Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The COVID-19 pandemic in April halted construction on the Savannah River Site’s Surplus Plutonium Disposition Project: the replacement for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility that will help the U.S. government dispose of 34 metric tons of weapon-usable plutonium. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) called a stop-work on the project in the second week […]

Two more staffers at Department of Energy headquarters buildings in and near Washington, D.C., have tested positive for COVID-19, Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said Friday. One of these people works at the Forrestal Building in downtown Washington, another in the DOE’s Germantown building in suburban Maryland, according to the statement from Brouillette. The Forrestal […]

Experiments resumed at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California in late April, following a COVID-19 shutdown, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said late Friday. The high-powered laser facility’s MShock series of tests resumed with a shot on April 26, followed by more shots that week, the semiautonomous Department […]

Centrus Energy, which is developing a new uranium enrichment cascade for the Department of Energy, is scheduled to report first-quarter 2020 earnings today after U.S. markets close. The Bethesda, Md., nuclear fuel supplier has scheduled a conference call for 8:30 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday on the earnings report for the quarter ended March 31, according […]

The Energy Department expects to issue a final request for proposals this month for the Idaho Cleanup Contract, according to a procurement update made public Thursday. The potential 15-year, $6.4 billion agreement will replace Fluor Idaho’s nearly $2 billion, five-year deal that runs through May 2021. It would also replace Spectra Tech’s roughly five-year, $45 […]

Nearly 120 people tuned in to a recent online presolicitation conference to learn more about a planned stand-alone contract for management of the Energy Department’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) in South Carolina. Representatives for universities, consultants, and DOE contractors ranging from small shops to major corporations participated in the April 28 event on the […]

Fluor on April 30 received a Justice Department subpoena seeking various documents relating to charges reported by the company during the second quarter of 2019, according to a Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC in February launched an investigation into Fluor’s financial reporting and accounting during 2019. The Justice Department now […]

US Ecology on Friday said a freeze on all discretionary spending and reduced travel are among the cost controls instituted earlier this year as part of an effort to save tens of millions of dollars in annual expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tightened spending was among a triad of money-saving measures announced in March, […]

Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) name was misspelled in an article in the Wednesday issue of Weapons Complex Morning Briefing.

Engineering giant Jacobs said Wednesday it took in $3.4 billion in revenue during its fiscal 2020 second quarter, up from the $3.1 billion generated during the same period of 2019, despite moving most of its worldwide workforce to telework. Thanks to rapid action since the beginning of the crisis, Jacobs expedited the shift of its […]

There are now three confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state, the latest involving an employee of cleanup contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation, according to an online bulletin. The individual, whose last day at work was April 14, recently received a positive diagnosis for novel coronavirus 2019, CH2M HILL […]

The Government Accountability Office has recently rejected protests against two multibillion-dollar contracts at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state – and that’s not unusual. During fiscal 2019, the government watchdog sustained only 13% of the 2,071 bid protests resolved during the 12-month period, according to a November GAO report to Congress. In […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has decided it will not further extend the public comment period for an environmental review of the planned pit production plant at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Last month, at the request of constituents organized by the Santa Fe advocacy organization Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Sens. […]

The Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico temporarily closed parts of the MESA complex where it produces radiation-hardened microelectronics for nuclear weapons after someone working there tested positive for COVID-19. However, the labs network said it planned to reopen Buildings 858N and 858EF on Thursday morning, after shutting them down for deep cleaning. Sandia is […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) is giving the Department of Energy a little more time to respond to a recommendation against proceeding with proposed changes to federal nuclear safety management rules. “The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has received your April 27, 2020, letter requesting a 45-day extension to provide a response regarding […]

The COVID-19 health crisis is so far having only marginal impact on BWX Technologies, President and CEO Rex Geveden said Tuesday. That is largely thanks to the Lynchburg, Va.-based nuclear company’s “essential” role in energy, military, and medical sectors, Geveden said during the quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts. As an example, Geveden noted […]

AECOM aims to soon divest its stake in the decommissioning contractor for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California, Chief Financial Officer Troy Rudd said Tuesday. “We are … continuing to progress on our plan to exit our remaining self-perform at-risk construction businesses,” Rudd said during AECOM’s conference call on its latest quarterly […]

The two senators who ordered a report about the Donald Trump administration’s attempts to sell nuclear power technology to Saudi Arabia said this week they would consider changing the law to mandate more transparency from the White House about such efforts. In a joint statement Monday, Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said […]

Centrus Energy CEO Daniel Poneman will receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star from the Japanese government for his work as deputy energy secretary during the Barack Obama administration. Japan will recognize Poneman for “his contributions towards enhancing the relationship between Japan and the United States of America in the energy sector,” […]

The Army Corps of Engineers in April issued $140 million worth of contracts to small businesses for radioactive waste cleanup and other environmental remediation services. The contracts from the Army Corps’ Alaska District were awarded on April 22 and posted to a federal procurement website on April 28. They encompass a three-year base period, plus […]

While a team led by Huntington Ingalls Industries offered a slightly lower price to provide support services at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Energy Department awarded the contract to a Leidos-led venture because it submitted a better overall package, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Congress’ auditing agency on Tuesday posted a […]

A partial stop work order from the Energy Department at the Waste Treatment Plant being built at the Hanford Site in Washington state is scheduled to stay in effect through May 23, a manager for construction contractor Bechtel said last week. The order for the plant that will convert Hanford tank waste into a stable […]

The Senate on Monday voted 87-0 to confirm Department of Justice attorney Robert Feitel as the new inspector general for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Feitel succeeds Hubert Bell, who served 22 years as the industry regulator’s inspector general before retiring in December 2018. The vote was conducted shortly after 6 p.m., following a brief introduction […]

BWX Technologies brought in $542 million in first-quarter 2020 revenue, 30% more than the $416 million generated during the first three months of 2019. Net income for the period ended March 31 amounted to $75.5 million, $0.79 per diluted share, a significant year-over-year jump from $49 million, $0.51 per diluted share, the Lynchburg, Va.-based company […]

The state of South Carolina wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to prepare a full environmental impact statement before deciding whether to renew the license for Westinghouse’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF). The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) made the request in an April 27 letter regarding the federal regulator’s draft environmental […]

The White House on Monday shoveled 30 nominations to the newly returned Senate, including two for positions on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). Former DNFSB Chair Joyce Connery was nominated to serve a term ending Oct. 18, 2024, while Thomas Summers, former vice commander of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force […]

The Donald Trump administration on Monday nominated Marshall Billingslea, the former Treasury Department antiterrorism official nominally in charge of nuclear arms control negotiations, as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. Billingslea, as special presidential envoy for arms control, is already the point person for the White House’s more-or-nothing attempt to secure a […]