Publications: Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright recently visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he toured cleanup projects and the Y-12 National Security Complex, a DOE press release said Tuesday. “As a fan of history, this is a critical area for the Manhattan Project, it’s a critical area for winning WWII and it will be a critical […]

Work crews at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California will soon start removing the concrete slab from the site of Building 251, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said Tuesday. Once the slab is gone, Building 251 or the Heavy Elements Facility will become available for future work by DOE and its […]

PHOENIX — More than 100 people showed up and gave a standing ovation March 11 at the conclusion of the first of two presentations here at the Waste Management Symposia on the status of nuclear power plants in Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion. “We are talking about a sovereign nation that is a member […]

A bill agreeing to a continuing resolution to avert a shutdown and fund the U.S. government through the end of the fiscal year, passed the Senate 54-to-46 on Friday afternoon March 14  and was signed by President Donald Trump. A measure to allow the measure to proceed to a floor vote and the final vote […]

The Government Accountability Office said in a report last week that the National Nuclear Security Administration “does not clearly communicate” its needs to Congress on risks to its industrial base. The industrial base includes the supply chain, facilities, transportation and workforce “that combine to maintain the stockpile,” the highlights of the report said. The report […]

Three House members on Thursday March 13 introduced a bill that would create a new maritime industrial base commission to study and make recommendations on the U.S. maritime industry. The Save Our Shipyards (SOS) Act of 2025, would specifically “investigate the condition of the U.S. maritime industry and impediments to its growth. With a laser […]

The Government Accountability Office said last week that the National Nuclear Security Administration and six of its management and operating contractors incorrectly reported small business contracts awarded in fiscal 2018-2022. According to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) March 13, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded $1.1 billion of its $16.8 […]

Reps. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) criticized the Department of Government Efficiency last week, around the time DOGE began reviewing contractors to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s franchise. According to publication Semafor, which broke the story last week, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created by President Donald Trump and led by Trump […]

In response to a recent environmental report, Santa Fe County commissioners reportedly plan to raise concerns about impacts of a potential expansion of the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory on regional resources. According to an article last week in the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, the county commissioners are preparing to respond to […]

The Government Accountability Office last week said the National Nuclear Security Administration could do more to develop a resiliency strategy to mitigate risks to its explosives supply chain, manufacturing and infrastructure. According to a report published March 12, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found 66 total risks, identified by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), […]

The U.S. Air Force said that the service and Northrop Grumman conducted “a full-scale qualification static fire test of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile stage-one solid rocket motor” on March 6 at the company’s site in Promontory, Utah.  Northrop Grumman is building the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to replace the Minuteman III ICBM […]

Contractor Bechtel announced Monday it appointed Dena Volovar as the new president of its Nuclear, Security & Energy business.  Volovar succeeds John Howanitz, who will retire in April after 42 years at Bechtel, according to the company press release.  Volovar’s tenure at Bechtel extends 26 years, most recently as executive vice president and manager of […]

Laura McGill will be Sandia National Laboratories’ 17th director effective May 1, following the retirement of James Peery at the end of April. McGill has worked as the deputy laboratories director for Nuclear Deterrence at Sandia, as well as chief technology officer, since January 2021, according to a press release on Sandia’s website. She will […]

The Australian government published a new submarine strategy March 7 that called for investing $19 billion over 30 years to support future AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines with a domestic industrial base. “The scale, complexity and technology requirements of the program also mean the Australian Submarine Industrial Base will need to work with trusted United Kingdom and […]

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) wants the Air Force to ensure that its upcoming 2026 budget has funds to update weapons storage for the future AGM-181 long-range standoff nuclear-tipped missile, as well as for the intercontinental ballistic missile bases. The budget would also need to ensure that the service upgrades its three intercontinental ballistic missile bases […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration partnered with other government agencies to conduct an exercise on how a team would gather evidence to support the president make decisions in a nuclear attack scenario. The Prominent Hunt exercise series, which the recent exercise was part of, took place Jan. 26 to 31 around Schenectady, N.Y., the Pentagon […]

A bipartisan group of four Senators last week urged Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair David Wright to prioritize streamlining the agency’s environmental reviews as called for under 2023 legislation. “We encourage the Commission to vote in a manner that fully reflects congressional intent to streamline the NRC’s licensing process, as directed in the Accelerating Deployment of […]

PHOENIX —After layoffs and buyouts and the possibility of a government shutdown, the Department of Energy presence was lighter than usual at the annual Waste Management Symposia here. The buzz at a Sunday night reception here was that while DOE and its nuclear cleanup arm typically sends around 200 people, this year’s contingent was closer […]

The Donald Trump administration is nominating Timothy John Walsh of Colorado to become the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management, according to an entry in Monday’s Congressional Record. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright is also from Colorado. If confirmed, Walsh would be the first Senate-confirmed assistant secretary for environmental management (EM-1) since Anne Marie […]

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday he intends to vote to advance a Republican-drafted stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government operating through the rest of fiscal 2025. Unless a continuing resolution was approved Friday, the government would partially shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. A vote was expected Friday after Exchange […]

At the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors meeting Monday, Director General Rafael Grossi briefed the board on the situations in Ukraine and Iran. Grossi visited Ukraine in February, and said there was “no room for complacency” in his opening statement. He also said that he had visited Iran since the last Board session, […]

The Virginia-class submarine USS Minnesota arrived at HMAS Stirling, Australia on Feb. 25 for the first of several SSN routine port visits to Australia set to occur this year.  This visit is also the first of two planned U.S. submarine (SSN) visits to that base in 2025. The visits are part of increasing experience and […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Mobile Loading Source Recovery Team and Off-site Source Recovery Program completed their 100th shipment of recovered radioactive material in January, the lab announced last week. The two teams travel nationwide to recover potentially harmful radioactive material from devices found at hospitals, universities, and research facilities. The shipment of such material in […]

A company called Last Energy announced Friday it hopes to build up to 30 micro-reactors on a 200-acre site in Northern Texas to help power data centers. The company, which bills itself as a technology developer for 20-megawatt reactors, said in a press release it has already applied to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas […]

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill last week with the aim of safeguarding and securing radioactive materials, and reducing the risk of bad actors developing a so-called “dirty bomb.”  The Securing our Radioactive Materials Act, would mandate the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to implement recommendations on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report from September, […]

The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET), a nonprofit organization dedicated to repurposing older Department of Energy facilities at the Oak Ridge Site, has begun the first phase of turning a uranium enrichment area into a private park. The organization will conduct road improvement projects, lighting and landscaping as part of a closure plan […]

The Department of Energy issued a memo dated Thursday Feb. 27 saying telework and remote work agreements will be terminated, with exceptions, and all employees will return to in-person work. The memo, obtained by the Exchange Monitor on Friday, said DOE was pursuing President Donald Trump’s executive order from his first full day in office, […]