 9/5/2014 Lawmakers are expected to return from their summer recess next week and passing a Continuing Resolution to fund the government at the start of Fiscal Year 2015 will be among the top priorities. But lawmakers are expected to strive for a short-term “clean” CR—that is, one devoid of many policy […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 9/5/2014 The Department of Energy’s Office of Enforcement is investigating a potential security violation at the Y-12 National Security Complex that occurred just before new Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security took over management of the facilities. In a Sept. 3 letter to CNS President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Haynes, Office […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 9/5/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is calling on the Department of Energy to strengthen its emergency response capabilities and this week issued its first formal recommendation in nearly two years. The recommendation was prompted, in part, by DOE’s response to a truck fire and radioactive material release at the […]

New Criticality Safety Issues Pop Up at Y-12 NS&D Monitor 9/5/2014 Staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board recently identified several new criticality safety concerns at the Y-12 National Security Complex, which is under increased scrutiny because of the age of the plant’s production facilities. Such concerns include casting of slugs of highly enriched […]

MOX Services Looks to Extend NRC Construction Authorization for 10 Years NS&D Monitor 9/5/2014 Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services is awaiting a response to its request for a 10-year extension to its construction authorization from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Currently the NRC’s construction authorization expires on March 30, 2015, but […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 8/29/2014 Fiscal Year 2015 is still a month away, but Consolidated Nuclear Security is making preparations for what’s likely to come: a Continuing Resolution. CNS, the managing contractor for the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear production facilities, issued preliminary guidance to employees this week to help get fiscally ready. “CNS expects to […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 8/29/2014 After a two-and-a-half-month summer vacation, former acting National Nuclear Security Administration chief Bruce Held returned this week to the Department of Energy. Held’s title will apparently remain the same—associate deputy secretary—but his duties have not been fully defined. “Governance issues have long been my central concern so I hope to […]

Report Initially Blocked From Public Release Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 8/29/2014 While the National Nuclear Security Administration’s management of the response program to radiological emergencies is “generally” in a state of readiness, there are issues with aging equipment and potential reliability issues, the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General found in an inspection report […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board held a second meeting in Washington yesterday on safety culture. The meeting involved presentations from a current and a former Navy officer on how the Navy handles safety culture, as well as presentations from government and academic experts on how organizational leaders influence safety culture. The meeting follows one […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s program to respond to radiological emergencies is “generally” in a state of readiness, though there are some potential improvements possible, the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General found in an inspection report. The NNSA’s Office of Emergency Operations is tasked with responding to radiological emergencies. “Our inspection found that […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 8/22/2014 KANSAS CITY—Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration and contractor officials formally dedicated the NNSA’s new Kansas City Plant today, unveiling a facility that has helped modernize the nation’s weapons complex but that officials also hope could renew a unique approach in paying for some of the infrastructure needs across […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 8/22/2014 With Congress raising questions about the Obama Administration’s ‘3+2’ strategy for modernizing the nation’s nuclear arsenal, Strategic Command chief Adm. Cecil Haney last week said he is “very concerned” about the future of the strategy but emphasized its importance. Haney spoke to reporters after a speech at U.S. Strategic Command’s […]