Plutonium Pit Production

ARLINGTON, VA – Scott Pappano, Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), said Tuesday that Savannah River can still play a “supporting role” in pit production between now and the completion of its pit production facility. Pappano gave a keynote on the second day of Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit. NNSA must […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Tuesday issued the much-anticipated draft solution for management and operation of the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. The draft request for proposals (RFP) said bidders will be encouraged to offer updated technical approaches to making plutonium pits at the complex. According to a Jan. 27 procurement document, […]

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Los Alamos National Laboratory “exceeded all” objectives for producing the fissile cores of the nation’s nuclear weapons, the lab’s director Thom Mason told the Exchange Monitor Monday at the Nuclear Deterrence Summit. NNSA produced a “diamond-stamped,” or war-reserve quality, first production unit of a W87-1 plutonium […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Tuesday issued the much-anticipated draft solution for management and operation of the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. The draft request for proposals (RFP) said bidders will be encouraged to offer updated technical approaches to making plutonium pits at the complex. According to a Jan. 27 procurement document, […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Scott Pappano, Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), said Tuesday that Savannah River can still play a “supporting role” in pit production between now and the completion of its pit production facility. Pappano gave a keynote on the second day of Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence Summit. NNSA must […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Tuesday issued the much-anticipated draft solution for management and operation of the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. The draft request for proposals (RFP) said bidders will be encouraged to offer updated technical approaches to making plutonium pits at the complex. According to a Jan. 27 procurement document, […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) cancelled the publication of a draft environmental report for public comment on plutonium use at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a local publication reported.  According to Livermore Vine, NNSA intended to release the draft, and said so in a notice of intent January 2025, for comments and feedback from the […]

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) wrote a letter Dec. 16 to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright asking DOE to review the need and scope of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) pit production program. Warren and Garamendi are both members of their respective chambers’ Armed Services Committees and of the bicameral […]

Amid an administration change, government layoffs and a lapse in funding that led to the longest government shutdown in history, here were the top stories in 2025 involving nuclear deterrence and the National Nuclear Security Administration. To kick off the year in January, shortly after the conclusion of now-Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s Senate confirmation hearing […]

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the lawyers who successfully sued the Department of Energy over the Savannah River Site’s mismanaged Mixed Oxide (MOX) plutonium facility are entitled to $75 million of the $600 million settlement the state received.  The ruling was issued last Wednesday Nov. 12. South Carolina has litigation against DOE dating to […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) prime at the Savannah River Site is seeking to speed construction on the plutonium pits facility in South Carolina. Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) said in a Monday press release it is working with its partners to accelerate the major NNSA project. The release said crews are opening […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) prime at the Savannah River Site is seeking to speed construction on the plutonium pits facility in South Carolina. Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) said in a Monday press release it is working with its partners to accelerate the major NNSA project. The release said crews are opening […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) prime at the Savannah River Site is seeking to speed construction on the plutonium pits facility in South Carolina. Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) said in a Monday press release it is working with its partners to accelerate the major NNSA project. The release said crews are opening […]

The Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara,said on a Wednesday webinar that the first Sentinel flight test would be “well prior to” 2028. A Government Accountability Office report earlier this year estimated that the first flight test for the Northrop Grumman-made intercontinental ballistic missile Sentinel […]

The Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara,said on a Wednesday webinar that the first Sentinel flight test would be “well prior to” 2028. A Government Accountability Office report earlier this year estimated that the first flight test for the Northrop Grumman-made intercontinental ballistic missile Sentinel […]

In a letter to Teresa Robbins, acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly said he is ordering a special study to evaluate key leadership and processes on pit production. “I have become increasingly concerned about the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) ability to consistently deliver on nuclear weapons […]

An elevator for transporting radiological material within the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory’s plutonium facility suffered “several mechanical failures” over the last few months, according to a report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The report from July 25 said the recent failures pertained to the doors’ interlocking system. Management at the […]

Earnings rose at Fluor, Irving, Texas, in the second quarter, despite what the engineering and construction company described as hesitancy in world trade markets. Over the next 12 months, Fluor expects to pursue Department of Energy contracts for work at the Savannah River Plutonium Pits Project and to support high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear fuel […]

Earnings rose at Fluor, Irving, Texas, in the second quarter, despite what the engineering and construction company described as hesitancy in world trade markets. Over the next 12 months, Fluor expects to pursue Department of Energy contracts for work at the Savannah River Plutonium Pits Project and to support high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear fuel […]

Earnings rose at Fluor, Irving, Texas, in the second quarter, despite what the engineering and construction company described as hesitancy in world trade markets. Over the next 12 months, Fluor expects to pursue Department of Energy contracts for work at the Savannah River Plutonium Pits Project and to support high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear fuel […]

The House Armed Service’s starting version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would authorize $25.4 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and establish a New Advanced Nuclear Energy Working Group. The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) will mark up the bill at 10 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday, July 15 in Rayburn House […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said the National Nuclear Security Administration’s upgrade to safety controls, including to gloveboxes, is a “significant improvement” to safety at the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility. The safety watchdog’s comments come in a letter dated May 21 to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, as well as to Teresa Robbins, […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said the National Nuclear Security Administration’s upgrade to safety controls, including to gloveboxes, is a “significant improvement” to safety at the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility. The safety watchdog’s comments come in a letter dated May 21 to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, as well as to Teresa Robbins, […]

The Department of Energy’s prime contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has turned to a former DOE executive with more than 35 years in nuclear management to succeed its retiring CEO. Flour-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) Friday announced Jeff Griffin, a senior vice president, has been picked to succeed Dennis Carr […]

The Department of Energy’s prime contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has turned to a former DOE executive with more than 35 years in nuclear management to succeed its retiring CEO. Flour-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) Friday June 6 announced Jeff Griffin, a senior vice president, has been picked to succeed […]

SAVANNAH, GA. — The Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina should receive a certificate of completion for the offsite Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative this summer, Edwin Deshong said Wednesday. During the Radwaste Summit, Deshong gave a brief update on the status of the new research and meeting facility being built a few […]

The Department of Energy’s prime contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has turned to a former DOE executive with more than 35 years in nuclear management to succeed its retiring CEO. Flour-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) Friday announced Jeff Griffin, a senior vice president, has been picked to succeed Dennis Carr […]

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), a vocal nuclear critic and member of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee, told the Exchange Monitor over the phone Thursday that the extra funding for weapons activities in the White House budget could be better spent on non-proliferation or studying plutonium aging. “At the same time they’re increasing the […]

One of President Donald Trump’s May 23 executive orders instructs the secretary of energy to replace the surplus plutonium dilute and dispose program with one to process excess plutonium for fuel for advanced nuclear technologies. Trump’s executive order entitled “Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base,” one of four nuclear-themed executive orders released last week, said the […]

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the Fluor-led prime contractor at Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., said this week crews have started constructing gloveboxes to make the explosive fissile cores of nuclear weapons. “Gloveboxes will be a key component of pit production operations within the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility (SRPPF),” Dennis Carr, CEO of Savannah […]