The National Nuclear Security Administration still hasn’t made a decision on whether it will exercise an option in Y-12/Pantex manager Consolidated Nuclear Security’s contract to fold in Savannah River tritium operations, and the agency hasn’t given any concrete signs when it will make the decision. In a letter to Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) last month obtained by NS&D Monitor, NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz promised a briefing to lawmakers on the NNSA’s plans, but that briefing hasn’t been scheduled. “While there is an option to move the contract for Savannah River Tritium Operations to the current combined Pantex and Y-12 management and operating contract, held by Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC, no decision has been made to do so at this time,” Klotz wrote. “… There are many variables that would have to be considered if we were to exercise this option. The benefits and risks associated with these issues will be considered before making any final decision.”
In December, Wilson and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) raised concerns about the potential contract shift in a letter to Klotz and sought to “better understand the Department’s reasoning behind this strategy and highlight the operational risks associated with the potential move.” The tritium work is currently part of Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions’ site management and operating contract, and NS&D Monitor reported last year that the potential contract change has caused uncertainty among tritium workers, including some who have sought work elsewhere at the site because of the potential for a change in benefits. “Creating a fully-severed tritium program with another M&O contractor could disrupt this organization and has the potential to disrupt the tritium mission,” Graham and Wilson wrote. “The fully severed tritium M&O contract would continue to rely on the existing M&O contractor for site services, lab support, and other mission critical support activities, however, accountability would be diffused between the two contractors. We are concerned that NNSA is considering altering a program that has direct national security implications and may not result in the best use of taxpayer dollars.”
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