Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 11/13/2015 The state of South Carolina is mulling legal options in responding to a key plutonium disposal milestone the Department of Energy will miss at the Savannah River Site’s controversial Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). The state’s decision could include the attempted levying of millions of dollars in fines over […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/13/2015 The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Export-Import Bank could help U.S. nuclear energy companies compete in a global civil market that has been characterized partly by Russian and Chinese subsidies given to countries that buy their reactor technology, State Department officials said this week. “We do not have […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/13/2015 A report released this week by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) calls on governments to address lax protection of military nuclear materials globally by bolstering physical security at nuclear facilities, sharing information on inventories and security procedures with international partners, and offering public commitments at next year’s Nuclear Security Summit on securing […]

Pat Host Defense Daily 11/13/2015 The Air Force classifying most of the new Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) program could lead to hurdles on Capitol Hill as lawmakers won’t know whether there is work in their districts to protect, according to an analyst. Teal Group Vice President of Analysis Richard Aboulafia said Tuesday though there are […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 11/13/2015 Though no initiatives appear to have been started, Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) hopes lawmakers will work to free up some $1.6 billion locked up in an essentially inactive account created 25 years ago to support activities of the then-newly initiated United States Enrichment Corporation, after the senator highlighted the account […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/13/2015 Analysts and specialists from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) this week in Washington, D.C., highlighted research projects that offer nuclear nonproliferation applications. Speaking at the American Nuclear Society’s annual winter meeting, IAEA analyst Regine Schuler said that to provide credible assurance “that […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 11/13/2015 The Electrorefining (ER) Project at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant is still in its infancy, but the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has already identified some safety-related concerns in conceptual design and planning documents. In an Oct. 29 letter to National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank G. Klotz, DNFSB Chairwoman […]

Activists Press Alexander for Details on UPF An activist group has initiated a letter-writing campaign aimed at prodding Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations energy and water subcommittee, to release more information about plans for the multibillion-dollar Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The group hopes the campaign, timed […]

The ExchangeMonitor Publications & Forums is accepting nominations for the Johnny Foster Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented at the Eighth Annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit, scheduled for Feb. 16-19, 2016, in Arlington, Va. The award is named for former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Johnny Foster, who was the inaugural honoree in 2013. It […]

NS&D Monitor 11/13/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY GE Healthcare and SHINE Medical Technologies said this week they have advanced a process for producing technetium-99, a medical isotope employed in over 40 million imaging procedures annually. Pharmacies and hospitals produce the isotope using a separate isotope – molybdenum-99, which is in increasingly short supply due to outages […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 Industry is proposing to use some 750 stored detached ballistic missile solid rocket motors for commercial launch, but a 17-year-old law precludes the government assets from being used for such purposes. Currently, Hill AFB in Utah and Navajo Army Depot in Arizona house 426 Minuteman 2 motors, 154 Minuteman 3 […]

Chris Schneidmiller NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 A National Nuclear Security Administration program to identify potential nuclear proliferation threats in future years has multiple limitations that could undermine its effectiveness, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued on Oct. 30. The “Over the Horizon” (OTH) program under the NNSA Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN) […]

Chris Schneidmiller NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 The Sandia National Laboratories this year lost a device that contained radioactive polonium 210, the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) said last week. The New Mexico facility in 2014 leased two static-eliminating inline alpha ionizers that each contained 10 millicuries of the substance, Steven Simonson, director of […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 The House of Representatives on Thursday passed its new version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2016 with a vote of 370-58 following an agreement between Congress and the White House that cuts $5 billion in previously authorized funding from the Department of Defense budget. The new […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 Boeing and Lockheed Martin are protesting the Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) contract the Defense Department awarded last week to Northrop Grumman. The selection process for the contract, worth an estimated $80 billion, “was fundamentally flawed,” Boeing said Friday in an announcement. “The cost evaluation performed by the government did not […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 Tritium production is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s “most pressing defense mission need,” according to the recently released “Tritium and Enriched Uranium Management Plan Through 2060” from the Energy Department. Tritium for use in the NNSA’s weapons program is produced by burning unencumbered low-enriched uranium at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) yesterday released its request for proposals for the follow-on contract for management and operation of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The contract will feature a five-year base period and five-year option period and is expected to be worth $500 million-$600 million per year. […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 BWXT should be a “major player” in the next procurement of missile tubes for the Ohio Replacement ballistic missile submarine, which should also provide several opportunities for consolidation of the supplier base, BWXT President and CEO Sandy Baker said Thursday during his company’s quarterly investor conference call. BWXT—then Babcock & […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 A former Babcock & Wilcox employee is suing the company, along with recent spinoffs BWXT and BWXT Nuclear Operations Group, for at least $1.5 million as a result of lost compensation and benefits and other damages she said resulted from her wrongful termination in 2013, according to a complaint filed […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 Seventeen members of Congress are urging the Department of Education to grant eligibility to all employees of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) 16 national laboratories for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLFP). Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-Calif.) Nov. 2 letter to the Department of Education says the PSLFP, which forgives […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 Some mercury cleanup activities at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant are seemingly starting to pay off with results in the environment, although much more remains to be done to address the plant’s biggest legacy from the Cold War. The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management in Oak Ridge said […]

The ExchangeMonitor Publications & Forums is accepting nominations for the Johnny Foster Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented at the Eighth Annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit, scheduled for Feb. 16-19, 2016, in Arlington, Va. The award is named for former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Johnny Foster, who was the inaugural honoree in 2013. It […]

Pantex Plant Security Gets High Marks in DOE Inspection The Pantex Plant security force scored almost unprecedented high marks during a July-August inspection by a 100-member team from the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments, according to plant manager Consolidated Nuclear Security. Michael Mitchell with Protective Force Operations and Training at Pantex said in a […]

NS&D Monitor 11/6/2015 IN THE NNSA The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) late last month hosted eight foreign disarmament experts representing Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) non-nuclear weapon states for a transparency visit. The U.S. labs demonstrated technologies “through which the United States maintains the nuclear weapon stockpile in a non-testing […]

Y-12 Building Irritant Disappears A persistent problem with “airborne irritants” near the Y-12 site’s oldest facility has apparently dissipated or disappeared, at least for the time being. The issue at Building 9731 – the original pilot plant at Y-12 during the World War II Manhattan Project – first cropped up in February. It later was […]

CRENEL Final Report Released Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday suggested holding regular meetings between lawmakers and national laboratory directors, and expressed hope that more frequent communication of this type could help lab projects and programs finish on time and on schedule. […]

NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 NSTec Names New President The company that manages the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) on Wednesday announced that it was promoting an executive to the position of president. National Security Technologies (NSTec) Vice President for Program Integration Christopher Deeney will replace Raymond Juzaitis, who is retiring. Deeney for a limited time will […]

NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 Charges Filed in Y-12 Security Breach A 34-year-old Clinton, Tenn., man remains in jail in lieu of $25,000 bond on charges related to his alleged breach of security Oct. 22 at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge. A Sessions Court hearing for Timothy Daniel Preston is set for Nov. 3 in […]

Brian Bradley WC Monitor 10/30/2015 The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management has started communicating with other government bodies about how shutting down the Piketon, Ohio, portion of the American Centrifuge Project (ACP) will be paid for, and who will foot the bill, Mark Whitney, DOE principal deputy assistant secretary for environmental management, told House […]