National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

South Carolina wants the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to raid its defense nuclear nonproliferation budget to pay $200 million in fines for failing to remove weapon-usable plutonium from the state, according to the latest filing in a long-running federal lawsuit. The state claimed in last week’s filing in U.S. District Court that the NNSA’s own […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is still determining if problems with non-nuclear components will prevent the B61-12 gravity bomb and W88 Alt 370 submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead from entering service with the Air Force and Navy on time, according to an annual agency report released Wednesday. The details are included in the agency’s 2020 Stockpile […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry and National Nuclear Security Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty met Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) this week at the Nevada National Security Site, weeks after the agency halted prohibited shipments of nuclear waste to the facility and months after it received clandestine delivery of weapon-usable plutonium. That is according to a Thursday report […]

The prime contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex is tightening its criticality safety program and increasing oversight and monitoring of that regime to prevent an accidental nuclear chain reaction, following a recent federal report that deemed the existing program at the main U.S. uranium processing site “inadequate.” The Oak Ridge, Tenn., site houses National […]

A power outage at the Nevada National Security Site’s Device Assembly Facility (DAF) interrupted some of the site’s nuclear stockpile stewardship operations for about two weeks this month, a spokesperson said. The outage happened July 1, after a series of mishaps in replacing the DAF’s uninterruptible power source — a backup power supply system that […]

Fluor Marine Propulsion plans to move some 200 Naval Reactors Facility employees in Idaho off-site in 2020, when the prime contractor for the federal Naval Nuclear Laboratory expects to enter a five- to 10-year lease for office space. The Naval Reactors Facility, which stores spent fuel from nuclear warships and submarines, employs a total of […]

Longtime Department of Energy manager Ed McGinnis has left the agency’s Office of Nuclear Energy to take a position at the White House, a source said Monday. McGinnis had served as principal deputy assistant secretary for nuclear energy from May 2017, leading the office until Rita Baranwal was sworn in as assistant secretary for nuclear […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is still determining if problems with non-nuclear weapons components will prevent the B61-12 gravity bomb and W88 Alt 370 submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead from entering service with the Air Force and Navy on time, according to an annual agency report released Wednesday. The details are included in the agency’s 2020 […]

The prime contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex is tightening its criticality safety program and increasing oversight and monitoring of that regime to prevent an accidental nuclear chain reaction, following a recent federal report that deemed the existing program at the main U.S. uranium processing site “inadequate.” After a month-long inspection last year of […]

The Senate’s top nuclear-weapon authorizer pumped Air Force Gen. John Hyten during a Tuesday confirmation hearing for ammunition to use in upcoming budget negotiations with House Democrats over spending levels for the ongoing modernization and maintenance of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. President Donald Trump in April nominated Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command since 2016, […]

The Department of Energy will probably deliver the first nuclear warhead for the next U.S. air-launched cruise missile a year later than the agency’s official fiscal 2025 forecast, according to an internal report. The department’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is “highly unlikely” to complete the Long-Range Standoff Weapon’s W80-4 warhead — a refurbished […]

Longtime Department of Energy manager Ed McGinnis has left the agency’s Office of Nuclear Energy to take a position at the White House, a source said Monday. McGinnis served as principal deputy assistant secretary for nuclear energy from May 2017, effectively leading the office until Rita Baranwal was sworn in as assistant secretary for nuclear […]

A power outage at the Nevada National Security Site’s Device Assembly Facility (DAF) interrupted some of the site’s nuclear stockpile stewardship operations for about two weeks this month, a spokesperson said. The outage happened July 1, after a series of mishaps in replacing the DAF’s uninterruptible power source — a backup power supply system that […]

Fluor Marine Propulsion plans to move some 200 Naval Reactors Facility employees in Idaho off-site in 2020, when the prime contractor for the federal Naval Nuclear Laboratory expects to enter a five- to 10-year lease for office space. The Naval Reactors Facility, which stores spent fuel from nuclear warships and submarines, employs a total of […]

An air tunnel at a degrading Savannah River Site nuclear materials processing facility should be able to withstand an earthquake, according to a detailed analysis for the Department of Energy, despite concerns raised two years ago by a federal safety board. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), management and operations contractor for the 310-square-mile DOE facility […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Monday it had issued three cooperative agreements, each worth $15 million in matching funds, to companies aiming to produce the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). The recipients are: Niowave, of Lansing, Mich.; NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, of Beloit, Wis.; and SHINE Medical Technologies, of Janesville, Wis. An agreement with […]

An air tunnel at a degrading Savannah River Site nuclear materials processing facility should be able to withstand an earthquake, according to a detailed analysis for the Department of Energy, despite concerns raised two years ago by a federal safety board. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), management and operations contractor for the 310-square-mile DOE facility […]

The Department of Energy and the prime contractor for the canceled Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) have made “significant progress” settling a $200-million-plus lawsuit, according to a Wednesday court filing. CB&I AREVA MOX Services, now majority owned by McDermott International, sued DOE and its National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in 2016, alleging the agencies […]

The new federal budget caps deal provides $2.5 billion more in base defense spending than the 2020 budget the House of Representatives has already approved, and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) would need a 25% share of the extra funding to reach its preferred nuclear-weapon budget. To get the money, the semiautonomous Department of […]

Former Employee Sues SRS Security Contractor For Discrimination In a federal discrimination lawsuit seeking $3.5 million, an African-American woman formerly employed by the Savannah River Site’s security contractor says she was terminated for accidentally leaving her gun in a bathroom, while a white employee kept her job after making the same error. In the complaint, […]

The Sheep Fire at the Energy Department’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is contained enough to allow the emergency response to be scaled back, officials said Thursday afternoon. Firefighting crews will continue to keep an eye on the blaze there are no remaining hot spots, according to an update posted on the INL website. Fire officials expect […]

City officials from Oak Ridge, Tenn., want to meet with Energy Department representatives before the federal agency issues a draft record of decision in August for a new 2.2-million-cubic yard landfill planned for the Oak Ridge Site. City Manager Mark Watson made the request in a July 12 letter to Jay Mullis, manager of DOE’s […]

Northrop Grumman on Wednesday reported a strong second quarter on higher earnings and sales, while strong order flow also drove a substantial increase in the company’s backlog. Net income increased 9% to $861 million, $5.06 earnings per share (EPS), from $789 million ($4.50 EPS) a year ago, beating consensus estimates by $0.38 per share. Sales increased […]

The Department of Energy and the prime contractor for the canceled Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF)  have made “significant progress” settling a $200-million-plus lawsuit, according to a Wednesday court filing. CB&I AREVA MOX Services, now majority owned by McDermott International, sued DOE and its National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in 2016, alleging the agency […]

The new federal budget caps deal provides $2.5 billion more in base defense spending than the 2020 budget the House of Representatives has already approved, and the National Nuclear Security Administration would need a 25% share of the extra funding to reach its preferred nuclear-weapon budget. To get the money, the semiautonomous Department of Energy […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Monday it had issued three cooperative agreements, each worth $15 million in matching funds, to companies aiming to produce the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). The companies are: Niowave, of Lansing, Mich.; NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, of Beloit, Wis.; and SHINE Medical Technologies, of Janesville, Wis. Talks are continuing […]

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said Thursday that negotiators from the White House, Senate, and House are close to “sealing a deal” to avoid triggering automatic spending cuts in fiscal 2020. “We hear that tremendous progress has been made and they have agreed basically in principle,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. However, […]

The Savannah River Site’s security contractor earned $96.1% of its possible award fee from the U.S. Department of Energy for services provided during the first half of fiscal 2019. Centerra-Savannah River Site brought in just shy of $3.14 million, out of a potential $3.26 million for the period from Oct. 1, 2018, to March 31, […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) this week removed a breached cesium-137 source from a University of Washington medical research building in Seattle, clearing the way to begin remediation of the facility following its May 3 contamination. The semiautonomous Department of Energy agency on Tuesday trucked the cesium-137 source to the Pacific Northwest National […]

Mark Esper, who could be confirmed as secretary of defense as soon as next week, held strictly to U.S. nuclear orthodoxy in his Senate confirmation hearing this week, boosting the Department of Energy’s stockpile stewardship program and urging continued funding for long-term modernization and maintenance of the nuclear arsenal. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved […]