Vol. 23, No. 32 
NNSA Finishes Moving Metric Ton of Plutonium Out of South Carolina
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Plutonium Pit Production
NNSA Wants to Start Building MFFF Alternative After FY21
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) plans to start building the replacement for the canceled Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) some time after Sept. 30, 2021, according to the agency’s latest annual report on its nonproliferation programs. The semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear-weapon branch formally terminated construction of the Savannah River Site facility in October, […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
BWXT Halfway Through Submarine Missile Tube Fixes; Threatens Exit From Business
BWX Technologies is about halfway through repairing 12 submarine missile tubes it welded incorrectly in 2018, Rex Geveden, president and CEO of the Lynchburg, Va., nuclear-hardware and fuel provider told investors Tuesday. Under multiple subcontracts to Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine production prime General Dynamics Electric Boat, BWXT is on the hook to deliver tubes through 2021. […]
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Contracts & Procurement
AECOM Upbeat About Spinoff of Government-Contracting Unit
The top brass at AECOM has received plenty of positive feedback since announcing June 17 that it would spin off the business segment that contracts with the Department of Energy and other federal agencies. “We are moving ahead of schedule” toward separating the Management Services line into its own publicly traded company, Chairman and CEO […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Nevada Expects to Review Details on Mislabeled DOE Waste This Month
The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) expects by the end of this month to receive additional U.S. Energy Department information on numerous shipments of mislabeled radioactive waste to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). After reviewing the latest material from DOE, the state “will determine whether the material is stable in the current disposal […]
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Budget & Policy
Trump Signs Budget Caps Bill
President Donald Trump has signed H.R. 3877, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, into law after the bill passed the House July 25 and the Senate Aug. 1. The legislation, signed late last week after deadline for Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor, suspends the debt limit through July 31, 2021, and sets defense spending toplines at […]
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National Laboratories
Former LANL Physicist, Busted for Chinese Connection, Set for Trial in 2020
The former Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist indicted for lying about connections to a Chinese government-sponsored talent-recruiting program is scheduled to be tried starting June 22, 2020, in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, N.M. Turab Lookman has pleaded not guilty to three counts of fraud and false statements for allegedly lying to the Department of Energy and […]
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Contracts & Procurement
NNSA Still Has Not Blocked Suppliers Via Enhanced Procurement Authority, GAO Says
A half-decade after Congress gave the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) special authority to bar certain suppliers from providing components for nuclear weapons, the agency still has exercised that power, the Government Accountability Office said this week. The new report is the third time the congressional watchdog has checked in on the agency’s use, or […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Analysis: Force Boeing and Northrop Grumman to Play Nice on GBSD?
It’s clear that Boeing, which designed, built, and serviced every Minuteman missile since the venerable launcher became the backbone of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, does not like any of the options available to it under the Air Force’s current procurement for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). That’s why the company quit the competition to build the […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
No Contamination Resulted From Plutonium in Los Alamos Glove Box, DOE Says
A “trace amount of plutonium” found inside a glove box at the Los Alamos National Laboratory on June 27 did not endanger any employees, a spokesman for the Department of Energy facility in New Mexico said Wednesday. Employees discovered an “unexpected powdery residue” underneath a brush in a material management room glove box at the […]
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National Laboratories
LANL Small Biz Sub Moves Former BWXT Hand in High Hazard Waste Role
Longenecker & Associates promoted Mike Briggs to the newly created post of group vice president for High-Hazard Operations support, the small-business subcontractor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory said. Briggs joined the Las Vegas-based company last year and helped launch the business line that supports incident response and recovery at DOE sites, the company said […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Publication Notice
The ExchangeMonitor is heading into its annual August recess, and Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor will not be published during the second and third full weeks of the month. We’ll still be in the office, so keep the news tips coming, and look for the next weekly newsletter in your inbox on Friday, Aug. 30.