Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

After it leaked to the media that the Senate’s fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) had a sliver of funding for nuclear-explosive test readiness, the five Democrats of Nevada’s congressional delegation released a letter to the White House condemning any return to testing. “With no stated justification to resume testing, we unequivocally oppose any […]

Lockheed Martin on Monday completed its planned leadership transition, with James Taiclet entering as its new president and CEO. He succeeds Marillyn Hewson, who remains with the company as executive chairman. Taiclet, 60, will continue to serve on the company’s board, which he joined in 2018. Before leading Lockheed Martin, Taiclet was chairman, president, and CEO […]

Nuclear industry journeyman John Meyers has been hired to run point on TechSource’s business with the Department of Energy and its semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration. The Los Alamos, N.M., company in May hired Meyers as vice president for federal nuclear programs, making him the “principal officer for all National Nuclear Security Administration and Department of […]

A story in Monday’s Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, NNSA Closes Out Westinghouse Excess Uranium Contract, should have said BWX Technologies subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services has a contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Fluor is paying over $1.1 million in separation agreements to two recently departed executives, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Executive Vice President for Systems and Supply Chain Ray Barnard is being paid a lump sump of $620,000, and Executive Vice President, Energy and Chemicals—Business Development and Strategy Jose Bustamante is […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied two bid protests filed over RSI EnTech’s potential $1 billion support services contract with the Energy Department’s Office of Legacy Management. In March, the Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based environmental and technical contractor won a five-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with Legacy Management. Both incumbent Navarro Research and Engineering and […]

In an official report to Congress about tritium-safety oversight, the Department of Energy again sought to avoid a legal fight about whether its workforce is subject to recommendations from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The independent federal agency feared DOE might have rejected a 2019 recommendation to bolster the Savannah River Site’s ability […]

The Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina is now confirming 35 cases of COVID-19 among its workforce, up by three since Friday. The updated total was posted on the SRS website Monday. Twenty-three of those infected with novel coronavirus 2019 have recovered and been cleared to return to work, according to the notice. […]

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is scheduled to vote July 1 whether to approve the reduction in a charge for disposal of radioactive waste at a state-owned facility operated by Waste Control Specialists. The rulemaking would amend the Texas Administrative Code’s section on low-level radioactive waste disposal fees, specifically reducing the curie inventory charge […]

AECOM said Monday that Chief Financial Officer W. Troy Rudd would be elevated to CEO effective Oct. 1. Rudd will succeed Michael Burke, who is retiring after six years as chief executive. Lara Poloni will also move up to president from chief executive of AECOM’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) business, according to a […]

Low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) held in a railcar that caught fire earlier this month in Illinois will be repackaged and transloaded to complete its transport to Texas. The status of the waste could not be confirmed at deadline Monday for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing. The LLRW consisted of dry-activity waste and metal debris, specifically designated […]

The Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received only 67 shipments of transuranic waste during the first five months of the year, compared to 125 during the same period in 2019. The underground disposal site for defense-related TRU received 20 shipments in May. Thirteen came from the Idaho National Laboratory and seven […]

The Navy on June 9 awarded APTIM Federal Services LLC a $129 million contract for the dismantlement and disposal of the Surface Ship Support Barge (SSSB). The SSSB is a “radiologically controlled” dockside refueling facility built from a converted Navy tanker used to disassemble spent nuclear fuel for shipment within a water pool. The Navy […]

Tearing down 10 contaminated Department of Energy buildings must precede further cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Ventura County , California state officials said during an online meeting Thursday. Representatives of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control expect final approval next month of the DOE […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) this month formally marked the end of its program to downblend 10 metric tons of excess highly enriched uranium when it closed out a contract with Westinghouse Government Services. According to the Government Accountability Office, Westinghouse planned to sell the resulting low-enriched uranium to the Tennessee Valley Authority, which […]

SHINE Medical Technologies expects in the next five years to locate facilities in Europe and Asia, one staffer said Wednesday. The company is currently more than a year from receiving anticipated federal regulatory approval to open its first production plant, in Janesville, Wis., for the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). “At full capacity, SHINE intends to […]

The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina had to discard some N95-style masks last month after testing revealed the face wear could not filter enough particulates to be considered a personal respirator capable of protecting users from COVID-19. The independent Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) disclosed the issue in its most […]

After receiving approval from the Energy Department, the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state is starting Phase 1 of the return to normal operations as concern over COVID-19 subsides. The “safe and deliberate approach to the phased restart of operations” began Monday, a DOE spokesman said by email Wednesday. Decommissioning and demolition has […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commissioning said Wednesday it will conduct a technical review of an Energy Department proposal to dispose of certain vitrified low-activity radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Speaking at an online public meeting, NRC Senior Risk Analyst David Esh said the agency is acting in a consulting role as the Energy […]

As part of what it has dubbed a good-faith effort to better cooperate with the federal government’s independent nuclear health-and-safety watchdog, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) this month delivered an updated plan for implementing safety recommendations for the Pantex Plant in Texas. Whether the changes will convince the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday voted almost unanimously in favor of Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes’ nomination to the No. 2 position at the Department of Energy. In the panel’s voice vote, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) raised the sole objection to advancing Menezes’ nomination as deputy secretary of energy to […]

As it holds out hope for some role in building the next generation of U.S. nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, Boeing continues modernizing parts of the existing fleet, including adding the ability to remotely update launch codes at all 450 missile silos. The maker of the current Minuteman III fleet, which last year exited the Air Force […]

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is ramping up operations that have been reduced for months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is no set schedule for a return to prior waste emplacement levels, according to the head of the Department of Energy contractor for the facility. “I unfortunately don’t have […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) agreed to share a strategic management plan it is preparing for sustaining microelectronics infrastructure at the Sandia National Laboratories with the Government Accountability Office, which wants the nuclear-weapon agency to appoint a more powerful manager for the program. The plan will be ready around December 2020, NNSA Administrator Lisa […]

Tuesday was a good night for congressional incumbents in Nevada, who easily overcame Democratic Party primary challenges. The Associated Press has declared Rep. Susie Lee the winner in the 3rd Congressional District and Rep. Steven Horsford the victor in the 4th District, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday morning. Political handicappers in the state have predicted […]

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Air Force Gen. Charles Brown to become the next chief of staff by a vote of 98-0, ensuring Brown becomes the first African-American to lead the service. Brown currently serves as the commander of Pacific Air Forces, the air component command commander for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and the executive director […]