Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico designs nuclear weapons and serves as the NNSA’s lead site for plutonium pit production. Coverage tracks pit manufacturing milestones, safety and security findings, the laboratory’s management contract, budget requests, and legacy waste cleanup.
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Los Alamos needs more transparency with tritium venting, enviros say
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) failed to provide “real-time monitoring data” on its radioactive tritium venting to the local community, local environmentalist groups said this week. A Sept. 18 statement by Communities for Clean Water (CCW), a coalition of organizations in Los Alamos that includes Concerned Citizens […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Los Alamos needs more transparency with tritium venting, enviros say
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) failed to provide “real-time monitoring data” on its radioactive tritium venting to the local community, local environmentalist groups said this week. A Sept. 18 statement by Communities for Clean Water (CCW), a coalition of organizations in Los Alamos that includes Concerned Citizens […]
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Transuranic Waste
N3B Los Alamos touts its legacy waste shipments
Over the past seven-plus years, the Department of Energy’s legacy waste cleanup contractor for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has shipped more than 20,000 cubic meters of waste offsite. That figure, which reflects the period between April 30, 2018 and Aug. 31, 2025, was posted as part of a Sept. 10 slide […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
NNSA updates progress on Los Alamos tritium venting
Tritium venting is complete on two of four flanged waste containers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Sunday Sept. 21. After some glitches, work was paused Sunday prior to resuming depressurization of the third flanged tritium waste container (FTWC), NNSA said in […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Clearer standards needed for onsite waste transfer at DOE sites, DNFSB told
The rules Department of Energy nuclear sites follow when transporting radioactive and hazardous wastes short distances can be confusing and sometimes contradictory, DOE recently told the Defense Nuclear Facilities and Safety Board (DNFSB). “Onsite transfers can vary widely depending on the materials, distance, routes, equipment, ability, to implement controls, and natural phenomena hazards at a […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
New Mexico monitors Los Alamos tritium venting
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) will actively monitor Los Alamos National Laboratory’s controlled capture of tritium that was scheduled to start Saturday, Sept. 13. NMED has “strict safeguards and oversight in place to ensure public safety,” the state agency said Sept. 12. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is venting and capturing tritium from […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Wrap Up: BWXT taps new strategy officer; Urenco USA starts up new cascade; DOE invests in labs; NWTRB reschedules meeting; more
Rik Geiersbach was just appointed chief strategy officer for BWX Technologies and will report directly to CEO Rex Geveden, the nuclear fuel company announced Monday on its website. “As chief strategy officer, Rik will lead the development, execution and integration of BWXT’s enterprise strategy and merger and acquisition initiatives,” Geveden said in the release. “His […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
New Mexico clears way for temporary Los Alamos tritium venting
For the next two weeks the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory will depressurize four Flanged Tritium Waste Containers, the lab announced. The work, which has angered tribal groups and the state of New Mexico, will start this Saturday Sept. 13, laboratory officials said in a press […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE, N3B to hold Wednesday forum on Los Alamos cleanup
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office and its legacy cleanup contractor will hold a public meeting starting at 5 p.m. Mountain Time Wednesday. Speakers from DOE and environmental prime Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos, LLC (N3B) will discuss remediation at the Los Alamos National Laboratory site in New Mexico. […]
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National Laboratories
LANL team studies use of nuclear waste for nuclear fusion fuel
A team of researchers at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has begun to investigate the possibility of using fission reactor waste as fusion reactor fuel. If nuclear fusion energy were to become available as a commercial energy source, then tritium, which can be found in nuclear waste, would be […]
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National Laboratories
Los Alamos power line project alternatives unreliable, NNSA says
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) officially said alternatives to construction of a new 14-mile powerline would not be a “reliable or redundant” electrical upgrade for Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, according to its floodplain statement of findings. The document outlined alternatives, including using wind, solar, a gas turbine, and even a small […]
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National Laboratories
Los Alamos launches OpenAI models on Venado supercomputer
Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Venado supercomputer has started running a series of OpenAI models to complete national security research for the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, the Department of Energy announced Aug. 28. The Venado supercomputer, which DOE says is the 19th fastest supercomputer in the world, moved to a classified network earlier this year, according […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Los Alamos elevator in plutonium facility faces technical failures, DNFSB says
An elevator for transporting radiological material within the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory’s plutonium facility suffered “several mechanical failures” over the last few months, according to a report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The report from July 25 said the recent failures pertained to the doors’ interlocking system. Management at the […]
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National Laboratories
LANL ‘creates distrust by avoiding the public’ on power line, letter to editor says
The Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory has failed to reach out to residents nearby concerning a powerline that would go through sacred land, a letter published Aug. 7 in the local Los Alamos Daily Post said. “This is not meaningful opportunity for engagement with those residents who will be impacted by the project’s […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Draft RFP for Portsmouth landlord services could be out this summer
The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office could issue a draft solicitation as early as next month for a contractor to perform landlord services at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The draft request for proposals (RFP) for the Portsmouth Infrastructure Support Services could be issued in August, the DOE Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center in […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
HASC releases NDAA text with nuclear energy working group, two-site pits
The House Armed Service’s starting version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would authorize $25.4 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and establish a New Advanced Nuclear Energy Working Group. The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) will mark up the bill at 10 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday, July 15 in Rayburn House […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Draft RFP for Portsmouth landlord services could be out this summer
The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office could issue a draft solicitation as early as next month for a contractor to perform landlord services at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The draft request for proposals (RFP) for the Portsmouth Infrastructure Support Services could be issued in August, the DOE Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center in […]
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National Laboratories
EnergySec grilled on cutting national lab funding, says ‘open’ to expanding
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee expressed their disapproval Wednesday to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on a proposed 11% cut in the Department of Energy’s budget for the labs. The hearing did not produce much conversation on the $8.1 billion budget request for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
New Mexico chides NNSA, Triad over tritium containers
The New Mexico Environment Department wants the Department of Energy and its prime contractor for Los Alamos National Laboratory to take more precautions before it repackages four containers of tritium waste. At the same time, the state Environment Department is angry at how Los Alamos National Laboratory has handled the tritium waste over time and […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
New Mexico chides NNSA, Triad over tritium containers
The New Mexico Environment Department wants the Department of Energy and its prime contractor for Los Alamos National Laboratory to take more precautions before it repackages four containers of tritium waste. At the same time, the state Environment Department is angry at how Los Alamos National Laboratory has handled the tritium waste over time and […]
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Transuranic Waste
Wrap Up: N3B sends pipes to WIPP; BWXT-led team wins Canadian lab biz; Alaskan air base picked for Oklo nuke; more
The legacy waste cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory has sent its first shipment of transuranic waste derived from corrugated metal pipes to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), DOE said this week. Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) has completed the first shipment of transuranic waste to WIPP that […]
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National Laboratories
Wrap Up: DOE lifts certain restrictions; Navarro pares lab workforce; Amentum JV lands Norway biz
The Department of Energy earlier this month lifted several long-standing restrictions on recycling certain contaminated metals at DOE nuclear sites, including “volumetrically contaminated metals.” The rescissions were announced in a May 15 Federal Register notice. The changes could have big implications for the Paducah Site in Kentucky, said an industry source. Paducah has more than […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Los Alamos cleanup bosses talk staffing, fire safety
There is good news and bad news to report on staffing, the head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup field office at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico told a federal advisory panel last week. “I am happy to report that no federal employees within the EMLA [Environmental Management Los Alamos] field […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Los Alamos plutonium facility moves into 24/7 operations, DNFSB reports
Triad National Security, the prime contractor at Los Alamos National Laboratory, announced the beginning of phasing into 24/7 operations at the New Mexico lab’s plutonium facility, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report. The nuclear watchdog report dated April 18 said that contractor management determined continuous operations at the facility were needed at […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Los Alamos cleanup bosses talk staffing, fire safety
There is good news and bad news to report on staffing, the head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup field office at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico told a federal advisory panel last week. “I am happy to report that no federal employees within the EMLA [Environmental Management Los Alamos] field […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Los Alamos plutonium facility moves into 24/7 operations, DNFSB reports
Triad National Security, the prime contractor at Los Alamos National Laboratory, announced the beginning of phasing into 24/7 operations at the New Mexico lab’s plutonium facility, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report. The nuclear watchdog report dated April 18 said that contractor management determined continuous operations at the facility were needed at […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Garamendi says if Los Alamos makes 100 pits under Trump, ‘what’s Savannah River for?’
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), a vocal nuclear critic and member of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee, told the Exchange Monitor Los Alamos National Laboratory “ought to be able to produce” 100 pits in four years. Garamendi spoke to the Monitor last week in the halls of the Capitol about Secretary of Energy Chris […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
NNSA issues plans to assess pits environmental impact
On the heels of a federal judge’s ruling last fall, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration formally announced plans Friday for a detailed review of environmental impacts of planned plutonium pit production. DOE’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced in the Federal Register it is kicking off a programmatic environmental impact statement […]
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National Laboratories
Round up: Anti-nuclear activist petitions against TMI unit name change; EnergySolutions New Nuclear Initiative; Los Alamos National Lab experiments transportation of TRISO fuel; More;
Eric Epstein, who has previously served as the chairman of Three Mile Island Alert, has filed a petition opposing the proposed name change for Three Mile Island Unit-1 to “Christopher M. Crane Clean Energy Center”. In the petition, filed on April 18, Epstein requested a hearing to challenge the name change as he claimed the […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
EnergySec tells Fox News he wants to build ‘more than 100’ pits
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said rebooting plutonium pit production is key to bringing nuclear power forward for energy and defense during the Donald Trump administration, according to Fox News Sunday. Plutonium pits, the bowling-ball shaped fissile core placed inside a thermonuclear weapon to trigger its explosion, were produced at the highest rate during the […]








