Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

The U.S. Department of Energy and anti-nuclear activists seeking to stop construction of the Uranium Processing Facility in Tennessee could find themselves in an appeals court in January to argue about a lower court’s September decision that forced a partial federal redo of the facilty’s environmental review. The public won’t know until 2020 exactly what […]

The chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees were emphatic Wednesday that a deal on a bicameral fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act could be reached by early next week, despite a number of issues remaining up for debate. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) sets policy and authorizes appropriations for active nuclear-weapon […]

The Department of Energy and anti-nuclear activists seeking to stop construction of the Uranium Processing Facility could find themselves in an appeals court in January to argue about a lower court’s September decision that forced a partial federal redo of the facilty’s environmental review. The public won’t know until 2020 exactly what DOE’s issue is […]

The U.S. Department of Energy is studying whether to sign off on an extension of the legal deadline to end exports of weapon-grade uranium for foreign production of the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). The agency’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is accepting comments from the public through Dec. 27 ahead of the secretarial certification […]

Thousands of pounds of stainless steel originally intended for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., has been donated to welding programs at nearby high schools and colleges. Fifteen high schools and colleges each received a ton of metal from the U.S. Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National […]

BWX Technologies has tapped Dave Broussard, a former contractor at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, to be general manager of the company’s nuclear-naval parts factory in Barberton, Ohio. Broussard will take over the 750-person manufacturing site as it prepares to hire 80 more people and spent $80 million to ramp up production of […]

Some time before the new year, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will award a new protective forces contract to guard its Albuquerque Complex at the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M. The three-year contract will include a one-year base period and two one-year options, according to a Nov. 19 solicitation from the […]

James Peery will become director of the Sandia National Laboratories on Jan. 1, after current director Stephen Younger retires, the multi-state Department of Energy nuclear-weapon-engineering lab announced Monday. Peery is now  associate laboratory director of national security sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn. In that role, he succeeded Brent Park, who […]

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Dan Brouillette to be the 15th secretary of energy by a 70-15 vote, setting the stage for former secretary Rick Perry’s deputy to lead the roughly $30-billion-a-year agency responsible for U.S. nuclear weapons, waste, and energy. A Department of Energy spokesperson did not immediately reply to a query about […]

A cybersecurity provider for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is urging reconsideration of a recent follow-on award to a rival company. The transition from the $271 million contract held by information-technology specialist Criterion Systems, of Vienna, Va., was driven “by a perceived need to rapidly remediate a contract protest action lingering from 2016,” […]

The Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will not be published Thursday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Monday, Dec. 2.

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and other branches of the Department of Energy continue to struggle to improve their defenses against cyberattacks, according to the DOE Inspector General’s Office. The inspector general’s 2019 evaluation of the department’s unclassified cybersecurity program involved control testing and other evaluations of 28 DOE sites, largely overseen by […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Monday it has selected a longtime Department of Energy manager to lead its field office for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Michael Weis comes to Los Alamos after nearly 25 years with the department, most recently as site office manager for the Fermi National […]

The U.S. Department of Energy spent $8.6 million during the last fiscal year on remediation of a cesium-137 spill at a hospital research facility in Seattle. Remediation is ongoing at the Research and Training Building for the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center, according to Al Stotts, a spokesman for DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security […]

The U.S. Air Force is still sticking to its plan to build 100 B-21 Raider strategic bombers, but if it does need to procure more, it should be able to boost production without renegotiating the contract with Northrop Grumman, Air Force Materiel Command Chief Gen. Arnold Bunch told reporters recently. “We’ve got the contract structured […]

The U.S. Energy Department has formally signed a six-month extension for the incumbent support services vendor at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “We have received notice this morning that extends our period of performance six month, through May 25, 2020,” Rae Moss, a spokeswoman for Leidos-led Mission Support Alliance (MSA), said in a Thursday […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday advanced three of the four Trump administration nominations for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The nominees approved on voice vote were: Bruce Hamilton, current DNFSB chairman; current board member Jessie Hill Roberson; and Thomas Summers, former vice commander of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air […]

The U.S. Senate will vote Dec. 2, its first day back in Washington after Thanksgiving holiday break, on Dan Brouillette’s nomination to head the U.S. Department of Energy. The floor vote should occur around 5:30 p.m. ET that day, according to a Thursday Twitter post by the Senate’s Republican majority staff. Earlier Thursday, the Senate […]

The U.S. government on Nov. 15 urged a federal judge to dismiss a revised lawsuit from the state of Nevada requesting the removal of half-a-metric tons of weapon-usable plutonium from the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The U.S. District Court for Nevada “lacks subject matter jurisdiction to decide this matter because Plaintiff […]

Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor will not be published on Nov. 29 in observance of the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Friday, Dec. 6.

Just over six years after the last U.S.-built uranium enrichment centrifuge closed down, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is poised to take a milestone step: choosing a technology to power the next domestic, defense-uranium-enrichment cascade. It’s a major, if preliminary, step toward a world in which the United States no longer relies on the […]

AECOM said Friday that CEO and Chairman Michael Burke plans to retire by next year, either once his successor is found or ahead of the company’s 2020 yearly shareholders meeting scheduled for March. Burke will be the last executive to hold the dual title, the Los Angeles-based infrastructure and engineering multinational said in a press […]

A multinational medical isotope company jumped the gun in demanding that the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) “show cause” against termination of its application for a federal license to export weapon-grade uranium to Europe, according to a lawyer for the agency. In any case, the argument laid out by Curium has no merit, NNSA […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday advanced three of the four Trump administration nominations for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The nominees approved on voice vote were: Bruce Hamilton, current DNFSB chairman; current board member Jessie Hill Roberson; and Thomas Summers, former vice commander of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed another stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government running nearly three months into the 2020 budget year. Major news organizations reported the president signed the agreement after the Senate earlier in the day voted 74-20 to pass a House amendment that extends the current continuing resolution to […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Tuesday it has reached a contract closeout settlement with the company that was hired to build and operate a now-terminated plutonium recycling plant at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. The settlement covers all “contract closeout matters” with MOX Services, according to a press release from […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday advanced three of the four Trump administration nominations for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The nominees approved on voice vote were: Bruce Hamilton, current DNFSB chairman; current board member Jesse Hill Roberson; and nominee Thomas Summers, former vice commander of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot […]

A multinational medical isotope company jumped the gun in demanding that the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) “show cause” against termination of its application for a federal license to export weapon-grade uranium to Europe, according to a lawyer for the agency. In any case, the argument laid out by Curium has no merit, NNSA […]

The nomination of Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette to become energy secretary easily cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday by a 16-4 vote. The full Senate has not yet scheduled a vote on the nomination, a source said. The previously announced resignation of Energy Secretary Rick Perry takes effect Dec. 1. […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Tuesday it has reached a contract closeout settlement with the company that was hired to build and operate a now-terminated plutonium recycling plant at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. The settlement covers all “contract closeout matters” with MOX Services, according to a press release from […]