Vol. 24, No. 14 
COVID-19 Cases Nearly Triple at NNSA Locations
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
CNS Chief Isolating At Home After Possible Exposure to COVID-19
Morgan Smith, president and CEO for the Department of Enegy’s manager for the Pantex Plant in Texas and Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, is in quarantine at home after possible exposure to someone who displayed symptoms of COVID-19, sources said… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Energy Secretary Authorizes Contractor Indemnity for COVID-19 Testing, Research
Department of Energy contractors and subcontractors, including those working for the National Nuclear Security Administration, can be indemnified from damages arising from work to counter COVID-19, under a determination published this week by Secretary of Energy… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a subscriber to view […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus Centrifuges Among First Projected DOE Work Delays Due to COVID-19
Nearly a month after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, production of Centrus Energy Corp.’s new all-domestic enrichment cascade in Ohio is one of the first projects for the Department of Energy fearing delays from the viral outbreak. “We are continuing to make progress but we anticipate that there could be impacts on the project […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
House’s 2021 Defense Authorization Markup Delayed by Pandemic
The House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) markup will be delayed as the United States issues more guidelines to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) this week postponed the fiscal 2021… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Nevada, NNSA Formalizing Settlement of Plutonium Lawsuit
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Nevada have agreed in principle to settle a 2018 state lawsuit contesting the shipment of 500 kilograms of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site. “The parties are currently… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a subscriber […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Savannah River Pit Plant Could Flex to 80 Per Year
The Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility in South Carolina, like its planned counterpart in New Mexico, would be able to handle the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) planned plutonium pit production mission on its own if needed, according… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a […]
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Non-Proliferation
NNSA Drops International Isotopes for Field Services Work After Seattle Cesium-137 Spill
International Isotopes said Tuesday it would no longer provide radiological field services for the Department of Energy, after the federal agency put a hold on all existing contracts in the wake of a cesium-137 spill last May during a job in Seattle. “Regardless… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must […]
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International
U.S., Russia, Reduced Strategic Deployments Over Last Six Months, Latest New START Data Show
The United States and Russia were each deploying fewer strategic nuclear weapons as of March 1 than they did six months earlier, according to the Department of State’s latest data on the bilateral New START nuclear treaty. Since the last official State-published… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
DNFSB Urges Staff to Delve Deeper Into Nuke Sites
The Defense Nuclear Safety Facilities Board (DNFSB) is urging its inspectors and staff to press their newly bolstered authority to inspect Department of Energy defense-nuclear sites, as codified by Congress last year. Congress, at least in the board’s interpretation,… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a […]
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Stockpile Stewardship
Energy Dept. Subcritical Confinement Vessels Reinforced After Ediza Leak
The Department of Energy’s nuclear-weapon sites are modifying confinement vessels for planned underground subcritical plutonium experiments, after one such vessel blew a leak last year. A confinement vessel is designed to contain an explosive compression of plutonium metal, which is rigged to bring the material to the brink of a fission chain reaction. Observing that […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Centerra Owner Reworks Its Debt
Constellis, owner of Energy Department contractor Centerra Group, said Monday its lenders have approved an overhaul of the company’s debt package that should strengthen its balance sheet. The debt for equity exchanges received consent from 100% of term loan and… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Earthquake Rattles Idaho; No Damage Detected at INL So Far
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook Idaho at around 6 p.m. local time Tuesday, with the epicenter about 120 miles from the Energy Department’s Idaho National Laboratory, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. “While ground shaking was felt, there was no damage… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Congressional Report Outlines COVID-19 Shipbuilding Risks
A recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report update lays out how the COVID-19 pandemic could impact the Navy’s shipbuilding programs and noted what action Congress has taken in the past to mitigate other events. The report, Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Employee Files Discrimination Suit Against Savannah River Operator
A longtime employee of the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina has filed a lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities Act against facility management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). The case was filed… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as a […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Pentagon Agrees to Improve Records on Recommendations for Nuke Enterprise Improvements
The Pentagon has agreed to tidy up records of responses to three Obama-era reviews of its nuclear infrastructure, personnel and programs, according to the unclassified version of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report from the fall. The three internal… SUBSCRIBER ACCESS Thank you for visitingNuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor! You must be logged in as […]