Vol. 28, No. 15 
NNSA to award study contract for Oak Ridge uranium enrichment tech in June
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Tester Doubts Sentinel Will Meet Fielding Date of 2036
The Air Force risks not meeting the 2036 fielding date for the next generation nuclear-tipped missile to replace the Minuteman III, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said in a hearing this week. “Quite frankly, we’re running against, from my perspective, some real time issues if we’re gonna get these replaced at the three [intercontinental ballistic missile] […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
As procurement drags on, cleanup office seeks revisions to proposals for contract that will include NNSA DUF4
The Department of Energy is giving bidders on the $2.9-billion Portsmouth / Paducah Project Office (PPPO) Operations and Site Mission Support contract until April 17 to tweak their proposals, sources tell Exchange Monitor. The contract will mostly cover cleanup of Cold War-era uranium hexafluoride in Ohio and Kentucky, but it will also include production of depleted […]
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Decommissioning
Livermore plans to use Aptim for teardown of Building 281
The Department of Energy plans to use Aptim, one of nine companies selected in a national solicitation in 2020, as its decommissioning and demolition contractor for Building 281 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. DOE published a justification for not doing additional competitive bidding for the work, worth up to $22.1 million, in […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
NIST reactor that leaked radiation in 2021 won’t switch to low-enriched fuel before 2030
The centerpiece of a federal neutron research complex in Maryland will use highly enriched uranium fuel until at least 2030, according to a recent regulatory filing. That’s because the Department of Energy and its semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration have yet to develop a fuel the National Bureau of Standards Reactor (NBSR) can use, according […]
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International
Drones hit Russian-controlled nuclear power plant in Ukraine as House mulls military aid
Drones last week attacked parts of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed this week. “On Sunday, the International Support and Assistance Mission to ZNPP (ISAMZ) confirmed the first attacks since November 2022 to directly target Zaporizhzhya NPP,” Rafael Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) director general […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Wrap up: Time card problems at Sandia; Columbia sub delays; Bush pushes RECA; more
The Department of Energy’s inspector general questioned $34,796 in unallowable costs paid for 330.5 overtime hours at the Sandia National Laboratories’ badge office in Albuquerque, N.M., according to a report dated April 1 and published this week. The report detailed the results of an investigation into time card irregularities, which the Inspector General’s office conducted […]