Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

A U.S. citizen has been charged with conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government in the U.S. and helping develop special nuclear material in China without authorization from the Department of Energy, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday and announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Szuhsiung “Allen” Ho, a nuclear engineer […]

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) on Monday officially exited a reduced work phase, or deliberate operations, that was implemented after the company wrapped up an operational safety pause last fall. Now, the Savannah River Site management and operations contractor is fully in enhanced operations. Work in enhanced operations is closer to normal operations, but contingencies […]

Two professional nuclear societies are asking Congress to confirm as U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a senior National Security Council official whose nomination has been blocked due to Senate disagreements over the Iran nuclear deal. The American Nuclear Society (ANS) and the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) said Tuesday they […]

The Analytical Chemistry Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex is reportedly in good shape for the near future, thanks to a $10 million, yearlong facelift. The National Nuclear Security Administration said Thursday the project was completed ahead of schedule and according to budget. Building 9995, which houses the plant’s chemistry labs, was built in […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration and its Y-12 site contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security, are moving forward with infrastructure improvements at two key facilities at the Oak Ridge, Tenn., facility. This is apparently one of the top priorities at Y-12, needed to support efforts to ensure the scaled-back plans for the Uranium Processing Facility keep the […]

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) laboratory-directed research and development (LDRD) program supports positions that are considered part of the national laboratories’ “workforce pipeline for recruitment,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in a newly released audit. The LDRD program promotes “creative and innovative” projects that are meant to “maintain the vitality of the laboratories’ defense-related […]

President Barack Obama last week announced his intent to nominate Dimitri Kusnezov as deputy administrator for defense programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration. Kusnezov, who has served as NNSA chief scientist since 2010, has worked in several different capacities for the agency since 2001, the White House said in its announcement. Positions Kusnezov held during this time include acting […]

Creation of a new multilateral contact group and plans to continue nuclear security discussions at international conferences were rolled out last week as means of building upon the progress made in four Nuclear Security Summits in protecting dangerous materials from misuse. The two-day summit in Washington, D.C., which brought together over 50 heads of state […]

The Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) will enter into force on May 8 after being ratified by the necessary number of nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced Friday. Nicaragua’s ratification of the amendment has fulfilled the requirement that 102 state parties, or two-thirds of the state […]

Two new annual reports released by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) reaffirm agency milestones in its stockpile and nonproliferation operations and highlight infrastructure investments, the proposed termination of the mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel approach, and departmental reorganizations as recent internal areas of focus. The fiscal 2017 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan noted no significant changes […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), the contractor that manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is seeking expressions of interest for the replacement of body armor used at the site, according to a recent solicitation posted. Vendors must demonstrate good past performance within the last seven years on similar supply contracts […]

Nuclear Watch New Mexico on Thursday said it had filed another Freedom of Information Act request aimed at getting the National Nuclear Security Administration to release fiscal 2015 performance evaluation reports (PERs) for the Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. As the nuclear weapons agency has not responded to a FOIA request on Dec. 22, […]

The Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (GP) will provide assistance to the international community on the conversion of plutonium to mixed oxide (MOX) fuel despite a recent shift in White House policy away from MOX and toward alternative plutonium disposition methods. The action plan for the Global Partnership, […]

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Tuesday she still expects the Department of Energy to pony up $100 million for missing a plutonium disposition milestone at the Savannah River Site’s Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). South Carolina sued the federal government on Feb. 9 because DOE had failed for more than a month to […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has approved Critical Decision-1 for a new emergency operations center at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The CD-1 confirmation was contained in a March 4 weekly activity report by Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board staff assigned to Y-12. CD-1 is approval of the selection of alternatives […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has indicated it plans to name an individual to oversee its lithium operations, an essential part of the work on thermonuclear weapons. In the newly released Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, NNSA said a lithium strategic material manager will be named in 2016. The new position would reportedly be similar […]

The U.S. Department of Labor is reopening and extending the comment period on proposed changes to the government’s nuclear workers compensation program. The comment period has been extended through May 9, apparently as a result of a strong request from U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.). The senators urged Labor Secretary Thomas […]

Richard Abott Defense Daily 4/8/2016 Many participating countries of the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit, held in Washington, D.C. last week, agreed to strengthen the cybersecurity practices of their respective nuclear facilities and work together to bolster cyber defenses. After the close of the summit on Friday, President Obama noted during a press conference  that “as part […]

A crucial amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) is only weeks from entering into force, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday. The 2005 amendment would expand the accord’s authority from covering international transport of nuclear material used for peaceful purposes to requiring protection for such material in storage, use, […]

Almost six months after it declared the deal all but done, Centrus Energy Corp. said Monday it has signed a contract to continue some work on new U.S.-designed uranium enrichment technology at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Centrus’ new centrifuge technology advancement subcontract with Oak Ridge prime contractor UT-Battelle is worth $32.3 million […]

An excavation contractor working on site preparations for the Uranium Processing Facility in late January accidentally demolished a storm drain line on the west side of the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee, resulting in some activities at the construction site being put on hold for a month or more, according to a Defense Nuclear […]

Russia is prepared to accept a revised U.S. plan for disposal of surplus weapon-usable plutonium, provided it is assured the process could not be reversed, a Russian expert said Wednesday. The United States and Russia in 2000 agreed to each dispose of 34 metric tons of excess plutonium via conversion into mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for nuclear […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security, the managing contractor at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plant, is scrambling to get its funding accounts back in order after a series of events created what has been described as an “imbalance.” Even though CNS is reportedly within its budget and meeting production goals for the National Nuclear Security Administration, […]

Rather than making another request for an environmental impact statement (EIS) before the U.S. transports liquid highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Canada to the Savannah River Site, U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) is instead asking to remove from consideration the route that would send the uranium through his district. The Energy Department anticipates overseeing up […]

Two letters sent this week to President Obama and national leaders attending the Nuclear Security Summit underscore the importance of concerted efforts to secure nuclear materials and offer technical areas of opportunity for continued progress following the end of the summit process. In a March 28 letter, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ed […]

Members of the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) said they walked away with more questions than answers Tuesday following a presentation on the downblending method of plutonium disposition. Instead of using the incomplete SRS Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) to convert 34 metric tons of weapon-usable plutonium to nuclear fuel, the Obama […]

Valerie Insinna Defense Daily 4/1/2016 The Navy has named General Dynamics Electric Boat the prime contractor for the Ohio replacement submarine, while Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding will take a secondary role in designing and constructing the new boomers, according to a new strategy released this week. Design and construction work will be split 80-20 between Electric Boat and […]

Global nuclear industry leaders pledged this week to improve nuclear security practices, enhance security culture within the industry, and improve their defenses against cyberattacks to fulfill their role in the global nuclear security architecture. Industry leaders presented Wednesday a joint statement of their commitments to the national leaders participating in the Nuclear Security Summit this […]