Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile

Thirteen people at a University of Washington research facility were exposed to cesium-137 last week when a contractor attempted to remove a blood irradiator as part of a Department of Energy-funded program. Personnel were removing a cesium irradiator manufactured by J. L. Shepherd and Associates from the premises on Friday when the workers “nicked the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) indicated Monday it will not start disposal of 34 metric tons of surplus weapon-usable plutonium in South Carolina until 2028 — a date by which the agency could accrue more than $1 billion in financial penalties for failing to remove the material from the South Carolina facility. The semiautonomous […]

The Department of Energy’s contractor for the now-terminated plutonium recycling facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina is suing to recoup what it says is nearly $53 million the federal government failed to pay for its work. CB&I AREVA MOX Services said in its May 2 lawsuit that the Energy Department’s semiautonomous National […]

A hole in a calibration valve caused the hydrogen fluoride leak that prompted the operations contractor of the Y-12 National Security Complex to evacuate the main U.S. uranium processing building in early April, according to a recent report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). “Based on a visual inspection, a hole was identified […]

More than 30 piping repairs were made last month at the Savannah River Site’s aging H Canyon nuclear materials processing facility during a planned maintenance outage. Along with the repairs, site personnel used the outage to calibrate the facility’s electrical breakers and inspect its air tunnel, which has sustained corrosion over the years. “Regularly scheduled […]

Energy Department contractor Fluor Idaho has resumed treatment of the remaining sludge waste at the site of an April 11, 2018, accident at the Idaho National Laboratory in which four storage drums overheated and blew off their lids. Work at the Accelerated Retrieval Project 5 (ARP-5) facility at the Idaho Cleanup Project “has progressed safely […]

By Calvin Biesecker Defense Daily Huntington Ingalls Industries on Thursday posted a big drop in net income in its first quarter due to less favorable pension adjustments, but the company’s top line growth was strong and the outlook for further growth in the coming years was buoyed by strong orders and a record backlog. Net income […]

Lynchburg, Va.,-based BWX Technologies on Wednesday reported a drop in both revenue and profit during the first quarter of 2019. The Department of Energy contractor recorded revenue of $416 million, down 9% from $457 million in the first three months of 2018, according to a press release. Meanwhile, net income dropped from $66.4 million, or […]

Two politicians who were instrumental in the formation of landmark U.S. nuclear security policies, former Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and former Congresswoman and State Department negotiator Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), died this week. Lugar, 87, died suddenly Sunday in Fairfax, Va., from complications related to chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, according to a press release from the […]

By Calvin Biesecker Defense Daily Huntington Ingalls Industries on Thursday posted a big drop in net income in its first quarter due to less favorable pension adjustments, but the company’s top line growth was strong and the outlook for further growth in the coming years was buoyed by strong orders and a record backlog. Net income […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory management contractor Triad National Security must quickly change the issues-management practices it inherited from its predecessor to prevent problems with plutonium facilities from spiraling out of control and derailing planned production of nuclear-weapon cores starting in 2026, the Energy Department said in a report Monday. The report comes from DOE’s Office of Nuclear […]

An article in Tuesday’s Weapons Complex Morning Briefing included an incorrect email address for the Department of Energy point of contact for comments on a proposed rulemaking for the agency’s whistleblower regulations. The correct email address is Kristin.Martin@hq.doe.gov.

Ellen Tauscher, the former congresswoman and State Department official who helped negotiate the New START treaty during the Barack Obama administration, died from pneumonia at the age of 67, her family announced Tuesday. “It is with the greatest sadness in our hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, sister, aunt, and friend, […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory management contractor Triad National Security must quickly change the issues-management practices it inherited from its predecessor to prevent problems with plutonium facilities from spiraling out of control and derailing planned production of nuclear-weapon cores starting in 2026, the Energy Department said in a report Monday. The report comes from DOE’s Office […]

Former Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), a giant in the arms-control world who gave his name to a famously formative piece of nonproliferation legislation, died suddenly Sunday in Fairfax, Va., at 87 from complications related to chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, according to a press release from the nonprofit Lugar Center. Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy is a […]

WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy locked Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) staff out of meetings at least one defense nuclear site, a member of the independent federal nuclear health-and-safety watchdog said here Tuesday. At a public meeting, board member Joyce Connery said DNFSB staff at a site she did not identify were denied access […]

A Department of Justice civil lawsuit alleging past fraud and kickbacks under the Mission Support Alliance contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state should be dismissed, plaintiffs said in motions filed Wednesday with a federal court. A hearing on their motions is set for Oct. 3 in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington. The […]

A panel of appeals judges will hear oral argument from Nevada by early October about why the Department of Energy should remove a half metric ton of weapon-usable plutonium from the Nevada National Security Site’s Device Assembly Facility. That is according to a Monday order in which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals told the […]

WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy locked Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) staff out of meetings at at least one defense nuclear site, a member of the independent federal nuclear health-and-safety watchdog said here Tuesday. At a public meeting, board member Joyce Connery said DNFSB staff at a site she did not identify were denied […]

As expected, Boeing on Wednesday reported lower sales and earning stemming from a halt in deliveries and flights of its 737 MAX passenger aircraft but the pain from that issue was softened by gains in the defense and services segments. “I want to be very clear, when it comes to resource questions and applications of resources, our […]

The acquisition last year of Orbital ATK, combined with strong results in the company’s Aerospace Systems, led to a solid opening quarter for Northrop Grumman, with sales and earnings higher and the outlook for earnings higher this year. Net income increased 3 percent to $863 million, $5.06 earnings per share (EPS), from $840 million ($4.79 EPS) […]

WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy locked Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) staff out of meetings at at least one defense nuclear site, a member of the independent federal nuclear health-and-safety watchdog said here Tuesday. At a public meeting, board member Joyce Connery said DNFSB staff at a site she did not identify were denied […]

Lockheed Martin blew open the door in its first-quarter financials with a strong showing across all of its operating segments and the company increased its guidance for earnings, sales, and cash this year. Net income jumped a whopping 42 percent to $1.7 billion, $5.99 earnings per share (EPS), from $1.2 billion ($4.02 EPS) a year […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Inspector General would not confirm or deny this week whether it is investigating a regional organization in New Mexico that advocates for local governments around the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The office does not comment on the existence of any “investigative matters,” the DOE IG’s Felicia Jones said by telephone […]

A bipartisan pair of senators last week introduced a bill to tighten ethics and transparency requirements for members of federal advisory committees: expert groups that advise federal agencies including the Department of Energy. The bill from Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) would require, among other things, that agencies creating and maintaining such committees openly nominate […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Inspector General would not confirm or deny this week whether it is investigating a regional organization in New Mexico that advocates for local governments around the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The office does not comment on the existence of any “investigative matters,” the DOE IG’s Felicia Jones said by telephone […]

Department of Energy contractor Honeywell on Thursday attributed a 15% drop in first-quarter revenue primarily to the spinoff of two business lines, saying organic growth was otherwise up by 8%. Company-wide sales dropped from $10.4 billion in the first quarter of 2018 to $8.9 billion in the same period of 2019. “The difference between reported […]

Department of Energy contractor Honeywell on Thursday attributed a 15% drop in first-quarter revenue primarily to the spinoff of two business lines, saying organic growth was otherwise up by 8%. Company-wide sales dropped from $10.4 billion in the first quarter of 2018 to $8.9 billion in the same period of 2019. “The difference between reported […]

Honeywell on Thursday attributed a 15% drop in first-quarter revenue primarily to the spinoff of two business lines, saying organic growth was otherwise up by 8%. Company-wide sales dropped from $10.4 billion in the first quarter of 2018 to $8.9 billion in the same period of 2019. “The difference between reported and organic sales primarily […]

The prime contractor for the canceled Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) sought and received a federal judge’s help Tuesday in ensuring that the rapidly downsizing company retains control of proprietary information at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. MOX Services has been shedding jobs since the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in October […]