Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Y-12 STABILIZES WEEPING CYLINDERS AT BETA-2E NS&D Monitor 1/31/2014 An unusual and potentially tricky situation in Y-12’s Beta-2E facility—where warhead parts are assembled and disassembled and inspected for quality—has apparently been stabilized until future actions for disposition become necessary. A November report by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board described the situation and […]

NS&D Monitor 1/31/2014 IN CONGRESS The Senate Armed Services Committee cleared the nomination of Madelyn Creedon, the Obama Administration’s pick to be the Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, this week, though it’s unclear how long it might take for the full Senate to vote on her. Like Creedon, retired Air Force […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 With the clock ticking on the Government Accountability Office’s review of Babcock & Wilcox’s protest of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12/Pantex procurement, the agency has scheduled a hearing for next week, NW&M Monitor has learned. Babcock & Wilcox-led Nuclear Production Partners pushed for a hearing on its third protest […]

NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 The Obama Administration will release its Fiscal Year 2015 budget on March 4, about a month later than required by federal law. The release will come about a month earlier than last year—the Administration released its budget plans in April—largely because of delays in getting a budget deal and full-year FY 2014 […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 A new report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is raising questions about whether Los Alamos National Laboratory will be able to get out of the aging Chemistry and Metallurgy Research facility by 2019 as planned. In a newly released Dec. 27 site rep report, the DNFSB said repurposing […]

Kenneth Fletcher and Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/24/2014 Some small businesses are concerned about the potential impacts of a provision passed by Congress last week that allows some subcontracts to be counted toward the Department of Energy’s small business prime contracting goal. The omnibus appropriations bill signed into law last week includes language that would […]

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 […]