Vol. 25, No. 13 
Tester Says He Will Keep GBSD “On Track;” Ex-Obama Official Says GBSD ‘Vulnerable’
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Active Confirmed COVID-19 Cases at NNSA Hit Five Month Low; Y-12 Adds On-Site Vaccines
As vaccine rollouts continue, confirmed, active cases of COVID-19 across the National Nuclear Security Administration complex dropped to their lowest reported level since mid-October. In December, The semi-autonomous Department of Energy nuclear weapons agency was reporting around 1,000 active cases a week. As of Friday, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) had 56 new confirmed […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
DOE Plans to Extend Incumbent DUF Contractor to Keep Weapons Work Steady
The Department of Energy plans to retain a Atkins-led joint venture that runs depleted uranium conversion at former gaseous diffusion plants in Ohio and Kentucky for 14 more months, until March 31, 2023, in part to help a defense project stay on track. The DOE announced its intention to extend the contract for Mid-America Conversion […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Subcontractor, Poor Communication Blamed in IG Report About Wonky Component Manufactures at KCNSC
Lack of communications between the Sandia National Laboratories and the Kansas City National Security Campus resulted in some improperly manufactured flex cables, and separately in the Missouri manufacturing facility accepting other flex cables that failed post-manufacturing tests, the Department of Energy’s inspector general reported recently. Someone who tipped off the IG in 2019 about the […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
SOX Lawsuit From Ex-MSTS CFO in Mediation
A lawsuit filed by the disgruntled ex-chief financial officer of the Nevada National Security Site’s prime contractor remained in mediation this week, with both the company and its chief executive again denying that the former finance chief was fired for protected whistleblowing. In the latest filings in the case, Mark Martinez, chief executive officer of […]
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Transuranic Waste
DOE Carlsbad Halts Los Alamos NNSA Shipments to WIPP After Evacuations
The Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office in New Mexico has halted transuranic waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s contractor for the Los Alamos National Laboratory after sparks from a waste drum prompted evacuations at both the lab and the disposal site. That is according to a […]
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Budget & Policy
Special Election for Sandia Area Congressional District Set for June
A special congressional election is set for June 1 in New Mexico to fill the vacancy in the district that includes the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories facilities in Albuquerque. The open seat was created March 16 when then-Rep. Debra Haaland (D) resigned to become President Joe Biden’s secretary of interior after being confirmed in a […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Round Up: A&M Prez; LLNL Retiree’s Award; ABQ Bid Protest Lost
Katherine Banks is officially in as the president of the Texas A&M University System, the university’s board of regents said this week. The regents formally confirmed Banks for the job Wednesday. The current vice chancellor of engineering and national laboratories, Banks’s rise to the top was foreordained earlier this year when the regents announced her […]