Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

The contractor managing construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina this week issued a request for proposals for a fixed-price subcontract to install HVAC ductwork for the project. CB&I AREVA MOX Services said the subcontract will involve the installation of ductwork, supports, and […]

The United States and Russia have significant opportunities to collaborate on cleanup of nuclear contamination and the prevention of nuclear terrorism, even as they remain antagonists in other spheres, according to a report issued this week by nongovernmental groups from both nations. The report, “Pathways to Cooperation,” resulted from a February 2016 meeting of experts […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday revived his widely discredited claim that his campaign opponent, Hillary Clinton, sealed a deal to sell 20 percent of U.S. uranium to Russia while she was secretary of state. Trump emphasized the danger posed by uranium, which at high enrichment levels can power nuclear weapons. “We had Hillary Clinton give […]

South Carolina’s new governor thinks the state Attorney General’s Office should refile its $100 million plutonium disposition claim against the Department of Energy. Meanwhile, a spokesperson said Attorney General Alan Wilson is still contemplating his next move after a federal judge last week dismissed the state’s monetary claim over DOE’s failure to meet its plutonium […]

Mum is the word on when shipments of highly enriched uranium (HEU) are scheduled to arrive at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina following a recent federal court decision against environmental groups seeking to block the transports from Canada. “In order to preserve operational security, DOE/NNSA does not comment on planned shipments of nuclear material,” a National […]

Calvin Biesecker Defense Daily The projected cost to operate, maintain, and modernize America’s nuclear forces during the next 10 years is $400 billion, an average of $40 billion annually, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). CBO’s new estimate of nuclear force plans for the departments of Defense and Energy is based on fiscal 2017 […]

The United States and 20 other nations are following through on a pledge made at the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit to reduce and eventually end use of nuclear weapon-grade uranium in the civilian sector. The nations laid out a four-part agenda in a Jan. 30 joint statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency, first reported […]

President Donald Trump has yet to lay out a straightforward message regarding his approach to nuclear arms control, but any pullback from the U.S.-Russian New START accord could be unfortunate at best, according to Thomas Countryman, who last month ended his decades-long career at the State Department as the agency’s top arms control official. “So […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory’s nuclear criticality safety program in fiscal 2016 fell short of Department of Energy requirements, but an improvement plan has been established, according to an annual nuclear criticality safety program metrics report submitted to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The DNFSB asked DOE in February 2016 to provide a […]

One of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nonproliferation technology development programs does not sufficiently track its project outcomes, the Government Accountability Office found in a newly released report. The NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN) implements programs worldwide meant to eliminate and help prevent the spread of sensitive nuclear material. DNN features two programs […]

President Donald Trump on Thursday faced a fresh round of criticism from Democratic lawmakers and arms control advocates following a report that he had decried the New START nuclear accord during his first phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Citing several sources, Reuters reported that Trump during the Jan. 28 call had to ask an […]

A joint venture consisting of several New Mexico-headquartered small businesses will support the recently awarded management and operations contract for the Sandia National Laboratories, contractor Sandia Technical Partners (STP) announced Tuesday. The new firm was formed “to enhance small business participation” in the contract, which the National Nuclear Security Administration in December awarded to National […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has identified a problem with loose bolts used for HVAC ductwork during construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina, sending as a result a notice of violation to project contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services. The MOX facility is being built to convert 34 metric tons of […]

A pretrial conference has been scheduled for later this month for two men accused of stealing more than $4 million from the federal government while working at the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). In December 2015, the Department of Justice announced the indictment of Aaron Vennefron of Hamilton, Ohio, and Phillip […]

A federal judge has dismissed South Carolina’s claim seeking $100 million for the missed plutonium disposal deadline at the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs on Wednesday also sent another request against the Department of Energy – for the removal of 1 metric ton of nuclear […]

The U.S. Defense Department is set to complete its new Nuclear Posture Review this spring, and deliberations could address the weapons and nuclear yields necessary for the U.S. nuclear deterrent going forward, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said Tuesday. “I do believe we’re going to have discussions about munitions. I do believe […]

We welcome and publish comments from our readers. Write us a short letter to the editor (300 words) or a fuller commentary (800 words) about your work at NNSA sites and send it to us by Wednesday for publication in the following Friday’s Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor newsletter. Write about any nuclear enterprise topic you like. […]

The Trump administration is reportedly planning a series of federal funding cuts that might result in the redirection of a portion of the Department of Energy budget into the National Nuclear Security Administration’s defense programs. The Hill reported last month that Trump’s transition team staffers have planned major funding reductions for the DOE and other […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), the management and operating contractor for the Pantex Plant in Texas and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, plans to implement a new “market-driven” compensation system once it receives National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) approval, President and CEO Morgan Smith said Wednesday in a memo to employees. The intention is […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Kansas City National Security Campus in Missouri is marking 2016 as its “best year ever” in safety performance. The NNSA site that produces non-nuclear components used in nuclear weapons said in an emailed statement that despite a 20 percent increase in new employees throughout the year, safety incidents fell by […]

One week into his term, President Donald Trump signed a national security memorandum that calls for rebuilding the U.S. military and requires the development of a new Nuclear Posture Review. The Jan. 27 order directs the development of a National Defense Strategy, encompassing a new Nuclear Posture Review “to ensure that the United States nuclear deterrent is […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily President Donald Trump, who recently vowed to cut the cost of new Navy submarines, has various tools at his disposal that could help him achieve his goal, according to a naval expert. One such tool would be using multi-year procurement contracts for the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, which is currently in development, […]

There were no protests against the contract award for management and operation of the Sandia National Laboratories, the National Nuclear Security Administration said this week. The semiautonomous branch of the U.S. Energy Department announced on Dec. 16 that it had awarded the contract to National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia (NTESS), a wholly owned […]

The House of Representatives this week approved refiled legislation that would require the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to document the value of its research and development spending. The “Gains in Global Nuclear Detection Architecture Act” of 2017 is identical to the bill U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) submitted last year. That […]

Congressional advocates of the Savannah River Site’s controversial plutonium disposition project, known as MOX, are unfazed by reports that President Donald Trump intends to significantly reduce the Department of Energy budget, saying it’s too early to predict how Trump will handle the project. Multiple news outlets this month reported details of apparent Trump administration plans […]

A federal judge on Thursday ruled against requiring the Department of Energy to produce a new environmental impact statement for shipments of highly enriched uranium from Canada to the agency’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The ruling opens the door for shipments to begin as soon as this month. Upward of 150 shipments, totaling […]

National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Administrator Frank Klotz was asked to stay in his current role just before President Donald Trump’s inauguration last week and will stay on until Trump confirms a replacement for the position. Other top NNSA officials, however, have left the agency. “To help ensure continuity in our critical nuclear security work, […]

The State Department’s top arms control official is resigning today, apparently at the request of the Trump administration. He joins a large number of managers exiting the agency. Thomas Countryman has been acting undersecretary for arms control and international security since October 2016, after Rose Gottemoeller left the State Department last summer to join NATO […]