Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Despite some obstacles, such as the slow pace of approval of new security clearances, Consolidated Nuclear Security is more than halfway to its goal of hiring 1,150 employees in fiscal 2016. CNS is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s managing contractor at two key nuclear weapons facilities: the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee and the […]

The Navy, in partnership with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), has completed approximately 70 percent of the production run of the W76-1 re-entry body refurbishment program, Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, director of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs (SSP), said on June 23 at a Peter Huessy breakfast. SSP and NNSA are working to extend […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sent the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine an emergency shipment worth approximately $2.3 million after 29 radiation portal monitors were destroyed in Ukraine in fighting between the government and separatists. NNSA spokeswoman Francie Israeli offered more details by email after a June 17 Government Accountability Office report highlighted the destroyed […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has awarded South Carolina State University (SCSU), a historically black institution in the city of Orangeburg, a two-year contract to evaluate the agency’s University Consortia on Nuclear Security. The contract, awarded by NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development (NA-22), is worth $173,940, according to an award […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has dedicated a new supercomputing facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California. The $9.8 million facility houses supercomputing systems that support the agency’s Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program, a key component of the Stockpile Stewardship Program that certifies the reliability and effectiveness of the U.S. […]

A federal judge on Thursday heard arguments for motions in South Carolina’s multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the Department of Energy over plutonium processing at the Savannah River Site, but gave no indication how or when she might rule on the requests. The federal government is seeking immediate dismissal of the state lawsuit demanding $100 million and […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA), in a June 24 report, identified some design and operational deficiencies with the criticality accident alarm system (CAAS) at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Fissile material operations at Y-12 pose the risk of a criticality accident, an uncontrolled nuclear reaction that could expose nearby […]

The fighting between the government of Ukraine and separatists that began in 2014 resulted in the destruction of 29 radiation portal monitors worth $3.9 million that were provided by the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the agency said this week. The NNSA has no plans to replace these monitors, which are among 84 installed […]

The head of the management and operations contractor for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Nevada National Security Site said this week he expects a seamless transition to a new M&O contract – an award for which is soon to be announced. James Holt, president of National Security Technologies (NSTec), the contractor that has run the […]

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is in its final stages of its Plutonium Facility (PF-4) restart project, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) site representative report for the week ending May 20. The report said LANL sent the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Field Office for review and approval a plan […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has authorized irradiation of up to 5,000 tritium rods every 18 months using two Tennessee nuclear reactors, one of seven options it was considering to meet national security requirements. The semiautonomous Department of Energy branch said in a record of decision released Wednesday that it would implement its preferred […]

The number of equipment leaks awaiting repair in Building 9212 – the main processing center for bomb-grade uranium at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee – has been reduced from 120 in 2010 to a current level of 47, thanks to a “continuous effort to repair new and previously identified leaks.” That’s according to […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has given its approval to Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) to move forward with plans for construction of a new administrative and support facility for the Pantex Plant in Texas, CNS announced last week. The new 343,000-square-foot Pantex Administrative Support complex will provide office space for roughly 1,100 employees of the […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has outlined improvements to the Pantex Plant’s emergency management program it plans to make by next June on staffing, infrastructure, training, and drills, according to a June 16 letter from Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz to Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Chairman Joyce Connery. The implementation plan for emergency […]

The state of South Carolina filed papers on Monday reasserting its request for summary judgment in its multi-million-dollar plutonium disposal lawsuit against the Department of Energy. Also this week, U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs rejected DOE’s request to delay a decision on summary judgment until after ruling on the federal agency’s motion to dismiss the […]

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California is inviting national and international businesses to participate in preventive radiological and nuclear detection equipment vendor rodeo and capability demonstration events throughout the year, according to a notice posted this week. Each vendor will give a closed-door briefing of technical capabilities and showcase technologies with law enforcement and […]

Operations at a Holden Gas Furnace used for uranium recycling at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee were temporarily delayed because of concerns earlier this spring about the amount of enriched uranium that had accumulated in duct systems associated with the furnace inside the 9212 uranium-processing complex. The holdup of uranium particles in those […]

The Department of Energy has completed only five of the 13 steps in a complex-wide emergency preparedness implementation plan the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board recommended the department start work on more than two years ago, according to a recently published letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. The letter is the latest to be made public […]

While nearly two years have passed since Consolidated Nuclear Security took over operation of the Y-12 and Pantex plants as part of an unprecedented contract that combined the management of two nuclear weapons production facilities, the National Nuclear Security Administration still hasn’t decided whether to exercise its option to make it a three-way deal. Steven […]

The Senate on Tuesday passed its fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 85-13, following an agreement on June 10 to end debate on the bill. The upper chamber left the legislation largely the same as the version passed forward by the Senate Armed Services Committee, approving a handful of amendments […]

Congress is reviewing a proposed agreement for cooperation between the United States and Norway on peaceful uses of nuclear energy that President Barack Obama approved last week in a presidential memorandum. The U.S. has signed nuclear cooperation deals – or 123 agreements – with a number of countries for technical exchanges, research, and other activities, […]

More than 120 delegations met this week at a ministerial meeting to call for global ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), a treaty that several key countries – notably the United States – have yet to ratify, even while calling for others to do so. Despite the “domestic political obstacles” hindering U.S. ratification of […]

The Department of Energy will host a public meeting June 28-30 in Oak Ridge, Tenn., to discuss recommendations for improving its Human Reliability Program, according to a notice published this week in the Federal Register. The Human Reliability Program involves physical and mental suitability standards for DOE workers with access to sensitive materials, nuclear explosive […]

A U.S. District Court Judge will consider several motions issued by parties in the lawsuit over plutonium processing at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina during a June 30 hearing in Columbia, S.C. The U.S. Justice Department’s confirmation of the hearing date also signals that Judge J. Michelle Childs will likely deny or ignore the […]

General Mark Welsh, outgoing Air Force chief of staff, said Wednesday that each leg of the U.S. nuclear triad will remain critical for strategic deterrence regardless of budget pressures, and that a separate account to fund the nuclear forces modernization for all three legs is worth considering. “I’m a believer in the triad,” Welsh, who […]

Dan Parsons Defense Daily The nominee to become the next Air Force chief of staff announced imminent program milestone decisions for two of the service’s nuclear modernization programs during a confirmation before a Senate panel on Thursday. Gen. David Goldfein told the Senate Armed Service Committee (SASC) that the Air Force should reach a decision […]

Officials from the United States and Armenia on Monday conducted a review of the nations’ bilateral Joint Action Plan on Combatting Smuggling of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said in a statement. The Joint Action Plan was signed in 2008 through the U.S. State Department’s Nuclear Smuggling Outreach Initiative, which has […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security, the government’s managing contractor at the Y-12 nuclear weapons site in Tennessee, has apparently come up with some new fixes to help address problems with Stack 110 – a key ventilation area for the old 9212 uranium-processing complex. Earlier this year, a number of issues were identified, including an accumulation of water […]