Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor
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Nuclear Weapons & StockpileDNFSB Raises Concerns about Analysis of ‘Falling Man’ Accidents at Pantex
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 6/6/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is seeking more information about a National Nuclear Security Administration analysis of the effects of trips and falls on special tooling used in nuclear explosive operations at the Pantex Plant. In a June 2 letter to NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz, DNFSB Chairman Peter Winokur […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
At Savannah River
Vendor Sues MOX Services for $17.4 Million The Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility contractor is being sued for $17.4 million for breach of contract by a vendor tasked with building gloveboxes for the plant. Washington Government Environmental Services Company, LLC, a subsidiary of URS Energy and Construction, filed the complaint this week against Shaw AREVA […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
At Oak Ridge
Y-12 Power Tool Licensed by Chattanooga Company A power tool developed at the Y-12 National Security Complex may soon become a fixture in large-scale demolition projects. B&W Y-12 announced that the Omni Jaw 5, an invention by the plant’s technology chief, Lee Bzorgi, has been licensed to a start-up company in Chattanooga that plans to […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
At Pantex
10 Guards Return to Work After Resolution to ‘Sick-Out’ Complaint Ten out of 11 Pantex security guards who were initially fired after investigators determined they committed "sick leave abuse" by skipping a January drill at the Texas nuclear weapons plant are now back at work. B&W Pantex suspended the guards Jan. 23, alleging they called […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Wrap Up: In the NNSA
NS&D Monitor 6/6/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration is planning to award a sole-source contract to Babcock & Wilcox subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services for the downblending of up to 20 metric tons of highly enriched uranium. Documents released late last week on fedconnect.net don’t reveal the value of the contract, but the deal would be […]
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- Klotz Confirms NNSA Pivot to Scaled-back Approach on UPF
- Senate Panel Urges Streamlining of First Parts of LANL Plutonium Project
- Senior NNSA Official Lempke Leaving Agency for Job in Private Sector
- Senate FY15 Def. Auth Bill Directs Doe to Continue MOX
- Incoming Y-12/Pantex President Describes ‘Fair Deal’ for Workers
- KC Plant Move Expected to Be Done in July, One Month Ahead of Schedule
- Air Force Announces Plans to Strengthen Nuclear Mission
- White House Looks to Fill Vacancy on Defense Board
- DNFSB Raises Concerns about Analysis of ‘Falling Man’ Accidents at Pantex
- At Savannah River
- At Oak Ridge
- At Pantex
- Wrap Up: In the NNSA
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- DOE’s Podonsky, Moury on New Safety/Security Approach
- IG Clears Kansas City QA Program Despite Recent Parts Problem
- At Oak Ridge
- Major Management Shakeup in Store for UPF Project
- Senate Armed Services Moves to Strengthen NNSA Project Mgmt.
- IG: MOX Project ‘Largely Unsuccessful’ in Controlling Cost and Schedule
- GOP Calls on State IG to Investigate Knowledge of Russian INF Violations
- DNFSB Member Stresses ‘Leadership’ in Ensuring Strong Safety Culture
- Sen. Menendez Introduces Bill Approving Vietnam ‘123’ Deal
- Concern, but No Fines, from DOE for Complex-Wide Roof Project Mishaps
- Nonprolif. Groups Petition White House for More Nuke Security Funding
- Wrap Up: In the NNSA
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- House Wraps up Work on FY 2015 Nat’l Defense Authorization Act
- MOX Project Would See Funding Boost in FY15 Senate Def. Auth. Bill
- E&W Gets Slight Boost in FY 2015 Senate Approps Subcommittee Allocations
- Energy Sec. Announces Selections for Lab ‘Effectiveness’ Panel
- DNFSB Raises Questions about Efforts to Restart Operations at LANL’S PF-4
- Anti-Nuclear Group Again Urges ‘Curatorship’ Approach to Stockpile
- House Approves Bill That Would Lower DNFSB Employee Cap
- At Savannah River
- At Oak Ridge
- Wrap Up: In the NNSA, In Congress, In the Industry, On the International Front
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- At Oak Ridge
- At Sandia
- Y-12 UPF Red Team Chair: Report Gets Positive Feedback from NNSA
- Bechtel’s Government Biz Unit Undergoes Management Reorg.
- GAO Questions Efficiencies Included in 2013 NNSA Report to Congress
- NNSA Governance Panel’s Interim Report Reveals Deep Mgmt. Concerns
- Wrap Up: In the Industry
- As House Takes up FY 2015 NDAA, Questions Surround MOX Funding
- U.S. Exercises Nuclear Forces in ‘Global Lightning 14’ Activities
- Meeting June 30 Los Alamos TRU Deadline Could Soon Be Impossible
- In Sandia Extension, NNSA Ups Available Fixed Fee, Cuts Back on At-Risk Money
- Pu Disposition Change Won’t Be Major Issue to Russia, U.S. Official Says
- Babcock & Wilcox Sets Sights on Expanded Role at Savannah River
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- New NNSA Administrator Reacts to UPF Red Team Recommendations
- SURA Decides Against Brookhaven Bid, Raises Questions about Competition
- Wrap Up: In the DNFSB, In the Industry
- ‘Zombie’ MOX Funding Boost Stripped out of FY 2015 Defense Auth. Act
- Attempt to Increase Funding for NNSA Dismantlement Work Thwarted
- House Appropriators Unveil $34.01B Allocation for E&W Subcommittee
- NNSA Completes Negotiations on 2-Year Extension to Sandia M&O Contract
- DNFSB to NNSA: Don’t Let Oversight Slip During Y-12/Pantex Transition
- New Y-12/Pantex Contractor Unveils Benefits Packages
- NNSA to Transfer $56.65 Million to New American Centrifuge Program
- Vietnam 123 Agreement Sent to Congress for 90-Day Review
- At Livermore
- At Los Alamos
- At Oak Ridge
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- UPF Red Team: Federal Mgmt. Changes Key to Moving out of 9212 by 2025
- House Republicans Seek to Speed up Some NNSA Modernization Efforts
- DOE Holds off on MOX Suspension, but Pressure from Congress Continues
- As Oak Ridge Takes over American Centrifuge, Lawmakers Question Funding
- U.S. Announces Active Deployed Stockpile of 4,804 Warheads
- Sen. Feinstein Vows to Fight Cuts to NNSA Nonproliferation Budget
- North Dakota Senator Urges Acceleration of ALCM Replacement
- House Republicans Take Aim at Arms Control Ambitions in Light of Ukraine
- GAO Calls into Question NNSA FY 2022 Dismantlement Goal
- Senate Bill Would Limit New Start Reductions, Arms Control Talks
- J-Lab Contractor SURA Considering Bid for Brookhaven Lab Contract
- Klotz to Begin Tour of Weapons Complex Next Week
- Op-Ed: The Wheel of Progress, and Security in the Wake of Y-12
- Livermore Official Named UC VP for Lab Management
- At Oak Ridge
- Wrap Up: In the DNFSB, In the Industry
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- Klotz Formally Sworn in as NNSA’s Fourth Full-Time Administrator
- Navy, Air Force Officials Push Expansion of Cooperation on Strategic Systems
- Questions Abound About Potential Bidders for Brookhaven M&O Contract
- Rebalanced Stockpile Stewardship Plan Sheds New Light on Future NNSA Plans
- Plans for Voluntary Layoffs at Y-12, Pantex Announced
- At Oak Ridge
- At Sandia
- At Livermore
- Red Team Examining Uranium Processing Alternatives at Y-12 Submits Report to NNSA
- DOE, USEC Agree to ‘No Cost’ American Centrifuge Extension Through April
- South Carolina Moves for Judgement on MOX Case
- Wrap Up: In the NNSA
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- Wrap Up: In DOE, In the Industry
- DNFSB Wants to Update DOE Directives Review Process
- IG Says DOE Could Save on Mobile Device Costs
- Reduction Goals for Voluntary Layoffs at Y-12, Pantex Revealed
- CNS President Discusses Challenges of ‘Mother of All Transitions’
- GAO Report Identifies New UPF Technology Risks
- USEC Working on $34M Subcontract to ORNL for American Centrifuge
- Air Force to Examine Improvements in Bomber Fleet after Addressing ICBM Force
- Former B&W Official Reichert Tapped as Pantex Ops Manager for CNS
- Y-12 Red Team Recommends Major Mgmt. Change on UPF, Major NNSA Projects
- At Savannah River
- At Oak Ridge
- At Kansas City
- At Pantex
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- Acting NNSA Chief: Approximately Half of $1.2 Billion Spent on UPF Wasted
- NNSA Advisory Panel Pushing Accountability, Cultural Change
- Held: Further Cuts to NNSA Weapons Budgets Will ‘Break’ 3+2 Strategy
- NNSA Finally Gets a Permanent Leader As New Chief Klotz Is Confirmed by Senate
- Sen. Feinstein Opposing Weapons Budget Boost, Cuts to Nonprolif. And Cleanup
- Dept. Of Defense Announces Force Structure Plan under New START
- DNFSB Considering Establishing An Ombudsman Capability
- NNSA Funds to Be Shifted for Continued Support of ACP
- New Y-12/Pantex Contractor Continuing Transition Activities
- DOE on Hot Seat with Lawmakers over MOX Suspension Plans
- House Bill Would Suspend All NNSA Nonproliferation Work in Russia
- At Los Alamos
- At Oak Ridge
- Wrap Up: In Congress, In the Industry
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- CALENDAR
- WRAP UP
- JUDGE LENIENT, BUT TRIO THAT BROKE INTO Y-12 STILL RECEIVES SIGNIFICANT JAIL TIME
- LLNL TERMINATES ‘LIFE’ PROGRAM TO COMMERCIALIZE LASER FUSION ENERGY
- INDUSTRY EXECS SAY FEE NOT THE PROBLEM ON M&O CONTRACTS
- WITH LOOK AT ALTERNATIVES ONGOING, UPF PROJECT MOVES TO RESTRUCTURE WORK
- SIGNS OF DIVIDE BETWEEN DNFSB STAFF, SENIOR MGMT., REPORT FINDS
- NNSA SENDS CONSULTANT TO MOX TO EXAMINE CONTRACT TERMINATION
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Budget & PolicyHouse Wraps up Work on FY 2015 Nat’l Defense Authorization Act
GOP Fends Off Major Cut to NNSA Weapons Program Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/23/2014 Wrapping up its work on the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act this week, the Republican-led House turned away an attempt to strip $100 million in authorized funding from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s weapons program and adopted language that […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
MOX Project Would See Funding Boost in FY15 Senate Def. Auth. Bill
House Approves Version This Week With No Funding Increase for Project Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 5/23/2014 The beleaguered Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility project would see a significant boost in authorized funding for Fiscal Year 2015 under the Senate version of the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act, reported out of the Senate Armed Services Committee […]
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Budget & Policy
E&W Gets Slight Boost in FY 2015 Senate Approps Subcommittee Allocations
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/23/2014 Senate appropriators will have a little more breathing room to dole out money for the National Nuclear Security Administration in Fiscal Year 2015, according to the subcommittee allocations the Senate Appropriations Committee approved this week. The panel’s Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee will have $34.208 billion to divide up among […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Energy Sec. Announces Selections for Lab ‘Effectiveness’ Panel
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/23/2014 Former Carnegie Mellon President Jared Cohon and former Deputy Energy Secretary T.J. Glauthier will chair a nine-member Congressionally mandated Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said this week as he announced the members of the panel. Moniz selected the members of the […]
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Plutonium Pit ProductionDNFSB Raises Questions about Efforts to Restart Operations at LANL’S PF-4
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/23/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board wants Los Alamos National Laboratory to take more time to restart operations at its Plutonium Facility, which has been shut down since last summer due to criticality safety concerns. In a May 16 letter to National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz, DNFSB Chairman […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Anti-Nuclear Group Again Urges ‘Curatorship’ Approach to Stockpile
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/23/2014 A new report by the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability calls for a massive change to U.S. nuclear modernization plans, again recommending a “curatorship” approach that would halt current life extension efforts. “Rather than introduce uncertainty into the stockpile through unnecessary Life Extension Programs, NNSA should maintain the currently reliable US […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
House Approves Bill That Would Lower DNFSB Employee Cap
Mike Nartker NS&D Monitor 5/23/2014 Despite White House opposition, the House approved a measure late this week that would significantly lower the maximum number of employees at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The House version of the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act would cut the maximum number of employees the DNFSB has […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
At Savannah River
Decision on M&O Contract Expected this Year NS&D Monitor 5/23/2014 The Department of Energy expects to make a decision by the end of this year on whether or not to exercise additional options in Savannah River Nuclear Solutions’ contract to manage the Savannah River Site, DOE Savannah River Operations Office Manager Dave Moody said this […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
At Oak Ridge
106 Employees Approved for Y-12 Voluntary Layoffs NS&D Monitor 5/23/2014 B&W Y-12 President Dave Richardson announced internally this week that 106 employees have been approved for the site’s Voluntary Separation Program, which was designed to meet the staffing needs identified by incoming Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security. CNS will replace B&W on July 1. The […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Wrap Up: In the NNSA, In Congress, In the Industry, On the International Front
NS&D Monitor 5/23/2014 In the NNSA The National Nuclear Security Administration has added a new satellite to the United States Nuclear Detonation Detection System with the launch of an Air Force rocket late last week. The Delta IV rocket launched from Cape Canaveral May 16 carried a GPS IIF navigation satellite and a 300-pound Global […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
DOE’s Podonsky, Moury on New Safety/Security Approach
The following interview with Glenn Podonsky, Director of the Department of Energy’s new Office of Independent Enterprise Assessments; and Matthew Moury, acting Associate Under Secretary for Environment, Health, Safety and Security, was conducted by ExchangeMonitor Publications Editor-in-Chief Mike Nartker. NS&D Monitor 5/30/2014 To start things off, what was the thinking behind the creation of this […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
IG Clears Kansas City QA Program Despite Recent Parts Problem
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/30/2014 An unnamed vendor provided nonconforming parts to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Kansas City Plant for nearly 30 years, according to a new Department of Energy Inspector General report that gives plant contractor Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies’ quality assurance program a clean bill of health despite the issues. According […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
At Oak Ridge
NS&D Monitor 5/30/2014 Guard Fired in Y-12 Break-in Seeking Job Back Kirk Garland, the security guard fired after three elderly protesters broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex in July of 2012, is continuing to try to get his old job back and is seeking reimbursement for lost wages. Garland, who was the first security […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Major Management Shakeup in Store for UPF Project
Project Also Moves to Again Cut Size of UPF Project Team Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/30/2014 The Uranium Processing Facility project planned for the Y-12 National Security Complex is undergoing a major management shakeup with about a month left before Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security takes over management of the site. CNS said late this week […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Senate Armed Services Moves to Strengthen NNSA Project Mgmt.
Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 5/30/2014 Language in the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee last week would require the National Nuclear Security Administration to come up with cost estimates for life extension programs and major construction projects when projects are in the concept definition phase of development. […]