Vol. 5, No. 40 DOE Taking COVID-19 Precautions as Cleanup Sites Reopen, Menezes Says
-
Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Trump Administration Done With Yucca Mountain, Energy Dept. Deputy Nominee Says
The nominee for the No. 2 position at the Department of Energy on Wednesday affirmed the Trump administration’s intention to move ahead with a program for interim storage of nuclear waste rather than continuing to press for disposal under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “Let me be very clear about this. The president has been very […]
-
Decommissioning
California, DOE Reach Accord on Tearing Down Santa Susana Buildings
The Energy Department has reached a deal with the state of California to tear down and remove 10 contaminated buildings at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) in Ventura County. Eliminating decaying buildings within the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility Complex should avoid a release of hazardous substances and minimize risk to the public in the […]
-
Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
COVID-19 Respirators Will Cost NNSA 70% More Than First Bargained For
It’s a good-news, bad-news week regarding the 225,000 Chinese-made personal respirators the National Nuclear Security Administration ordered to protect employees and contractors from COVID-19. The good news is they’re still coming. The bad news is that they will arrive at a 70% price premium, compared to what the agency thought it would pay. The semiautonomous […]
-
Stockpile Stewardship
Expansion of Subcritical Testing Space Resumed Quickly After Nevada Site’s COVID-19 Shutdown
The Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) suspended most of its nuclear operations in late March because of COVID-19, but expansion of the site’s underground subcritical testing laboratory came back online in the first week of April. Expanding the existing U1a Complex as part of the U1a Complex Enhancements Project (UCEP) is central to plans to […]
-
Naval Nuclear Propulsion
No New COVID-19 Cases at Nuclear Fuel Services
Nuclear Fuel Services has not tracked any new cases of COVID-19 among its workforce since an outbreak in mid-April sickened multiple people at its Erwin, Tenn., uranium-processing plant, a spokesperson said Thursday morning. The BWX Technologies subsidiary “has had no new cases of COVID-19 among our employees,” the spokesperson said by email. “Those affected are […]
-
Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
International Isotopes Receives $495K COVID-19 Paycheck Relief Loan
International Isotopes in April secured a $495,500 bank loan via federal COVID-19 relief legislation to help pay its employees, according to a quarterly filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in the CARES Act, signed into law in March, is intended to assist small businesses in meeting payroll, and […]
-
Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Air Force Taking Bids to Build New Engines for B-52
The Air Force contract to build more than 600 new commercial engines to power the aging, nuclear-capable B-52 bomber through the 2050s will run 17 years with six years of firm money, according to a solicitation released Tuesday. The service’s Commercial Engine Replacement Program calls for 608 new commercial engines, plus additional spare engines and […]
-
Cleanup & Remediation
Executive Director Leaves ETEBA
Tim Griffin, executive director of the Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Energy, Technology, and Environmental Business Association for nearly five years, has left to take another job. Griffin’s last day was May 8 at the trade group that represents about 170 firms and individuals doing business with the Energy Department or its semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration […]
-
Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Publication Notice
The Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will not be published Monday in observance of Memorial Day. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Tuesday, May 26.