Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Brian Bradley and Valerie Insinna NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 The Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016 yesterday, voting 71-25 to send the $612 billion legislation to conference after this week senators did not consider any amendments related to the nuclear enterprise. The 74 percent affirmative vote is […]

Industry Seeks More Clarity on Weapon System’s Capabilities and Procurement Timeline Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 Military leaders of the nuclear enterprise are developing a Concept of Operations (CONOPS) to chart an innovative, 21st century concept for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) to replace the Cold War-era Minuteman 3, U.S. Strategic Command’s (STRATCOM’s) No. 2 […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 The Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration have agreed to perform a joint review requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on safety issues at DOE nuclear facilities, according to a letter sent to the DNFSB last week by NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz. The DNFSB proposed in […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 After years of negotiations on issues such as enrichment and reprocessing rights, the United States and the Republic of Korea signed a renewal of their ‘123 Agreement’ on civil nuclear cooperation this week. The agreement “would permit the transfer of material, equipment (including reactors), components, information, and technology for nuclear […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration confirmed this week that it has lifted the “Code Blue” designation at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant, according to NNSA spokeswoman Shelley Laver. Laver said the Code Blue, which involved a “new hazard scenario” for the B61 and B80 weapons operations, was initiated on May […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 The Energy Department on June 17 issued a Preliminary Notice of Violation (PNOV) to UT-Battelle, LLC, which could result in a more than $130,000 fine for violations of DOE worker safety and health regulations, according to a DOE press release. “DOE proposes civil penalty of $131,250 based on the safety […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 Following the Babcock & Wilcox Company spin-off that will separate the power generation business unit from the rest of the company as of July 1, the newly renamed BWX Technologies shared the procurements and contract extensions it is focusing on in a presentation given during Investor and Analyst Day this […]

NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 IN NNSA The National Nuclear Security Administration issued a three-month contract extension to Synergy Solutions, Inc., a company based in Oak Ridge, Tenn., “to continue personnel security and facility clearance programs support services,” according to an Award Notice issued this week. The contract is being extended “on a sole source basis” while […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 Amid pressure from lawmakers and reports regarding the huge amount of excess facilities awaiting transfer to the Department of Energy’s cleanup program, a DOE working group on the issue expects to complete a comprehensive report by the end of the year, officials said this month. The Energy Secretary’s office formed […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 House lawmakers voted this week against an amendment offered to the Fiscal Year 2016 defense appropriations bill that would have moved $25 million from an Air Force procurement account to the defense-wide research and development account to bolster U.S. military response options to respond to Russia’s alleged violation of the […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  6/12/2015 Senate appropriators this week expressed concern about whether the Navy’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2016 accurately reflects the service’s most important priorities, including the Ohio-class Replacement (OR) Program. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday reported out its version of the FY 2016 defense spending bill, which does not include […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) this week blocked a proposed amendment to the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act that would have prevented the Obama Administration from moving forward with a plan to accelerate dismantlement of retired nuclear weapons. Using a procedural move during floor debate […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 Mirroring a House counterpart, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) this week submitted an amendment to the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit using Defense Department funds to reduce the alert levels of U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles. The language would lift the prohibition for […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  6/12/2015 Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson will assume the position of Deputy Commander of U.S. Strategic Command “at the end of July,” as current Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. James Kowalski retires, a STRATCOM spokesperson told NS&D Monitor. The nomination of Wilson, who has commanded Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) since October 2013, was […]

Kenneth Fletcher  NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration must better establish guidance for its contractor oversight using information from contractor assurance systems (CAS), according to a Government Accountability Office report released publicly this week. The NNSA asked its seven M&O contractors to implement the systems both to assure their own performance and to […]

Valerie Insinna Defense Daily  6/12/2015 The House on June 11 passed its $578.6 billion defense spending bill for fiscal year 2016, after members voted to eliminate a prohibition on transferring funds for the Ohio-class replacement submarine to the National Sea Based Deterrence Fund created last year by Congress. The House Armed Services Committee’s authorization bill recommended […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 The Department of Energy’s Office of Enforcement plans to investigate Los Alamos National Security and National Security Technologies for “losses of contamination control of highly enriched uranium” at the Nevada National Security Site, according to two letters released this week. The incidents occurred at NNSS’s National Criticality Experiments Research Center […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 The new Transuranic Waste Facility under construction at Los Alamos National Laboratory is on track to be completed ahead of schedule and on cost, a Department of Energy review has found. The new facility is intended to process newly generated transuranic waste at Los Alamos. A DOE Construction Project Review […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 The split of Babcock & Wilcox into two separate companies will go into effect July 1, B&W announced this week. The split will result in the creation of BWX Technologies, which will consist of B&W’s nuclear operations, technical services, nuclear energy, and mPower businesses; and Babcock & Wilcox, which will […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 After five months of often tense contract negotiations, SOC-Los Alamos, the protective forces subcontractor for Los Alamos National Laboratory, has reached an agreement with labor union International Guards Union of American Local 69. This week, union members voted to ratify a five-year contract that includes the retirement benefits the union […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 A government watchdog organization is concerned that two top Navy submarine officials might have violated anti-lobbying laws when they urged attendees of an October symposium to push their local Congressmen to support the Ohio-class Replacement (OR) Program. The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) sent a letter last week to U.S. […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration’s cybersecurity controls contain weaknesses that create vulnerabilities for the agency’s information systems, according to an audit report released this week by the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General. The audit found that federal requirements were not followed and “the system’s cybersecurity controls had not […]

Workers at Bldg. 9731 Experience Respiratory Issues NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 At least five employees at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant have experienced respiratory problems in recent months at Building 9731 – also known as the Pilot Plant because it was the original uranium-enrichment test facility during the wartime Manhattan Project. There are reports that the […]

NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 IN THE DNFSB Zachery Beauvais has been appointed as the new Site Representative for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board at the Pantex Plant, the DNFSB announced this week. Beauvais, a DNFSB staff member since 2010 who previously conducted safety reviews at both Pantex and Sandia National Laboratories, will take on this […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 8/29/2014 A month-long Navy investigation has resulted in the expulsion of 34 sailors and a criminal investigation into 10 of the most serious cases in connection with a cheating ring reported in February. Completed in March, the investigation found that a “Pencil File” containing past Engineering Watch Supervisor (EWS) exams and […]

Y-12 Working to Address Conduct-of-Operations Issues NS&D Monitor 6/5/2015 An unusual number of conduct-of-operations problems in a relatively short time has reportedly caused consternation at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant and accelerated effort to address the common causes. According to an April 17 report by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board assigned to […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/5/2015 Sandia National Laboratories committed six violations of the Department of Energy’s classified information security requirements and is facing a proposed penalty of more than half a million dollars, according to a Preliminary Notice of Violation the DOE Office of Enforcement released this week. The security concern, discovered at SNL’s New […]