Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has determined that the Department of Energy’s implementation plan for emergency preparedness and response at the Pantex Plant would properly address safety issues at the Texas site, according to a Sept. 2 letter from DNFSB Chairman Joyce Connery to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. This letter came in response […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) is not doing enough to explore alternative approaches to its management and operating (M&O) contracts, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released Thursday. The government spent nearly $19 billion on 22 DOE M&O contracts in fiscal 2015, three-quarters of its total spending, the report said. DOE did […]

The Obama administration, in proposing to export highly enriched uranium (HEU) to Europe, may violate a nonproliferation agreement it made in 2012 to move away from using HEU for European medical isotope production, according to a Sept. 7 letter sent by a group of nuclear experts to the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory […]

The U.S. Department of Justice and Fluor Federal Services are at odds on whether a federal court should throw out a lawsuit that alleges Fluor and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) overcharged the federal government more than $5 million for home office expenses and other “unallowable costs” in operation of the Savannah River Site, according […]

The Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) is only 27 percent complete and will cost $17.2 billion, including the $5 billion already spent, according to a recent cost estimate from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Officials with the National Nuclear Security Administration discussed the estimate Thursday during a media briefing and tour of the […]

Heavy water from Iran arrived in late August at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee for storage before being distributed to end users, according to the Department of Energy. The controversial purchase of 32 tons of heavy water was carried out under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 agreement between Iran and […]

Members of Congress and the heads of several National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sites said Wednesday that the agency will be unable to significantly reduce the $3.7 billion backlog of deferred maintenance at the current pace and funding level of infrastructure work. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said during a House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee […]

Just hours before North Korea apparently conducted its fifth underground nuclear detonation, a group of 33 GOP senators on Thursday threatened to block U.S. funding for the international organization tasked with monitoring such activity if the Obama administration moves forward with any U.N. Security Council resolution that imposes international obligations on the United States when […]

Lawrence Livermore National Security, the management and operations contractor for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, is seeking a contractor to provide fire suppression and rescue services, according to a solicitation posted last week. The services will involve “fire prevention, [personnel] training, and site familiarization activities necessary to prepare for emergency operations,” the notice says. […]

Retired Air Force Gen. Larry Welch has been chosen as the second recipient of the John S. Foster Jr. Medal, established last year by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The award honors “innovative and inspirational leadership in providing a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent to ensure international peace and strategic stability,” the lab said […]

Indonesia recently converted its remaining holdings of highly enriched uranium (HEU) into a low-enriched form, becoming the final nation in Southeast Asia to divest itself of the weapon-grade material, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Monday. The NNSA said it worked with the Indonesian Nuclear Industry LLC, National Nuclear Energy Agency, and the Nuclear Energy Regulatory […]

The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is continuing testing of smartphone-sized nuclear material detectors with an eye toward deployment in 2018. The agency’s 2-year-old SIGMA program aims to develop more effective, less expensive devices for detecting even minute amounts of nuclear and radiological materials that might be used in a terrorist attack against the […]

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) said Monday he expects Congress to restore funding for the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) when lawmakers return to Washington next week. Members of the House and Senate entered into conference committee in July to hash out details of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA); Wilson, one of the conferees, […]

A senior U.S. State Department official on Monday touted the benefits of President Barack Obama’s plan for a U.N. Security Council resolution against nuclear testing. With the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty still not entered into force, “we call on all states to maintain the moratoria on nuclear explosive tests. Sustaining these moratoria is in […]

The U.S. Air Force said Thursday that its Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) procurement has entered the technology maturation and risk reduction phase following the Aug. 23 approval of the program’s Milestone A. “The milestone approval was granted following a determination by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics that the Air Force’s […]

Less than a week after the award was announced, the National Nuclear Security Administration on Wednesday canceled the new contract for management and operation of the Nevada National Security Site. That puts the multibillion-dollar deal back in play, though only for the companies that submitted bids in the first go-around; new parties are not being […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Friday it has awarded the contract for management and operation of the Nevada National Security Site to Nevada Site Science Support and Technologies Corp. (NVS3T). NVS3T is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Integrated Technology, and will be supported in the contract by Fluor Federal Services and […]

Local and federal officials were on hand Thursday at the official groundbreaking of the Construction Support Building for the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) project at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee. The three-story building will be the project’s first permanent structure and will provide office space, a warehouse, and craft break areas to house […]

Several projects from National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) laboratories have been chosen as finalists for R&D Magazine’s 2016 R&D 100 Awards, which recognize 100 innovative technologies throughout the past year. Some of these projects feature applications for the NNSA’s stockpile stewardship operations, which are intended to ensure the continued operational viability of a safe, secure, […]

There has been no lack of debate over whether the United States should change its policy allowing for first use of nuclear weapons during a conflict in the wake of fresh reports that President Barack Obama is considering doing just that in the waning months of his administration. The question now is whether the chatter will […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) B61-12 life-extension program management faces some issues with scheduling, risk mitigation, quality assurance, and reserve funding, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General’s Office (IG) found in a report released Tuesday. The report offered a number of recommendations to address the issues; the NNSA said some have already been resolved, […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Office of Major Modernization Programs will extend for six months its contract with TechSource Inc. for technical support services, according to a notice posted Wednesday. TechSource received its current task order in August 2013 with an August 2016 expiration date and a ceiling of $3.58 million. The company’s work under […]

Members of the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board are worried about recent drone sightings over the Department of Energy facility in South Carolina because no one knows who’s flying them or why. As of Thursday, site employees have documented 12 drone sightings above SRS, though the number of drones involved is unclear. The sightings […]

The United Nations’ Open-Ended Working Group on multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations last week adopted a recommendation to begin negotiations in 2017 on a legally binding instrument banning nuclear weapons, an effort the United States continues to oppose. The working group, a forum for cooperative action and supplement to the U.N. Conference on Disarmament, adopted with […]

Congress was out and Washington was empty, but that didn’t stop news from breaking during our annual August publication break. As chronicled in the Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, here are a few stories that we’ve been following. GAO Challenges NNSA’s Plutonium Pit Production Plans The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) may have overstated the cost […]

GemTech Nuclear Security Solutions said last week it has won a new professional and technical services contract with Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), the management and operations contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas. The company, a joint venture of small businesses GEM Technologies, CS […]