Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/23/2015 Consolidated Nuclear Security, the government’s managing contractor for the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, has paid a total of $33,620 in fines for violation of Department of Transportation regulations during a July 13 shipment of highly enriched uranium. Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act revealed that […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/23/2015 Officials from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its national laboratories this week highlighted the role of recruitment and retention of scientists and engineers as critical components of the Stockpile Stewardship Program, the NNSA’s initiative to maintain the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without full-scale nuclear testing. The U.S. nuclear […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/23/2015 A newly released version of a Department of Energy (DOE) Inspector General’s Office (IG) report on coordinated efforts between the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMC) to secure a noncompetitive extension of the management and operating contract at SNL reveals the role of former National Nuclear Security […]

Jeremy L. Dillon NS&D Monitor 10/23/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration has contributed an additional $11.75 million to NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes as the company works toward commercialization of its molybdenum-99 production technology. The contribution is part of one cost-sharing agreement as the NNSA supports companies looking to provide a steady supply of the medical isotope […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/23/2015 The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has awarded a subcontract to Silicon Valley-based Penguin Computing for stockpile stewardship computing services at three National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) laboratories, the NNSA announced this week. The contract supporting the NNSA’s Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program involves a $39 million award to […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/23/2015 The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, which has seemingly been a magnet for security incidents in recent years, experienced another headline-grabbing event before dawn Thursday when a man drove his car through the plant’s main security portal, crashed his vehicle beside a parking lot while fleeing guards, and then fled into […]

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 10/16/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY National Security Technologies (NSTec), the contractor that manages and operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), is seeking a subcontractor for Global Security Directorate technical support services. The contractor’s Global Security Directorate supports U.S. nonproliferation; counterterrorism; and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear detection initiatives. The subcontractor will provide “cyber […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 The modular approach to house Los Alamos National Laboratory plutonium manufacturing activities is set to reach Critical Decision 0 (approve mission need) in the imminent future, as the CD document now awaits final signature by Energy Department leadership, National Nuclear Security Administration and industry officials confirmed this week. “We have […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 A Russian official on Tuesday signaled Moscow is willing to allow the U.S. to choose a different plutonium disposition method than the mixed-oxide approach mandated in a bilateral deal from 2000. The Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA) calls for each nation to dispose of 34 metric tons of weapon-usable […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) have approved a memorandum of understanding that dictates the responsibilities of each entity in the transition of legacy environmental cleanup work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), according to a Defense Nuclear […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 The United States has reduced the number of its deployed strategic warheads below New START treaty limits, while Russia has increased its numbers in the same category, according to the latest aggregate State Department data on strategic offensive arms. In effect since 2011, New START requires each country by February […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration has approved Critical Decisions 1 and 3-A for an electrorefining project at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, setting the stage for replacing an “analogous capability” for purifying uranium metal that is currently housed in the 70-year-old 9212 complex at Oak Ridge. According to information in […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking university proposals for a partnership with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to conduct research and prototype development of nuclearized robots – technology capable of working in radioactively contaminated, hazardous areas – according to a special notice issued this week. SNL’s High Consequence Automation and […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 National Security Technologies (NSTec), the contractor that manages and operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and the Remote Sensing Laboratory, faces chemical workplace hazard identification challenges, the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments said in an enforcement letter released last week. The letter cites "an incident involving a worker exposure to […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/16/2015 The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking a small business contractor to offer cybersecurity support to its Office of Environment, Health, Safety, and Security (EHSS), according to a sources sought solicitation posted last week. The contractor will “provide technical and administrative support resources to maintain the applications and infrastructure supporting […]

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 […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 A series of issues involving bulging drums and related problems have prompted standing orders, corrective actions, and increased scrutiny of some of the storage of hazardous materials at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge. Periodic issues with waste or storage drums are not that uncommon, but it appears […]

Top Officials Say Dilution and Disposal Cheaper, More Practical Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 Future costs and risks to build the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility are significantly greater than those associated with a dilute-and-dispose approach for 34 metric tons of excess U.S. weapon-grade plutonium, according to the executive summary of the second phase of […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2016 passed the Senate this week in a 70-27 vote, moving the bill – identical to the version passed by the House of Representatives last week – to the desk of President Barack Obama, who has said he will veto it. The […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 An agreement has been reached between Pantex Plant contract manager Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) and the union representing site workers, CNS announced over the weekend. More than 1,000 workers at the nuclear-weapon assembly and disassembly plant went on strike after their collective bargaining agreement expired at the end of August, […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 With the strike at the Pantex Plant settled, Consolidated Nuclear Security will now join the Atomic Trades and Labor Council at the negotiating table in an effort to work out a new long-term labor contract for crafts workers at the Y-12 nuclear weapons facility. CNS manages both Y-12 and Pantex […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 Unionized workers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Wednesday ratified a new five-year labor contract, which includes pay raises in each of the years and a $1,000 signing bonus. Steve Jones, president of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council, confirmed approval of the contract with UT-Battelle, the Department of Energy’s […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) faces employee morale, recruitment, and retention challenges in the next year, according to a report released earlier this month by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspector General’s Office (IG). The board, though, has increased its performance on staff engagement significantly,  the Office of Personnel […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 The Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) complied with Department of Energy (DOE) regulations and environmental standards in calendar year 2014, according to the NNSS Environmental Report prepared by site managing contractor National Security Technologies and released on Thursday. The site that conducts high-hazard operations for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 The Department of Energy (DOE) is questioning $1.5 million in “unresolved” subcontract costs with the contractor that managed and operated the Y-12 National Security Complex from 2000 and 2014, according to a DOE Inspector General’s Office (IG) report released this week. Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Y-12 (B&W Y-12) – […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/9/2015 The Department of Energy (DOE) is questioning $526,562 in “questioned and unresolved” subcontract costs from fiscal 2013 with the company that manages and operates the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), according to a DOE Inspector General’s Office (IG) report released this week. Los Alamos National Security (LANS), which has operated […]