Nuclear Security & Deterrence Vol. 19 No. 44 DOE Tech Transfer Bill Updated With Industry Input
-
Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Pantex Explosives Safety Program Review Identifies Effective Controls, Hazards
Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Pantex Plant is successfully implementing its explosives safety program but must correct some practices that could be hazardous to personnel, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) determined in a program review released this week. The plant, responsible for nuclear explosives […]
-
Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Publication Notice
As is our annual practice, NS&D Monitor will not publish next week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. The next regular issue will be in your inbox on Dec. 4. The Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will be published Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week, and we will issue bulletins should any major news break in the interim.
-
Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Sources: MOX Will Be Funded through FY 16
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 Funding for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility is expected to be included in the final fiscal 2016 appropriations bill after President Barack Obama’s official funding request clattered its way through scrupulous Energy Department-commissioned reviews, contentious congressional negotiations, and reported private meetings between DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration brass […]
-
National Laboratories
CRENEL, Lab Director Encourage Flexibility in DOE-Lab Relationship
Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 The relationship between the federal government and national laboratories should be modified to ease the burden of federal regulations while promoting transparency and trust between the two entities, according to the co-chairs of the Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories (CRENEL) and a laboratory director. CRENEL, established […]
-
Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Study Finds Current Planned LRSB Buy Won’t Meet Requirements
Valerie Insinna Defense Daily 11/20/2015 The Air Force’s current plan to buy anywhere from 80 to 100 Long Range Strike Bombers (LRSB) will not be sufficient to meet operational requirements, and double that number could be needed for a large scale conflict in which conventional and nuclear bombers are needed, a study by the Mitchell […]
-
Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
NRC Cites Welding Violation at MOX Facility
Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 Some welding on the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) may be redone following a violation detected during an inspection last month. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted that design documents for work at the MFFF included inadequate welding measurements based on standards established by the American Welding […]
-
Innovation & Infrastructure
DOE IG Highlights Infrastructure Modernization as New Management Challenge
Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Inspector General (IG) in a report Thursday added infrastructure modernization to its fiscal 2016 list of management challenges facing the department. The new addition signals a need for DOE to focus on the issue, along with existing challenges in contract management, cybersecurity, safeguards […]
-
Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Ohio State Lawmakers Want Message Supporting ACP Sent to Congress
Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 In perhaps a last-ditch effort to save the Piketon, Ohio, piece of the American Centrifuge Project, Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Cliff Rosenberger and state Rep. Terry Johnson (R) are calling for the Ohio legislature to officially reiterate to Congress that moving all of Centrus’ American Centrifuge Project (ACP) operations […]
-
Non-Proliferation
U.S. Considering ‘Economic and Military Responses’ to Russia’s INF Treaty Violation
Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 The United States is considering “economic and military responses” to Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a senior State Department official said last week. Frank Rose, assistant secretary of the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, said Russia committed a “serious violation” against “one of the core […]
-
Non-Proliferation
Game Competition Seeks to Promote Nuclear Threat Education
Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 A program that promotes innovative ideas for nuclear disarmament is calling on the gaming community to develop digital game ideas to educate the public on the risk of nuclear weapons. N Square, a $2.4 million pilot program, has partnered with Games for Change, an organization that promotes the development of […]
-
National Laboratories
NNSA Labs Win R&D 100 Awards
Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 15 projects from National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) labs, some of which feature nuclear deterrence applications, were chosen last week as winners of R&D Magazine’s annual R&D 100 Awards recognizing “the top technology products of the year,” according to the magazine. One of the winners in the software and services […]
-
Contracts & Procurement
Wrap Up
NS&D Monitor 11/20/2015 IN THE NNSA The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) held yesterday a pre-proposal conference for the Nevada National Security Site’s (NNSS) management and operating contract competition. The conference for prospective contract bidders took place at the Embassy Suites Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev., and followed the NNSA’s Nov. 6 request for […]