Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a pair of reviews of the Air Force nuclear mission following the latest misstep involving the beleaguered service. Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said nuclear commanders were being summoned to the Pentagon for a high-level meeting to analyze the “underlying leadership and […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 Given delays in the construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, the National Nuclear Security Administration has decided to “lay up” the Waste Solidification Building for five years as construction nears completion. WSB is designed to process waste streams from the MOX plant and is set to be completed […]

Jeremy Dillon NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 The United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has concluded that reusing its separated plutonium stock as fuel for potential new reactor technology remains the preferred disposition option, according to a position paper released by the NDA this week. The position paper stressed that MOX fuel remains the preferred option for reuse […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 The United States does not have the monitoring and verification capabilities necessary to keep track of the potential spread of nuclear weapons know-how growing around the world, according to a recent report by the Defense Science Board that calls for more cooperation among existing nuclear powers to address capabilities gaps. […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 The size of the United States’ active nuclear arsenal has remained stable for the last year, according to a recent assessment published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that estimates about 4,650 nuclear warheads remain in the active stockpile of the U.S. Another 2,700 warheads are retired and awaiting dismantlement, […]

SCHEDULE FOR Y-12 LITHIUM FACILITY ACCELERATING NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration has its hands full with the Uranium Processing Facility, but there’s another new production facility at Y-12 in the early planning stages at Y-12 and—unlike the UPF—the schedule for the new Lithium Production Facility appears to be accelerating. The NNSA, however, […]

NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 IN THE WHITE HOUSE The White House officially announced this week that President Obama would attend the third Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands in March. The announcement comes as no surprise considering it was Obama that established the Nuclear Security Summit process in 2010 when the United States hosted the inaugural […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 Congressional appropriators nearly matched the Obama Administration’s $7.868 billion request for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program in the massive omnibus spending package that was passed by the House and Senate this week and is awaiting the President’s signature, but several funding maneuvers obscure cuts to the program. While […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 The Department of Energy and Shaw AREVA MOX Services are in negotiations to revamp the contractor’s contract to build the multi-billion-dollar Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, though the talks have recently hit a snag because DOE has pushed for the work on the facility to be completed under a fixed […]

NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel backed maintaining support for the nation’s nuclear deterrent last week. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) followed up with a call to hold him to his word. In a statement issued Jan. 10, Corker urged Hagel to provide the “necessary” funding for the nation’s nuclear deterrent in the President’s Fiscal […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 Despite numerous management problems, the National Nuclear Security Administration should remain within the Department of Energy, Madelyn Creedon, President Obama’s nominee to serve as NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week. Creedon appeared before the committee for her confirmation hearing, and she largely breezed through […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration has begun to take the first steps toward scaling back its plans for the Uranium Processing Facility, saying this week that it is developing “alternative mission delivery scenarios” that focus on replacing the Y-12 National Security Complex’s Building 9212 complex. In a statement, NNSA spokeswoman […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held previously expressed his admiration for Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason, calling his work in bringing the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source to completion ahead of schedule and under budget “absolutely brilliant.” And now he wants Mason to help resolve the perplexing issues with […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 The Department of Energy is considering creating a new Departmental organization that would be responsible for DOE’s major line-item construction projects across various programs, NW&M Monitor has learned. The proposal appears to be in its early stages, and its scope remains unclear, though it likely would entail those major construction […]

Senate Committee Passes Extension for South Korea Deal Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 The Obama Administration is working on negotiations for a host of civil nuclear cooperation agreements in 2014, but will likely continue to face questions from lawmakers on provisions regarding enrichment and reprocessing in certain deals. Some lawmakers and nonproliferation advocates have pushed […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 In the latest scandal to hit the Air Force’s nuclear force, 34 airmen that stood watch over the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missile fleet have been accused of cheating on a proficiency exam. New Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said in a joint […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 A committee that is searching for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s next director is expected to interview candidates in March, Norman Pattiz, the chairman of the search committee, said in a letter to lab employees late last week. Members of the search committee met with laboratory officials and employees Jan. 9, […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 Concerns by two Republican lawmakers regarding future nuclear weapons reductions led the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week to hold off on voting on the nominations of Rose Gottemoeller to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security and Frank Rose to be Assistant Secretary of State […]

Staff Reports NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 The Department of Energy is trying to leap-frog supercomputing to ultimately reach exascale—computers a thousand times more powerful than today’s best—and the next big step is called CORAL. That stands for Collaboration of Oak Ridge, Argonne and Livermore, three of DOE’s national labs. Not only are the three labs working […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 2/17/2014 URS officially announced this week a set of top-level management changes in its Global Management & Operations Services Business Group, which is responsible for URS’ work in the Department of Energy and U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority marketplaces. As NW&M Monitor first reported, James Taylor has been named as GMOS General […]

New Under Sec. For Mgmt. Among Those Approved Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 Elizabeth Robinson’s nomination to fill the Department of Energy’s new position of Under Secretary for Management and Performance took another step forward this week, though it still remains to be seen when she will be approved by the full Senate and ultimately […]

Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 The Department of Energy is in negotiations with former DOE official Dan Lehman on a new sole-source contract to help improve project management at the Department’s Office of Science. The contract is estimated to be worth approximately $185,000 and would run from Feb. 7 to Dec. 31, according to a […]

LEBAK NAMED AS NEW FIELD OFFICE MANAGER NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 Kim Davis Lebak is taking over as the manager of the Los Alamos Field Office, shifting to the role from the top federal spot at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Lebak has served as the head of the Lawrence Livermore Field Office since January 2012, and […]

LAB COMPLETES B61-11 SURVEILLANCE TEST NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 Sandia National Laboratories successfully completed an impact test of a B61-11 earth penetrator in late November, a key milestone for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s enhanced surveillance program. The test involved pulling a randomly chosen weapon from the stockpile, replacing its nuclear package with an inert dummy, […]

SENTENCING FOR Y-12 PROTESTERS CONSOLIDATED NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar has consolidated the sentencing hearings for the three Plowshares protesters convicted on felony charges, including sabotage, for the July 28, 2012 break-in at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, and they’ll all be in the courtroom on the morning […]

NS&D Monitor 1/17/2014 IN STRATCOM U.S. Strategic Command is looking for a Deputy Director for Plans and Policy to replace Greg Weaver, who left StratCom last month for a post in the Department of Defense. The SES-level position pays between $143,600 and $167,000 annually, according to an Air Force job posting, and closes Jan. 27. […]

Deputy General Manager for Operations Dave Richardson to Replace Spencer Feb. 1 Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/10/2014 Chuck Spencer is stepping down from his position as the President and General Manager of B&W Y-12 and will be returning to B&W headquarters next month, he said in a message to employees Jan. 10. Spencer will be replaced […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/10/2014 A pair of studies released in recent weeks have cast doubt on the affordability of the Obama Administration’s nuclear modernization plan. Shortly before Christmas, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the U.S. could need about $355 billion over the next 10 years to maintain and modernize the nation’s nuclear deterrent, […]

In Visit to Sandia, Air Force Bases, Hagel Also Addresses Morale of Airmen at ICBM Bases Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/10/2014 Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this week said the Obama Administration will stand behind the nation’s nuclear deterrent and plans to modernize the weapons complex and the nation’s fleet of delivery vehicles even as analysts raise […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/10/2014 A Babcock & Wilcox-led team has three times protested the National Nuclear Security Administration’s actions on the Y-12/Pantex procurement, and a senior B&W official this week said the company supports scrapping the entire procurement and starting over, perhaps competing the two management-and-operating contracts separately. “We think there’s merit in DOE […]