Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) plans to extend for 26 months a contract to BWX Technologies’ Nuclear Operations Group to process enriched uranium scrap for the NNSA Production Office at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, according to a notice posted Wednesday. The agency determined that BWXT is the “only known non-governmental U.S. […]

The Senate at press time Friday had not voted on its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2017 but voted 68-23 during its morning session to end debate on the bill. Consideration has been slowed by disagreements over amendments, over 600 of which have been filed. The $602 billion Senate bill […]

A top adviser to President Barack Obama on Monday cited a lack of Russian engagement as a major obstacle in fulfilling the administration’s nonproliferation and arms control initiatives. Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said at the Arms Control Association’s annual meeting that the administration fell short of the goals outlined […]

The House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday approved legislation requiring the Homeland Security Department’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) to prepare documentation laying out the rationale for its research and development spending. The DHS branch is tasked with working with domestic and international partners to strengthen global capacities to detect, prevent, respond to, and identify the culprits […]

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) on Tuesday dismissed GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump’s readiness to command the U.S. nuclear arsenal in pulling his support for the billionaire businessman. “It is absolutely essential that we are guided by a commander-in-chief with a responsible and proper temperament, discretion and judgment. Our President must be fit to command the most […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week received a new license application for export of U.S. highly enriched uranium to a research reactor in Belgium. A copy of the June 3 document has been posted online. It cites the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee as the supplier of just over 134 […]

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) hired 80 new operators in April in an effort to address workforce concerns as the Savannah River Site’s management and operations contractor. The operator position involves assisting in the operation of a process or equipment within a nuclear facility at SRS and can include nuclear material handling and monitoring. SRNS […]

An essential part of the scaled-down plans for the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant’s Uranium Processing Facility is to extend the life of some existing production facilities at the Tennessee complex in order to reduce the costs of new construction and keep the project’s overall price tag at or below $6.5 billion. The focus of those […]

Nuclear material from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s Fast Critical Assembly reactor has arrived to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Savannah River Site (SRS) and Y-12 National Security Complex, the NNSA announced Monday. The shipment from Japan included highly enriched uranium that was sent to Y-12 in Tennessee to be eventually converted into low-enriched […]

A draft resolution opposing the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposal to receive U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Germany for processing and disposition in Environmental Management facilities at the Savannah River Site (SRS) drew several public comments of support Tuesday during a SRS Citizens Advisory Board committee meeting. The proposal from the board’s Nuclear Materials […]

A problem with the criticality alarm system at the nation’s primary storehouse for weapon-grade uranium brought a manager to the scene on a weekend in late April. The situation turned out to be concerning but not threatening. The incident was revealed in a recently released activity report by Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board staff assigned […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday issued a proposal to amend regulations for its Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program, which covers DOE and contractor employees who have been exposed to beryllium while working at DOE sites. Beryllium metal is used in nuclear reactors at various DOE facilities, including the Y-12 National Security Complex in […]

House Republicans on Thursday released a policy paper recommending an approach to U.S. foreign policy that prioritizes the nation’s nuclear deterrent, greater efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and a robust U.S.-NATO alliance. The policy agenda offers Congress and the president 67 recommendations developed by the Task Force on National […]

It remained unclear at press time Friday whether the Department of Energy had delivered by its Monday deadline new details about the agency’s cost and schedule estimates for the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility to the Senate Armed Services Committee. In early May, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) requested more details […]

Interoperability requirements for the core of nuclear warheads under the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) “3+2” modernization strategy may lead to trade-offs and complications for the U.S. nuclear stockpile, according to a report by the independent science advisory group JASON. The NNSA publicly released the executive summary of the January 2015 report this week. The […]

Despite President Barack Obama’s efforts to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. security policy, the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile reductions and warhead dismantlements have slowed under his administration, according to updated stockpile numbers declassified last week by the Department of Defense. The U.S. stockpile consisted of 4,571 active and reserve nuclear weapons at […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said last week it in May hosted at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) an on-site inspection activity for Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) inspection experts. CTBT experts from over 30 countries visited NNSS for three days to study nuclear explosive test indicators and other field experimental operations at […]

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is dangerously unequal to the job of commander-in-chief, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton said on Thursday. Clinton, who is still battling Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for her party’s nomination, focused on Trump during a national security policy speech in San Diego. “I believe the person the Republicans have nominated for president […]

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the management and operations contractor for the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, S.C., is seeking expressions of interest for operation of its materials management and distribution activities, according to a sources sought notice posted Tuesday. The contract involves shipping, warehousing, inventory accounting, and other logistics work for radiological, nuclear, and […]

Kenneth R. Tarcza, a retired Army officer, has been named manager of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office in Tennessee as of May 3. He will oversee the Integrated Support Center, which provides services to multiple national laboratories and Office of Science sites. The appointment was announced Monday by the DOE’s Office of Science. […]

Incumbent Lockheed Martin on Thursday confirmed its intent to bid to retain the management and operations contract for the Sandia National Laboratories. “We’re proud of our 23-year partnership with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration,” company spokesman Matt Kramer said in an email statement. “Lockheed Martin has helped Sandia maintain a steadfast focus […]

A new report from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) suggests the U.S. take a more involved approach to extended nuclear deterrence posture worldwide by broadening the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) nuclear mission and developing nuclear-sharing arrangements in other regions. According to the report, U.S. extended deterrence posture in Europe is highly […]

The Senate will consider its version of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on June 6, but a provision in both the Senate and House versions of the bill calling for continuation of Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility construction is expected to pose problems in light of the Obama administration’s proposal to terminate the program. […]

Against a backdrop of controversial amendments, a looming White House veto threat and the impending U.S. Memorial Day holiday, House lawmakers failed Thursday to pass the spending bill that contained the chamber’s proposed 2017 budget for the Energy Department. House members now will leave town for a week-long Memorial Day recess, after which the Republican […]

An Operational Safety Board was convened in mid-April at the Y-12 National Security Complex when a crane maneuvering a nuclear weapons component did not respond as expected. According to an April 15 report by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, the incident occurred at Beta-2E, which houses the assembly and disassembly operations at […]

Negotiations remain ongoing on the highly enriched uranium (HEU) shipment from the United Kingdom to the U.S. that was announced at the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit earlier this year, according to documents published Tuesday from the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Euratom Supply Agency […]

The Energy Department and South Carolina traded barbed court filings this week in the state’s $100-million lawsuit over plutonium disposal at the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, S.C. DOE still wants the suit, filed in February, thrown out of court. South Carolina still wants Judge J. Michelle Childs to forgo a trial and order […]