Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is planning to take a closer look at the management of the nuclear weapons complex in the wake of the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex. In a Feb. 15 letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, committee chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and ranking member Henry […]

The 2013 Nuclear Deterrence Summit is set to get underway this week with presentations from Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman, Acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller, Acting National Nuclear Security Administration chief Neile Miller, and Maj. Gen. Stephen Wilson, the commander of the Eighth Air Force and Joint […]

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is taking over as the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, replacing retired Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.). Like his predecessor, Udall is expected to be a supporter of the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, and the former Colorado House representative […]

Weapons complex protective force contractor G4S Government Solutions is advocating for physical security, protective forces, fire and emergency management to be combined in one contract for each site in the weapons complex. In his first public remarks since the Y-12 security breach last summer, G4S President Paul Donahue said yesterday at the Fifth Annual Nuclear […]

The Middle East does not have confidence in the extended nuclear deterrence capability of the United States in that region, Israeli security expert Shmuel Bar said yesterday at the Nuclear Deterrence Summit. “The view in Israel, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East that are American allies is that the United States has […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s progress in recovering and responding to the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex will be the topic of a House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing next week. The panel, which held a hearing on the incident in September, will hear testimony from acting NNSA Administrator […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration announced yesterday the successful completion of its Facility and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program—a multi-year effort intended to help significantly reduce maintenance backlogs across the complex. The FIRP effort involved approximately 800 projects, including 625 projects to refurbish laboratory and production facilities and to repair or replace infrastructure; and another 145 projects […]

Two House subcommittees will hold hearings this week on the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, but the hearings could take different tones. While the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee has raised concerns about the reliance on contractor assurance systems across the weapons complex, the House Armed Services […]

The trial of three protesters that broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex July 28 has been pushed back until Feb. 26. The trial had been scheduled to begin Oct. 10 in a Knoxville federal court, but counsel for the three protesters asked for the delay in order to better prepare for the case. The […]

The Department of Energy apparently still has some work to do before it releases an amended Request for Proposals for its scaled back Oak Ridge protective force contract. After indicating several times that it would release a new RFP on Friday, DOE delayed the release of the document without explanation. In a message posted to […]

Dan Hoag, the Deputy Manager of the NNSA Production Office, has been “temporarily reassigned” to the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site Office where he will provide “senior level technical support” while a review of federal security oversight is conducted, the NNSA confirmed Friday. NW&M Monitor reported last week that Hoag, the senior-most federal official […]

House appropriators yesterday unveiled their version of a Continuing Resolution that will fund the government for the first six months of Fiscal Year 2013, and the draft stopgap measure includes exceptions that would boost funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration and USEC’s American Centrifuge Plant project. While most federal programs—including the bulk of the […]

Nuclear Fuel Services President Joe Henry has been named chief operating officer at B&W Y-12 as the beleaguered Y-12 contractor continues to recover from the July 28 security breach, marking a return to Y-12 for Henry. B&W Y-12 said that Henry will temporarily serve as B&W Y-12’s COO for the next several months, a position […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board wants the National Nuclear Security Administration to take a closer look at modeling assumptions underlying design of the Uranium Processing Facility. In a Sept. 6 letter to NNSA Administrator Tom D’Agostino, DNFSB Chairman Peter Winokur suggested that the NNSA hadn’t “validated’ some modeling assumptions that were used in the […]

House lawmakers finally got their chance to press Department of Energy officials about the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex yesterday, with several strongly asserting that the response to the incident has been inadequate. With lawmakers at a House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing calling the breach “appalling” […]

Efforts by Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee to reform the National Nuclear Security Administration came under fire from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle at a House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing yesterday. Stoked by the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, lawmakers said the […]

Y-12 National Security Complex contractor B&W Y-12 believes it has made a “compelling case” to the National Nuclear Security Administration that its contract should not be terminated as a result of the July 28 security breach at the site. NNSA issued a “show cause” notice to B&W Y-12 in the wake of the incident, and […]

The head of Air Force Global Strike Command suggested late last week that the U.S. should approach further reductions to its nuclear stockpile cautiously and should take into account the impact of potential reductions on the knowledge base that underpins the nation’s nuclear deterrent. “I’m charged with organizing training and equipping a force,” Lt. Gen. […]

Marshall Cohen has been named B&W’s new Vice President for Government Affairs and Communications, effective Oct. 9. Cohen last served as senior director for state and local government affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute, and previously served as vice president for communications and government affairs at Louisiana Energy Services. "Marshall’s experience and expertise in strategic […]

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu called the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex an “important wake up call” for the weapons complex during a speech at the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference in Vienna Monday, suggesting that the incident should serve as a lesson for the rest of the world. […]

Y-12 National Security Complex protective force contractor WSI-Oak Ridge said yesterday that it found “no evidence of intentional wrongdoing” after it investigated allegations that a supervisor attempted to help guards cheat on exams and inspections. Spokeswoman Courtney Henry said WSI responded Monday to an Aug. 31 “cure” notice from Y-12 contractor B&W Y-12 that, prompted […]

Karl Waltzer is serving as the acting deputy manager of the NNSA Production Office, agency spokesman Steven Wyatt said yesterday. Waltzer is replacing Dan Hoag, who was reassigned to the Oak Ridge Site Office in the wake of the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Hoag had been the senior-most federal […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has canceled a solicitation for technical support to the Office of Emergency Response Render Safe Stabilization Program because a contracting vehicle for the work already exists. The agency moved to kill the procurement yesterday, more than a month after issuing a solicitation seeking a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business to perform […]

The Department of Energy released an initial set of questions and answers associated with its Oak Ridge protective force procurement, clarifying for bidders that it won’t conduct another round of site tours, presolicitation conferences or one-on-one meetings with bidders for the opportunity. Several questions focused on the issue of presolicitation meetings, but the Department said […]

A bill introduced in the House of Representatives Friday by Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) would shift responsibility for protecting National Nuclear Security Administration sites to the military as fallout from the July security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex continues. The “Securing Our Nuclear Weapons and Facilities Act,” which is unlikely to gain traction […]

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has finished removing all but tiny quantities of special nuclear materials from its grounds in a move that will allow the National Nuclear Security Administration to cut back on security and potentially save approximately $40 million a year. The plan to remove all special nuclear material requiring Category I and II […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has named new site representatives for Hanford and the Y-12 National Security Complex. David Gutowski will be the Board’s new representative at Hanford, replacing William Linzau who is moving to Y-12. Gutowski joined the Board’s technical staff in June 2003, and last served as the Board’s Cognizant Engineer for […]

B&W Y-12 continued to shore up its management ranks yesterday, naming former B&W Shaw Remediation and Idaho National Laboratory executive David Richardson as its Deputy General Manager for Operations. Richardson replaces Bill Klemm, who retired in the wake of the July 28 Y-12 National Security Complex security breach, but has a slightly different job description. […]

Retention bonuses paid to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory guards to keep them at the site as it downsized its security posture were reasonable, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General said in a report released yesterday. The IG said it investigated claims that the lab experienced “excessive” security costs while it maintained security to protect Category […]

Companies bidding on the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge protective force contract will have an extra week to put together proposals thanks to an amendment issued yesterday that moves the due date for bids to Oct. 19. The amendment makes minor changes to the Request for Proposals, which was overhauled earlier this month to strip […]