Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Valerie Insinna Defense Daily 10/30/2015 If a yearlong continuing resolution (CR) is enacted, the Navy will pull out all stops to protect the Ohio replacement program and keep it on schedule, but not all programs will be as lucky, a top Navy official said last week. One casualty would be the heavyweight MK 48 torpedo production […]

Dan Parsons Defense Daily 10/30/2015 Northrop Grumman [NOC] has been chosen to build the Air Force’s next-generation long-range bomber, a major aircraft manufacturing contract that is worth an estimated $80 billion. The incumbent manufacturer of the B-2 Spirit bomber beat out a heavyweight team comprised of Boeing [BA] and Lockheed Martin [LMT]. The contract award will significantly shape the defense […]

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 […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 A team of five Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) staffers that joined over 200 experts from 44 countries to conduct an on-site field exercise in Jordan late last year to evaluate progress in developing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was recognized for “exceptional work,” the National Nuclear Security […]

Westinghouse to Acquire CB&I Nuclear Construction Business Westinghouse Electric announced on Tuesday that it will acquire CB&I Stone and Webster, the nuclear construction and integrated services business of CB&I. The merger excludes the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project. 

NS&D Monitor 10/30/2015 Contractor Criticality Safety Infraction Reported at Sandia A contractor in September caused a criticality safety breach that forced the evacuation of a section of the Sandia National Laboratories, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report released this month. The worker was taking measurements at the SNL Annular Core […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 10/23/2015 President Barack Obama yesterday vetoed the fiscal 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that authorized his $611.9 billion request for defense discretionary spending, including $12.5 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The bill championed various NNSA upgrades, including funding for deferred maintenance to address aging laboratory infrastructure, a […]

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 […]