Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) became the new contractor in charge of legacy nuclear cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico effective Monday morning.
A spokesperson for N3B President and Project Manager Nick Lombardo confirmed the news late Monday afternoon, saying the firm would issue a formal announcement later this week.
“N3B is now responsible for the legacy waste program will and operate Area G,” LANL Director Terry Wallace said in an email to staff, which was obtained by Weapons Complex Morning Briefing.
N3B has now completed a 90-day transition into the cleanup role. It replaces former incumbent Los Alamos National Security (LANS), which is also nearing the end of its term as management and operations contractor at the nuclear-weapon lab.
Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos is a joint venture between Huntington Ingalls Industries subsidiary Stoller Newport News Nuclear (SN3) and BWX Technologies. In December the venture won an Energy Department contract worth roughly $1.39 billion over a decade.
The work includes protecting a key regional aquifer, remediation of contaminated legacy waste sites in and around LANL, and decontamination and demolition of structures.
Tech2 Solutions and Longenecker & Associates are significant subcontractors on the project, N3B has said. The new contractor will report to the DOE Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office.
Wallace praised LANS staff who closed out the contractor’s environmental cleanup work at the lab. He cited completion of treatment by March of the lab’s inventory of both remediated and unremediated nitrate salts.
“I want to stress that our national security mission remains and, in fact, is growing,” Wallace said in the email. He said management will work with LANS employees who worked on environmental cleanup and want to continue with the contractor for the national security mission.
