Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/18/2015 The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is taking steps to address materials-at-risk (MAR) concerns to resume transuranic (TRU) waste receipts at its Area G nuclear waste disposal site, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) site representative report released last week. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management officials […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 9/18/2015 Internal controls for financial management of the State Department’s Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund (NDF), which operates within the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN), were “designed and implemented effectively,” according to a newly released third-party audit. However, the review, released on Monday, also found several control areas that need […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/18/2015 The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has awarded Parsons Government Services International a $16,937,062 task order for nuclear security work in Kiev, Ukraine, the Department of Defense announced last Friday. The task order for “Global Nuclear Security, Ukraine Nuclear Security and Readiness Program” falls under the Cooperative Threat Reduction Integrating […]

09/18/2015 NS&D Monitor IN THE NAVY Navy Adm. John Richardson will at 1 p.m. today assume his position as Chief of Naval Operations at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and current CNO Adm. Jonathan Greenert will retire. Before the change of command, Richardson served as Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.

Chris Schneidmiller NS&D Monitor 9/11/2015 SUMMERLIN, Nev. – Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday expressed optimism that the Y-12 National Security Complex’s Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) can be completed by the target date of 2025. The UPF is part of broader plans for the modernization of the Y-12, and is intended to replace the existing […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 09/11/2015 Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) yesterday defended ongoing construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, and countered 14 nonproliferation experts who in a Tuesday letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said plutonium downblending would be better for national security and the federal budget than construction of the MOX Plant at […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 09/11/2015 Today, about 1,100 unionized Pantex workers entered the 14th day of a labor strike in which contract negotiations between the Metal Trades Council and plant management contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security have remained deadlocked and shown no signs of progress, CNS and MTC said yesterday. “At this point, we have no […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 09/11/2015 In the past year, the Energy Department’s Office of Science and Stanford University have completed the research phases of two contrasting pilot programs aimed at revamping the national laboratory contracting structure, and two sites will soon conduct real-life tests of the final concepts, DOE officials said this week. SLAC National […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 9/11/2015 The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA), longtime critic and watchdog on activities at the Y-12 nuclear weapons site, said it appears almost certain that the government’s current plans for the Uranium Processing Facility will cost at least $10 billion and possibly much more. That analysis, according to OREPA coordinator […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/11/2015 The role of the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) should expand to include sensor-shooter aircraft functions, according to a former Air Force general. “It’s now possible to incorporate sensors, processing and avionics in a single aircraft at a fraction of what it used to cost us to do the same […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 09/11/2015 The Air Force plans to release a draft Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent around Oct. 15, service spokesman Eric Elliott confirmed Wednesday. NS&D Monitor reported last week that the Air Force plans to distribute copies to defense contractors in October or November. The CONOPS is still […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/11/2015 Department of Energy (DOE) cybersecurity was breached 159 times out of a total of 1,131 cyberattack attempts from 2010 to 2014, USA TODAY reported yesterday upon obtaining incident reports from the agency through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). According to the report, attackers were able to access “administrative privileges […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 09/11/2015 The U.S.-South Korea “123 Agreement” renewed in April will enter into force between Oct. 29 and Dec. 7 without any congressional objections, independent nuclear nonproliferation expert and former House and Senate staffer Jodi Lieberman said yesterday during a panel discussion on the agreement at the Center for Strategic and International […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/11/2015 The Department of Energy’s (DOE) mismanagement of email records, which has “remained largely unresolved” since a 2010 review first identified recordkeeping problems, "could significantly impact [DOE’s] ability to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests, ongoing litigation, or law enforcement efforts,” the DOE Inspector General (IG) said in a report […]

NS&D Monitor 09/11/2015   Centrus Announces Possible Upcoming American Centrifuge Layoffs Centrus Energy has notified about 380 American Centrifuge workers that layoffs could be coming in a couple months. The company, which heads the uranium enrichment project, emphasized that the notices don’t necessarily mean layoffs are sure to happen but are necessary to comply with the Worker Adjustment […]

NS&D Monitor 09/11/2015   CNS Reaches Agreement with Unionized Y-12 Guards Y-12 nuclear weapons plant managing contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security this week reached a new five-year labor agreement with the International Guards Union of America, Local 3. The relatively small contract covers about 45 employees — Central Alarm Station and Beta-9 operators at Y-12, as well as firearms […]

James Chavez has been appointed new vice president of Sandia National Laboratories’ (SNL) Energy, Nonproliferation and High Consequence Security Division and International, Homeland and Nuclear Security Program Management Unit, SNL announced this week. Chavez, who begins in his new position today, previously worked as the director of the Monitoring Systems and Technology Center and the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 9/4/15 The Air Force will not release a draft concept of operations (CONOPS) for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent at the weapon program’s third industry day scheduled for late September, but plans to distribute copies to defense contractors in October or November, Weapons Complex Morning Briefing has learned. “[T]he Air Force will […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 A strike involving roughly one-third of the general workforce at the Pantex Plant reached its seventh day today, and labor negotiations between plant site manager Consolidated Nuclear Security and the Metal Trades Council union still appear stalled. The collective bargaining agreement for unionized workers at Pantex expired at midnight Aug. […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 A team of contractor personnel determined early last month that the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility (WETF) is “ready to safely operate,” according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) site representative report released this week. Gas processing operations at WETF were paused in 2011 […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 The former president of the U.S. branch of a Russian nuclear company on Monday pleaded guilty to helping to arrange more than $2 million in “corrupt payments” intended to aid U.S. businesses in securing contracts for his Moscow-based employer, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. Vadim Mikerin, 56, of Chevy […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 A truck carrying coveralls that contained samples of highly enriched uranium (HEU) was flagged last year upon trying to exit the Protected Area of the Y-12 National Security Complex, the Department of Energy (DOE) Inspector General’s Office (IG) revealed in a report released today. The IG said it received a […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 Members of the South Carolina congressional delegation late last month requested that the Department of Energy provide them with copies of all agency communications, guidelines, and instructions to The Aerospace Corp. for preparation of a report on plutonium disposition options the company completed in April. “In order for us to […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 The Department of Energy (DOE) this week issued a preliminary notice of violation (PNOV) to the company that manages the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) for a June 2014 chemical explosion that injured two workers at the site’s Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex (NPTEC). “The drum explosion and expelled steel […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 Building 9107, an office building at the Y-12 National Security Complex, was demolished in July as part of the site infrastructure and services subproject for the new Uranium Processing Facility, the National Nuclear Security Administration confirmed this week. Agency spokeswoman Shelley Laver said in an email on Wednesday that an […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 The Department of Energy issued this week a preliminary notice of violation (PNOV) to Los Alamos National Security, the company that manages the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), for nuclear criticality safety violations at its Plutonium Facility (PF-4) at Technical Area 55 (TA-55). LANS’ violations are of “high safety significance” […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 Consolidated Nuclear Security is looking for an architecture and engineering services provider for a $1 million to $5 million project to evaluate and inspect “all types” of fire-rated barriers at the Pantex Plant, according to a FedBizOpps listing posted on Tuesday evening. The work scope would include approximately 450 facilities […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 9/4/2015 Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) last week sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter expressing concern over the Department of Defense’s (DoD) “unacceptable” errors in estimating the 10-year cost of the Air Force’s Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) aircraft. […]