Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

French multinational nuclear company AREVA on Wednesday announced the formation of a new subsidiary to manage its operations in the United States. The move is part of the troubled company’s broader restructuring, in which it is focusing on nuclear fuel cycle work and selling off its reactor business. Sam Shakir, an executive with AREVA for […]

The Sandia National Laboratories’ Weapons Evaluation Test Laboratory (WETL) reached its testing baseline for just four of eight U.S. nuclear weapons systems over a three-year period, the Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office said in a report Monday. The primary culprit was unanticipated equipment downtime, along with a new safety program and a change in […]

The top contractor at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site is looking for clarity on whether millions of dollars in “unallowable” expense filings in recent years were actually unallowable, as claimed by the federal government, On March 18, the Department of Justice sued Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the management and operations contractor for the facility […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has issued a request for quotes (RFQ) for a technical, engineering, and programmatic services blanket purchase agreement through which it expects to make multiple contract awards. The RFQ is open to General Services Administration Professional Services Schedule holders that will support offices across the NNSA, as well as Department of […]

Szuhsiung “Allen” Ho has pleaded guilty to conspiring to participate in the production of special nuclear material outside the United States without authorization by the Department of Energy, the Justice Department announced on Jan. 6. Ho, a naturalized U.S. citizen and nuclear engineer, faces up to a decade in prison and a $250,000 fine. Ho served […]

Both the National Nuclear Security Administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team this week denied new reporting earlier that the incoming administration is dismissing the agency’s top two officials. Gizmodo reported Monday that NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz and Principal Deputy Administrator Madelyn Creedon were being dismissed from their current roles come Jan. 20, the day […]

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees to lead the Departments of State and Defense this week offered divergent positions on the United States’ future relationship with Russia. Rex Tillerson, tagged as secretary of state, and James Mattis, the secretary of defense nominee, during their respective Senate confirmation hearings addressed the issues of U.S. projection of strength worldwide […]

The Obama administration has designated close to 500 additional nuclear warheads for disassembly, dropping the size of the in-service deterrent to 4,018 warheads, Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday. The unilateral decision leaves roughly 2,800 warheads lined up for destruction, according to Biden. “And we have recommended that the next administration conduct a comprehensive nuclear […]

A handful of North Carolina environmental groups are denouncing the expected shipments of 6,000 gallons of liquid highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario, Canada, to the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C. – a route of about 1,200 miles that would pass through their state. The organizations – […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico has completed construction of its Transuranic Waste Facility (TWF) and the readiness process has begun, an individual familiar with the project said this week. The facility is expected to begin receiving waste by next spring or summer. The facility is intended for storage of newly generated […]

The Department of Energy made significant advances in nuclear security and nonproliferation operations during the eight years of the Obama administration, as well as in cleaning up the legacy of its Cold War nuclear weapons operations, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said Thursday in his Cabinet Exit Memo. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding “accelerated the […]

The management and operations contractor for two key U.S. nuclear arms sites improved its performance significantly in fiscal 2016, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration. However, Consolidated Nuclear Security will need to take another step forward to ensure it stays on the job past the initial term of its contract. CNS has since July […]

Sandia Corp. has received the highest marks among the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) nuclear weapons labs in the agency’s newly released fiscal 2016 performance evaluations. Each national laboratory contractor was rated in six performance areas, each carrying a different weight, which were used to determine the award fees the contractor would receive for the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in December hosted a preproposal conference for interested bidders for the protective force services contract at the Nevada National Security Site. Contract incumbent Centerra Group was among several companies that sent representatives to the meeting at the NNSA’s Nevada Field Office and site visit on Dec. 12 and 13. The others participants were ADC, […]

Dan Parsons Defense Daily In a lengthy 11th-hour memo to President Barack Obama, outgoing Defense Secretary Ash Carter laid out an argument that the U.S. military is in better shape than it was eight years ago, but will require continued investment in modernization to maintain its superiority. “While the next Administration will continue to be […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) might not have enough heavy water to meet its long-term nuclear weapons and non-weapons activity needs, according to a newly released audit report from the DOE Inspector General’s Office. Heavy water for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) weapons activities is stored primarily at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee […]

South Carolina has hit the restart button on a multimillion-dollar fine over a missed plutonium disposition deadline at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS). A 2003 agreement between the state and DOE requires the federal government to process 1 metric ton of plutonium at SRS through the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF), or remove […]

President Barack Obama on Dec. 23 signed the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, following Congress’ approval of the conference version of the bill earlier in the month. The bill authorizes nearly $619 billion in spending through the end of the budget year on Sept. 30, though the actual funding the Defense […]

Marc Selinger Defense Daily The Navy has formally received the go-ahead to begin detailed design of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine. Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall signed a memorandum late Jan. 4 authorizing the program’s next development phase. His move follows a Defense Acquisition Board review of the program in November. The Navy plans to build […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration said Thursday it had sealed follow-on agreements with three companies to complete its share of funding for their respective molybdenum-99 production projects. The deals ensure that SHINE Medical Technologies, NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, and General Atomics will each receive the full $25 million from the agency for development of technologies to […]

The Energy Department is still looking to restrict airborne drones from flying above the Savannah River Site and other “sensitive” facilities, but has not yet filed a request with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). From June 19 to July 22, SRS employees reported 12 drone sightings over key areas of the site. These included: the Mixed […]

NS&D Monitor will not be published next week in observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.

Lyle Cary has been named the new vice president of safeguards, security, and emergency services at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Pantex Plant in Texas and Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, the sites’ management and operations contractor announced Wednesday. Ken Freeman, currently serving in that role, is set to retire at the end of […]

President-elect Donald Trump unleashed a cascade of alarm and analysis at the end of the week with a tweet on the need for a stronger U.S. nuclear deterrent, which led to an interview in which he reportedly indicated his readiness for a new atomic arms race. Just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin urged his nation to strengthen […]

A onetime scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison for submitting false data and reports to the U.S. government to defraud it out of quantum computing research funding, the Justice Department said this week. S. Darin Kinion, 44, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for […]

The Savannah River Site’s security contractor earned $5.66 million out of a possible $5.92 million, or 95.5 percent, of its performance award fee for fiscal 2016. The Department of Energy highlighted Centerra-Savannah River Site’s efforts in keeping employees safe and cutting costs in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30. Contractors earn award fees each year by […]

The newly awarded management and operations contract for the Sandia National Laboratories will incorporate governance initiatives to boost transparency, improve project management, and increase engagement between the Department of Energy and its contractors, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The semiautonomous DOE agency announced on Dec. 16 it had awarded the new contract […]