Plutonium Pit Production

In a pound-the-table brief filed this week, Nevada asked a federal judge to hear oral arguments in an ongoing lawsuit to remove 500 kilograms of weapon-usable plutonium from the state. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration shipped the material to the Nevada National Security Site in 2018 to comply with a court order […]

In a pound-the-table brief filed this week, Nevada asked a federal judge to hear oral arguments in an ongoing lawsuit to get some 500 kilograms of weapon-usable plutonium shipped out of the state. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration shipped the material to the Nevada National Security Site in 2018 to comply with […]

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 […]

The U.S. Department of Energy and the contractor hired to build a now-terminated plutonium recycling plant at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina are seeking a joint dismissal of nine lawsuits the company filed against its employer over the past four years. Filed Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the stipulation of […]

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 […]

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The head of the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy on Monday said she was committed to studying the potential use of advanced reactors in recycling radioactive spent fuel from nuclear power plants. Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Energy Rita Baranwal, though, said that storage and permanent disposal of that waste […]

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 […]

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 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 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 […]

WASHINGTON — Dan Brouillette, who a few years ago was lobbying for the insurance industry and now is on track to join President Donald Trump’s Cabinet as secretary of energy, cruised Thursday morning through a Senate nomination hearing that briefly crossed wires with presidential impeachment proceedings in the House. With approval from the Senate, Brouillette […]

A federal judge did not recognize the Department of Energy’s legal obligation to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in plutonium-related fines to South Carolina, or properly vet the state’s claim that the agency has the money to pay up, according to court papers filed this week. In appealing the ruling in the 2016 lawsuit […]

A federal judge did not recognize the Department of Energy’s legal obligation to pay millions of dollars in plutonium-related fines to South Carolina, or properly vet the state’s claim that the agency has the money to pay up, according to newly filed court papers. In appealing the ruling of the 2016 lawsuit in the Court […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) plans to produce intercontinental ballistic missile warhead cores starting in the next decade could delay plans to dilute and dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus weapon-usable plutonium, the Government Accountability Office reported Wednesday. There are two reasons why, according to the 39-page report, “Surplus Plutonium Disposition: NNSA’s Long-Term […]

Nevada will be allowed to seek removal of half a metric ton of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium sent to the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site by amending a nearly year-old lawsuit, a federal judge ruled Monday. The state sued DOE and its semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in U.S. District Court for Nevada […]

Navy Vice Adm. Charles Richard, the Donald Trump administration’s nominee to lead U.S. Strategic Command, on Thursday told the Senate Armed Services Committee that there are “issues” with the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) plan to produce 80 new nuclear weapon cores a year by 2030. “That requirement is sound,” Richard said, but “there are […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) plans to produce intercontinental ballistic missile warhead cores starting in the next decade could delay plans to dilute and dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus weapon-usable plutonium, the Government Accountability Office reported Wednesday. There are two reasons why, according to the 39-page report, “Surplus Plutonium Disposition: NNSA’s […]

Nevada will be allowed to seek removal of half a metric ton of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium sent to the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site by amending a nearly year-old lawsuit, a federal judge ordered Monday. Nevada sued DOE and its semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in U.S. District Court for Nevada in […]

The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to hear South Carolina’s argument that an appeals court illegally denied the state its right to contest the Department of Energy’s decision to close an over-budget, behind-schedule plutonium-disposal plant at the Savannah River Site. The decision from the high court, for which there is no appeal, spells the […]

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined without comment to hear South Carolina’s argument that an appeals court illegally denied the state its right to contest the Department of Energy’s decision to close an over-budget, behind-schedule plutonium-disposal plant last year. The decision from the high court, for which there is no appeal, spells the end […]

After the federal holiday on Monday, South Carolina will find out whether the Supreme Court will hear its case that an appellate court illegally allowed the U.S. Department of Energy to cancel construction down the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) last year. On Friday, the Supreme Court was scheduled to hold a conference, in […]

Equipment testing and staff training is ongoing at a mock-up facility that will recover plutonium from metal cylinders used decades ago in nuclear reactors at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The $100 million plutonium recovery mission at the 310-square-mile site near the city of Aiken is slated to begin […]

Nevada is pressing a federal judge for permission to resume a search for evidence that the U.S. Department of Energy skirted federal environmental law last year in shipping half a metric ton of weapon-usable plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). On Oct. 3, U.S. District Judge Miranda Du reinstated, but did not rule […]

Nevada is pressing a federal judge for permission to resume a search for evidence that the U.S. Department of Energy skirted federal environmental law last year in shipping half a metric ton of weapon-usable plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). On Oct. 3, U.S. District Judge Miranda Du reinstated, but did not rule […]

With final briefs filed, a federal judge will soon decide whether to dismiss Nevada’s lawsuit seeking to force the Department of Energy to remove half a metric ton of weapon-usable plutonium from the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Nevada in August sought permission to modify its 2018 lawsuit in U.S. District Court to now ask […]

The U.S. Supreme Court will next week mull whether to hear arguments that an appeals court illegally blocked South Carolina from trying to stop the Department of Energy from canceling the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) at the Savannah River Site. The Supreme Court has scheduled the case for conference on Oct. 11, a […]

The U.S. Supreme Court will next month mull whether to hear arguments that an appeals court illegally blocked South Carolina from trying to stop the Department of Energy from canceling the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) at the Savannah River Site. The Supreme Court has scheduled the case for conference on Oct. 11, a […]

After a final brief filed Friday, a federal judge will soon decide whether to dismiss Nevada’s lawsuit seeking to force the Department of Energy to remove half a metric ton of weapon-usable plutonium from the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Nevada in August sought permission to modify its 2018 lawsuit in U.S. District Court to […]

Nevada should not be allowed to seek removal of one-half a metric ton of weapon-usable plutonium from its borders by amending a lawsuit it filed against the Department of Energy last year, according to the federal government. “With no success in convincing this Court that DOE’s transportation of plutonium into the state is so dangerous that […]