Vol. 23, No. 33 
Sandia Director to Retire in December
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
NNSA Seeks New Los Alamos Field Office Manager
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is looking for a new manager for its Los Alamos National Laboratory field office in New Mexico, according to a want ad on an official federal jobs board. There are seven NNSA field offices, where local officials who report directly to the NNSA administrator oversee the agency’s multibillion-dollar site-management contracts. […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Warren Sends Letter to SASC Leaders Requesting Low-Yield Weapons Ban in Conference NDAA
Senate Democrats — led by a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Democratic presidential candidate — are calling on committee leaders to adopt several House-passed measures that would ban low-yield missiles deployment and extend the New START Treaty during future conference sessions over the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. Sen. Elizabeth Warren […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
South Carolina Appeals Judge’s Refusal to Make DOE Pay Plutonium Fines
As expected, South Carolina appealed a federal judge’s refusal to force the Department of Energy to pay $200 million in fines for failing to remove weapon-usable plutonium from the state. The state docketed its appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Court on Thursday, but had not at deadline Friday filed […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus to Finalize Contract for New Enrichment Cascade ‘This Year,’ CEO Says
The U.S. Department of Energy expects to release this year some $35 million in funding for Centrus Energy Corp. to begin building a new uranium enrichment cascade required to produce 600 kilograms of high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel by June 1, 2020, according to a letter contract filed Aug. 12 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Centerra to Receive Four-Month Extension as SRS Security Contractor
The security provider at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina is expected to receive a four-month contract extension ahead of the end of its current deal on Oct. 7. Florida-based Centerra could also secure another eight months on the job. That would come via two more four-month extensions, keeping the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Radiation Contamination Incident Batters International Isotopes’ Earnings
International Isotopes on Aug. 14 reported a net loss of nearly $1.2 million for the second quarter of 2019, primarily due to expenses for ongoing remediation of a May radioactive contamination incident in Seattle. The $1.16 million net loss was close to four times the $332,279 loss reported in the same period of 2018, the […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Merrick & Co. Opens Savannah River Office for Plutonium Work
Merrick & Co. has opened a new office in Aiken, S.C., to support subcontract work on the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) expanding plutonium mission, the Greenwood, Colo., nuclear, defense, and infrastructure contractor said. Bill Taylor will manage the new Aiken office, the company said in a press release. Taylor spent the last 15 years […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Extra Shifts Increase Plutonium Downblending at Savannah River
Plutonium downblending at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina has increased significantly after more shifts were added in November 2018. Assuming work continues to proceed well, shifts could be further increased in fiscal 2020, about a year sooner than the initial target date. Workers have downblended just over 17 kilograms […]
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Non-Proliferation
NNSA Wraps Up Final Molybdenum-99 Production Funding Deal
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Wednesday it had completed the last of four new funding agreements for private manufacturing of the medical isotope molybdenum-99. This means Northwest Medical Isotopes, of Corvallis, Ore., will now receive $15 million from the NNSA that it must fully match. The announcement comes almost five weeks after […]
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National Laboratories
Former NNSA Chief Receives Livermore’s John S. Foster Medal
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will award its John S. Foster Medal to Linton Brooks, who led the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration during the George W. Bush administration. Brooks, a former submarine commander and arms-control ambassador, is only the fifth person to receive the award, which is named for the pioneering nuclear-weapon designer and fourth […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
While We Were Out
Nuclear Security & Defense Monitor took a break over the past two weeks for Congress’ annual summer recess. Our affiliate publication, Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, kept up on the latest news around the nuclear security enterprise and its industry partners. Here’s a recap of what happened while we were out. After Appeals Defeat, Nevada Wants […]