National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

The Office of Inspector General did not find that the National Nuclear Security Administration failed to follow export control regulations, despite complaints to that effect, according to a recent report. The report, published Aug. 7, said the Office of Inspector General (OIG) received a complaint through a hotline alleging the DOE’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security […]

The Reuters news service reported last week that President Donald Trump’s administration plans to tap plutonium left over from dismantled nuclear weapons to help power commercial nuclear reactors in the United States. The news service reported Trump could have the Department of Energy make 20 metric tons available for U.S. nuclear power plants. The article […]

The Office of Inspector General did not find that the National Nuclear Security Administration failed to follow export control regulations, despite complaints to that effect, according to a recent report. The report, published Aug. 7, said the Office of Inspector General (OIG) received a complaint through a hotline alleging the DOE’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security […]

The Reuters news service reported Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration plans to tap plutonium left over from dismantled nuclear weapons to help power commercial nuclear reactors in the United States. The news service reported Trump could have the Department of Energy make 20 metric tons available for U.S. nuclear power plants. The article said […]

Laura McGill, director of Sandia National Laboratories, said Monday that she anticipates “no further job losses” due to Sandia’s headcount already being pared by about 400 this fiscal year, according to local publication Source NM. McGill, who took over as director in May, discussed layoffs with New Mexico lawmakers at the Science Technology and Telecommunications […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is teaming up with Anthropic to build a tool that can determine whether artificial intelligence is providing knowledge on nuclear weapons that can be used for nefarious purposes. Anthropic, a 2021 San Francisco-based AI safety and research company that built AI assistant models like Claude, announced last week that […]

A provision in the Senate’s version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) could protect employees in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the NDAA included a section that, if included in the eventual conference version with the House […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a license amendment for Urenco USA’s enrichment facility in New Mexico, the agency said on LinkedIn Thursday. The approval allows Urenco to produce higher-enriched uranium-235 to fuel advanced reactors. “We first gave Urenco permission to start making higher-enriched U-235 last December,” the post said. “Our most recent approval lifts the […]

The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will deploy Cornelis Networks technology to power Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s high-performance computing cluster “Lynx.” The “Lynx” cluster is a supercomputer with 952 computer nodes that is part of NNSA’s Advanced Simulation and Computing initiatives, which assesses the validity of the U.S. nuclear stockpile through […]

With Congress out on recess this month, a busy September looms with authorization bills requests in both chambers to finalize by Oct. 1 and pending nominations in the Senate for the Department of Energy.  Lawmakers will return facing a looming government funding deadline at the end of September, with a continuing resolution, which has become […]

With Congress out on recess this month, a busy September looms with authorization bills requests in both chambers to finalize by Oct. 1 and pending nominations in the Senate for the Department of Energy.  Lawmakers will return facing a looming government funding deadline at the end of September, with a continuing resolution, which has become […]

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and a privately-held artificial intelligence company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last week to use AI to streamline licensing for new nuclear projects.  The agreement was signed with California-based Atomic Canyon at the Nuclear Opportunities Workshop held in Knoxville, Tenn July 22-23. The MOU […]

Tennessee lawmakers recently modified certain tax laws related to nuclear facilities, including Orano USA’s multi-billion dollar uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge.  In Senate Bill 885/House Bill 1133, sponsored by state senator Shane Reeves (R) and   state representative Clark Boyd (R), expanded the definition of “certified green energy production facility” to include nuclear energy […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) says demolition and disposal has been completed at the old Albuquerque Complex on the grounds of the Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The $8.4 million demolition, started in March 2024, was overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alabama District through an interagency […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) said Pantex management and operating contractor PanTeXas Deterrence concluded reviewing nuclear explosive operations in one of its weapons programs, according to a July 4 report. The prime contractor at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, is a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) site, has a number of issues […]

Sandia National Laboratories has developed a high-security mobile vault to be rapidly deployed and safeguard critical materials in remote locations, according to a July 15 press release by the lab. The project is in response to a request by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Stockpile Responsiveness Program, and is led by Sandia’s Transportation Safeguards […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) says demolition and disposal has been completed at the old Albuquerque Complex on the grounds of the Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The $8.4 million demolition, started in March 2024, was overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alabama District through an interagency […]

Tennessee lawmakers recently modified certain tax laws related to nuclear facilities, including Orano USA’s multi-billion dollar uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge.  In Senate Bill 885/House Bill 1133, sponsored by state senator Shane Reeves (R) and   state representative Clark Boyd (R), expanded the definition of “certified green energy production facility” to include nuclear energy […]

Sandia National Laboratories has developed a high-security mobile vault to be rapidly deployed and safeguard critical minerals in remote locations, according to a July 15 press release by the lab. The project is in response to a request by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Stockpile Responsiveness Program, and is led by Sandia’s Transportation Safeguards […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) says demolition and disposal has been completed at the old Albuquerque Complex on the grounds of the Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The $8.4 million demolition, started in March 2024, was overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alabama District through an interagency […]

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and a privately-held artificial intelligence company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last week to use AI to streamline licensing for new nuclear projects.  The agreement was signed with California-based Atomic Canyon at the Nuclear Opportunities Workshop held in Knoxville, Tenn. July 22-23. The MOU […]

The Department of Energy should soon publish its Supplement Analysis and Amended Record of Decision for blending down roughly 2.2 metric tons of highly enriched uranium in order to make about 3.1 metric tons of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The document should soon be published in the […]

The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the agency in charge of managing the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, was one of hundreds of organizations affected by a massive SharePoint hack. While the bug was discovered last week, Microsoft said in a blog post Tuesday that three Chinese actors were exploiting vulnerabilities in […]

A five-acre grass fire broke out near the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. Monday, a local news outlet reported. The lab fire broke out at 1 p.m. Pacific time Monday. It started on Greenville Road near Patterson Pass Road, according to a July 21 article by a local Patch newsletter.  […]

While the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA),  was one of hundreds of organizations affected by a massive SharePoint hack, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) was not.  “It was not,” a DOE headquarters spokesperson said Thursday in response to an Exchange Monitor question While the bug was discovered last week, Microsoft […]

Jill Hruby, the most recent administrator of the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration, recently joined the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board, the organization announced last week. “I’m honored to join the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board at such a pivotal moment for nuclear affairs worldwide,” Hruby said in the […]

RSI EnTech, based in Oak Ridge, Tenn., has acquired Albuquerque-based Sigma Science, another well-known small contractor with the Department of Energy nuclear complex, the companies announced recently.  RSI EnTech, which is part of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) Industrial or AIS, an Alaska Native corporation, did not disclose the value of the transaction in the […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report this week the National Nuclear Security Administration “made progress” on 11 out of 19 prior recommendations by the congressional oversight agency for accurate cost reporting. The GAO has issued four reports on financial reporting since fiscal 2019 for the DOE’s semi-autonomous agency in charge of the […]

The Department of Energy has picked four nuclear complex sites to be used for deployment of new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. DOE announced the Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Kentucky and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will host the AI data centers, according […]

The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the agency in charge of managing the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, was one of hundreds of organizations affected by a massive SharePoint hack. While the bug was discovered last week, Microsoft said in a blog post Tuesday that three Chinese actors were exploiting vulnerabilities in […]