Los Alamos National Laboratory

The Department of Energy inspector general has “potential concerns” about agency oversight of $500,000 in grant money awarded to a regional group that promotes economic development around the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. That is the assessment offered in a July 2 memorandum from Deputy Inspector General Michelle Anderson to DOE Undersecretary for […]

A regional group that promotes communities around the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico says it has fixed weaknesses in its travel reimbursement policy and other financial procedures. In a June 24 public meeting, Regional Coalition of LANL Communities (RCLC) Executive Director Eric Vasquez outlined steps taken over the past year to […]

The New Mexico Environment Department will kick off the first in a series of public outreach meetings a week from today with a discussion of its oversight of the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The July 9 meeting will focus on the mission of the state agency’s Energy Department Oversight Bureau, and possible […]

The New Mexico Environment Department will kick off the first in a series of public outreach meetings a week from today with a discussion of its oversight of the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The July 9 meeting will focus on the mission of the state agency’s Energy Department Oversight Bureau, and possible […]

The legacy nuclear cleanup contractor for the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico this week canceled the procurement for removal of concrete slabs and related work in Technical Area 21. In an update to its April contracting notice, Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) said Monday it was terminating the procurement […]

The legacy nuclear cleanup contractor for the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico this week canceled the procurement for removal of concrete slabs and related work in Technical Area 21. In an update to its April contracting notice, Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) said Monday it was terminating the procurement […]

The U.S. senators from New Mexico have proposed three amendments to a draft defense policy bill aimed at ensuring the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) can carry out its full health and safety mission. The amendments from Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich (both D-N.M.) would be added to the National Defense Authorization Act […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to prepare an environmental impact statement for plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., according to a notice filed this week in the Federal Register. The public will have 45 days to comment on the agency’s proposed environmental impact statement (EIS) regarding its contentious plan to […]

After a former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist was indicted for allegedly lying about contacts with the Chinese government, the Energy Department prohibited its employees and contractors from participating in certain foreign “talent recruitment programs.” Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette approved that prohibition Friday by signing DOE Order 486.1. The order bars agency employees and […]

The legacy cleanup vendor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is seeking a subcontractor to excavate several old concrete slabs and provide related deactivation and decommissioning work at Technical Area 21. Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) expects to sign a firm-fixed-price contract with the subcontractor that will be chosen based on […]

The legacy cleanup vendor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is seeking a subcontractor to excavate several old concrete slabs and provide related deactivation and decommissioning work at Technical Area 21. Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) expects to sign a firm-fixed-price contract with the subcontractor that will be chosen based on […]

The Energy Department’s proposal to reinterpret the definition of high-level radioactive waste and go with a policy that stresses radiological risk over its source, has the support of the directors of a half-dozen DOE national laboratories. “The proposal would shift the definition from a source-based definition to a risk-based interpretation consistent with the radiological characteristics […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to perform an environmental impact statement about plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., according to a notice filed Monday in the Federal Register. The public will have 45 days to comment on the agency’s proposed environmental impact statement (EIS) about a contentious plan to […]

Democrats on the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee on Tuesday used their majority on the panel to kill a GOP amendment that would have kept the Department of Energy’s plan to produce plutonium pits in South Carolina off the chopping block. Subcommittee Democrats, led by Rep. James Cooper (Tenn.), quashed the amendment from Rep. […]

A former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he lied about contacts with the Chinese government-sponsored group Thousand Talents, which the Donald Trump administration says seeks to steal U.S. intellectual property. Some time between  2007 and 2018, Turab Lookman “had been recruited by, applied for, and been accepted to […]

A former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he lied about contacts with the Chinese government-sponsored group Thousand Talents, which the Donald Trump administration says seeks to steal U.S. intellectual property. Some time between  2007 and 2018, Turab Lookman “had been recruited by, applied for, and been accepted to […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday affirmed a plan to keep Energy Department Office of Environmental Management funding at about $7.2 billion for fiscal 2020. The funding is included in the energy and water development appropriations legislation for the budget year starting Oct. 1, which the committee reported to the full House. The measure would […]

As expected, major Energy Department contractor Fluor has formally selected longtime executive Carlos Hernandez as its permanent CEO, about two weeks after he took the job on an interim basis. Fluor’s Board of Directors also announced Thursday in a press release that Hernandez, previously the company executive vice president and chief legal officer, would serve […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has postponed its scheduled May 22 public hearing in Washington, D.C., on past radioactive waste accidents at the Energy Department’s Idaho National Laboratory and its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. In a notice on its website, the DNFSB said the half-day public hearing is being rescheduled […]

As expected, major Energy Department contractor Fluor has formally selected longtime executive Carlos Hernandez as its permanent CEO, about two weeks after he took the job on an interim basis. Fluor’s Board of Directors also announced Thursday in a press release that Hernandez, previously the company executive vice president and chief legal officer, would serve […]

On April 30, Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) hit the one-year mark as the cleanup vendor for legacy waste at the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico. N3B is tasked with environmental remediation at the 34-square-mile federal property, along with preparing radioactive waste for disposal off-site. It sent the first […]

WASHINGTON — The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will be late in making initial deliveries to the Pentagon of two refurbished nuclear weapons, the head of the Energy Department’s semiautonomous nuclear-weapon agency said this week. The Air Force was supposed to get its refurbished B61, to be called B61-12, in 2020. The Navy was supposed […]

The U.S. Department of Energy said Wednesday it has contracted five small businesses to provide $24.9 million worth of demolition and other cleanup services for the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. The selected companies are: Aerostar SES, of Oak Ridge; ARS Aleut Remediation, of Port Allen, La.; CTI and Associates, of Knoxville, Tenn.; GEM Technologies, […]

Officials from the Energy Department Office of Environmental Management (EM) and the New Mexico Environment Department are set to meet in July to discuss legacy nuclear-waste-cleanup priorities for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2020, the chair of an agency-funded advisory group said Wednesday. “The [New Mexico] Environmental Department and Los Alamos [Environmental Management] begin their […]

WASHINGTON — The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will be late with initial deliveries to the Pentagon of two refurbished nuclear weapons, the head of the semiautonomous nuclear-weapons agency said here Wednesday. The Air Force was supposed to get its refurbished B61, to be called B61-12, in 2020. The Navy was supposed to get its […]

By Calvin Biesecker Defense Daily Huntington Ingalls Industries on Thursday posted a big drop in net income in its first quarter due to less favorable pension adjustments, but the company’s top line growth was strong and the outlook for further growth in the coming years was buoyed by strong orders and a record backlog. Net income […]

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) this week agreed to stop blocking nominees for high-level Department of Energy jobs after securing an in-person meeting in Nevada with Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, head of DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The senator, her staff, and the DOE top-dogs are set to tour the […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory management contractor Triad National Security must quickly change the issues-management practices it inherited from its predecessor to prevent problems with plutonium facilities from spiraling out of control and derailing planned production of nuclear-weapon cores starting in 2026, the Energy Department said in a report Monday. The report comes from DOE’s Office of Nuclear […]

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and the National Nuclear Security Administration should reconsider their decision to make nuclear-weapon cores in two states beginning in 2030 after yet another study concluded the plan cannot meet a White House production deadline, a key lawmaker said this week in a hearing here. “The Institute for Defense Analyses found that […]

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and the National Nuclear Security Administration should reconsider their decision to make nuclear-weapon cores in two states beginning in 2030 after yet another study concluded the plan cannot meet a White House production deadline, a key lawmaker said here in a Wednesday hearing. “The Institute for Defense Analyses found that none […]