Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

When lawmakers return to Capitol Hill next week, yet another report proclaiming the fundamental unsoundness of the Energy Department’s proposal to store surplus plutonium at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. will greet them. Delivered to the Hill on Thursday, the latest report by Greensboro, Ga.-based High Bridge Associates — the consulting firm […]

The United Nations’ Open-Ended Working Group on multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations began its second round of meetings in Geneva, Switzerland this week. The working group serves as a forum for cooperative action, under the U.N. General Assembly, with the purpose to “address concrete effective legal measures, legal provisions, and norms that will need to be […]

The Savannah River Site’s two largest contractors reported recently that they are focusing on hiring more personnel as a significant number of their workforces near retirement eligibility. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the SRS management and operations contractor, and Savannah River Remediation (SRR), the site’s liquid waste contractor, both gave presentations in April to the […]

Despite a major makeover in plans for the Uranium Processing Facility, which has been scaled down and supplemented with the use of existing facilities, the National Nuclear Security Administration has determined it doesn’t need to redo the 2011 site-wide environmental impact statement for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee – which was the information […]

The nuclear safety systems at Department of Energy (DOE) sites that are meant to protect workers, the public, and the environment from hazards created in case of an accident are generally functioning well, the DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) said in a report released last week. The office reviewed independent safety systems at 11 DOE nuclear facilities between […]

Several U.S. nuclear organizations this week urged the White House to retain the National Security Council’s director of nuclear energy policy position, which is said to be on the chopping block. In a May 3 letter to National Security Adviser Susan Rice, four groups cited “deep concern” over reports that the job might be eliminated […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Monday it expects this month to release the final request for proposals (RFP) for management and operation of the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The agency has been seeking feedback on draft solicitation documents for the contract competition that it released in March. Last week, the NNSA offered a […]

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a letter Monday asked Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz for information on the current status of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence (NSDD) programs. The letter, signed by committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), […]

The current management and operations contract for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has been extended for one year, to fiscal 2018, but will be up for grabs after that. Lab Director Charles McMillan made the announcement at an all-hands meeting on Wednesday, according to an internal announcement issued Thursday. A formal notice […]

The Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) will formally enter into force on Sunday, a month after the International Atomic Energy Agency announced the measure had received the necessary number of ratifications. “The entry into force of the Amendment demonstrates the determination of the international community to act together […]

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday requested that a federal court hold off on ruling on South Carolina’s motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit over the breach of agreement for disposition of surplus defense plutonium now stored in the state. The U.S. District Court for South Carolina should first rule on the federal government’s […]

Experts, policy makers, and the international community had mixed reactions to a foreign policy speech given by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Wednesday that called for modernization of the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal and a rebuilding of the U.S.-Russian relationship based on shared interests. In an address delivered in Washington, D.C., Trump called the […]

The House Armed Services Committee passed its version of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in the wee hours of Thursday morning by a 60-2 vote. The $610.5 billion defense spending bill would authorize $13.3 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and includes amendments tying funding restrictions to mandates for periodic […]

Senators left Washington for a weeklong recess Friday without passing their fiscal 2017 energy and water spending bill, but the chamber’s Republican leader has vowed to try again on May 9, despite no signs that the partisan strife which prevented a floor vote this week will abate. The bill was cruising toward a vote Wednesday […]

The U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program has awarded contracts to two BWX Technologies (BWXT) subsidiaries to manufacture naval nuclear reactor parts and fuel, the company announced Wednesday. The subsidiaries, Nuclear Operations Group and Nuclear Fuel Services, received the contracts with options worth a total of approximately $3.1 billion; the former is responsible for the reactor […]

National Nuclear Security Administration veteran Travis Howerton has been hired to fill a newly created role with Consolidated Nuclear Security, the government’s managing contractor at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons sites. It appears Howerton is being given significant responsibility to make the combined management of two plants 1,000 miles apart work more smoothly and […]

The Department of Energy this week requested dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the state of South Carolina over the federal agency’s failure to meet the term of an agreement on disposition of plutonium stored at the Savannah River Site. The lawsuit stems from missed deadlines at the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication […]

Lockheed Martin Corp. announced Tuesday net sales of $11.7 billion and net earnings of $794 million for the first quarter of 2016. Net sales increased from $10.1 billion in the same quarter of last year, while net earnings dropped from $878 million in that same time period. Overall, Lockheed’s first-quarter financials “exceeded all of our […]

Uncertainty about when the current management and operations contract at the Los Alamos National Laboratory will end could soon be resolved, a senior official said this week. “We are discussing with the lab exactly when we may be transitioning their contract,” Kim Davis Lebak, manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration Field Office at Los […]

The Obama administration, according to multiple news reports, is buying 32 tons of heavy water from Iran as a follow-on to the historic nuclear accord negotiated last year, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory stands to play a key role in storing and selling the material and using a significant amount of it to boost […]

Some National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sites – the Lawrence Livermore and Sandia national laboratories, along the Nevada National Security Site – have implemented successful nuclear criticality safety programs, while others – the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex, and the Savannah River Site – need to improve their programs, according to […]

The White House on Thursday announced the nomination of nuclear policy and technology consultant Gail Marcus to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Marcus would presumably replace DNFSB Vice Chairman Jessie Hill Roberson, who has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Senate has yet to take action on Roberson’s […]

The $37.4 billion House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill for fiscal 2017 prohibits the use of funds allocated for the Mixed-Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility to place the plant in “cold standby,” a clear departure from the Obama administration’s proposal to terminate the project. The spending legislation in total grants the Department of Energy […]

The House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee is proposing a requirement for the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that construction of the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility continue unless the secretary of energy reports to Congress on activities meant to address major points of contention on the project. The subcommittee on Thursday […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday erased the $16.5 million sought for Savannah River Site infrastructure upgrades that was included in President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget request. The committee approved the bill after the Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved its version of the energy and water spending bill, which sustained SRS infrastructure funding […]

The House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee on Thursday passed its mark for the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to the full committee with several amendments calling for reports related to comparative U.S. and Russian military capabilities to be submitted to Congress. The mark would also require construction of the Mixed Oxide (MOX) […]

Another senior official has departed the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico as of this week. John Tapia, LANL’s acquisition service management deputy division leader, according to his LinkedIn profile, managed a staff of 150 people with an annual operating budget of $16 million. He is no longer employed by the laboratory after a […]