National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

The National Nuclear Security Administration said Monday it is seeking providers for the transport of radioactive irradiated tritium-producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs). The request for information also said the agency wants to “identify small business concerns with the capability to perform the services” in order to assess a possible set-aside. The acquisition is meant to […]

The Energy Department on Wednesday had planned to start treating the troublesome stream of transuranic waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) that leaked radiation into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant three years ago, but the day came and went without any confirmation that DOE and its contractor had begun the work. An agency spokesperson […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration and the FBI together conducted an advanced radiation detection and investigative techniques training last month in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the NNSA said Wednesday in a blog post. The training consisted of lectures and activities for 35 participants to develop the skills necessary to respond to nuclear and radioactive material smuggling events, […]

National Nuclear Security Administration officials on April 6 joined representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Moldova and the Moldovan government to mark the installation of a radiation detection system at the nation’s Chisinau International Airport. “The system of 18 radiation portal monitors and associated communications systems will enhance efforts to prevent smuggling of dangerous radioactive materials […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration said Monday it is seeking providers for the transport of radioactive irradiated tritium-producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs). The request for information also said the agency wants to “identify small business concerns with the capability to perform the services” in order to assess a possible set-aside. The acquisition is meant to […]

Unprecedented shipments of liquid highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Canada to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will begin this spring, now that the 60-day window has closed to appeal a judge’s decision allowing the Energy Department transports. Groups that had sued against the shipments decided against appealing the directive. Judge Tanya Chutkan, of U.S. […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration intends to award a sole-source contract for night vision goggles and accessories by Sept. 30, according to a special notice posted last week. A small business set-aside acquisition is expected to procure binocular night vision device kits in support of the NNSA’s Office of Secure Transportation, which oversees the transport […]

The Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday issued guidance directing federal agencies to make workforce reductions in accordance with the White House’s budget blueprint and develop a plan to reform departmental activities in an attempt to right-size their hiring practices. OMB Director Mick Mulvaney announced a day earlier that the government hiring freeze in place […]

Officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be in New Ellenton, S.C., on April 18 to discuss the agency’s latest performance evaluation of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility being built at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site. The regulator gave a positive review of 2016 operations at the plant intended to process 34 […]

A committee of the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) indicated this week it supports the Energy Department’s anticipated request to restrict airspace above agency facilities – a discussion sparked last summer after drone sightings over key areas of the South Carolina facility. The Strategic and Legacy Management Committee – one of several sub-panels within CAB […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration is scheduled this spring to release a long-awaited physical security infrastructure plan as it wrestles with outdated alarms, sensors, and other protective measures at its sites, the Government Accountability Office said in a report Tuesday. The semiautonomous Department of Energy agency charged with sustaining the U.S. deterrent oversees four facilities that hold […]

The contractor for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee should in a matter of months deliver a new cost estimate and other information needed for the Department of Energy to sign off on construction of the complex. The Department of Energy expects by the end of fiscal 2017, Sept. 30, […]

The Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday issued guidance directing federal agencies to make workforce reductions in accordance with the White House’s budget blueprint and develop a plan to reform departmental activities in an attempt to right-size their hiring practices. OMB Director Mick Mulvaney announced a day earlier that the government hiring freeze in place […]

The contractor for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee is preparing a new cost estimate and other information needed for the Department of Energy to sign off on construction of the complex. The Department of Energy expects by the end of fiscal 2017, Sept. 30, to receive a design that […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration is scheduled this spring to release a physical security infrastructure plan as it wrestles with outdated alarms, sensors, and other protective measures at its sites, the Government Accountability Office said in a report Tuesday. The semiautonomous Department of Energy agency charged with sustaining the U.S. deterrent oversees four facilities that […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration will extend for three months its contract with TechSource for technical support to the agency’s Office of Systems Engineering and Integration, according to a notice posted last week. The contract requires technical support for development of integrated master schedules for the NNSA’s management and operations contractors’ schedules to reflect program milestones; […]

The Department of Energy will soon solicit support for its Office of Enterprise Assessments’ National Training Center (NTC) in New Mexico, according to a preliminary notice posted Thursday. The upcoming solicitation will seek support for security and safety training, as well as cybersecurity and information technology activities, at the NTC located on Kirtland Air Force […]

WASHINGTON — As contractors and locals wait to learn how much more funding their Cold War nuclear-cleanup projects might get in fiscal 2018 under the Trump administration’s proposed budget increase for the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management, the head of that office on Wednesday focused ruminations about next year’s budget on work that hasn’t […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday voted 22-5 in favor of Heather Wilson’s nomination as secretary of the Air Force, moving the matter on to the full Senate for final consideration. During her confirmation hearing before the committee last week, some lawmakers raised ethics concerns surrounding Wilson’s past consulting work. She was asked in particular […]

A National Nuclear Security Administration field office has identified need for improvement in several operational areas by the management and operations contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee and the Pantex Plant in Texas, according to a newly released Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board activity report. The DNFSB document, dated March 13 and […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday voted 22-5 in favor of Heather Wilson’s nomination as secretary of the Air Force, sending the matter to the full Senate for consideration. During her confirmation hearing in the same committee last week, some lawmakers raised ethics concerns surrounding Wilson’s past consulting work. She was asked about the contracts she […]

New legislation on enhancing nuclear energy research and developing new nuclear reactor technologies has reached the U.S. Senate. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) in January introduced the legislation, called the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act of 2017, which is intended to enhance civilian research and development of nuclear energy technologies. The bill highlights the need to maintain […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to extend its task order with TechSource Inc. for technical support services for the agency’s Office of Advanced Simulation and Computing and Institutional R&D Programs, according to a notice posted last week. The NNSA’s advanced simulation office provides technical guidance to create and manage computational modeling and simulation capabilities […]

Pat Host Defense Daily Most Republicans at Heather Wilson’s confirmation hearing to become the next Air Force secretary seemed largely uninterested in probing her alleged ethics missteps, instead saluting her experience and supporting her nomination. Aside from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) inquires, it was Democrats, led by Ranking Member Jack Reed […]

Redacted documents released to a nuclear watchdog group show that the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will receive shipments of plutonium, uranium, and other nuclear materials for the next 15-plus years, with no current disposition pathway for much of the material already stored on-site. Savannah River Site Watch in January received via a Freedom […]

The Government Accountability Office said this week it has accepted a request from two senior Democrats in the House of Representatives to study the value of a new nuclear warhead that would be manufactured to fit onto both ICBMs and sea-launched ballistic missiles. At issue is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s first “interoperable warhead,” or […]

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of quarterly news summaries and analyses about President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. We’ll check in with one long, big-picture update every 25 days, with a regular flow of updates in between to keep you up on news affecting the U.S. nuclear deterrent during […]

Two senior Democrats in the House of Representatives have asked the Government Accountability Office to study the need for a new nuclear warhead that would be manufactured to fit onto both ICBMs and sea-launched ballistic missiles. At issue is the National Nuclear Security Administration’s first “interoperable warhead,” or IW-1, which would replace the land-based W78 […]

President Donald Trump on March 21 formally submitted his nomination of Heather Wilson to become the next Air Force secretary after he announced his intention in late January. Wilson has served as president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology since 2013. If confirmed, she will become the first Air Force Academy graduate […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to extend its task order with TechSource Inc. for technical support services for the agency’s Office of Advanced Simulation and Computing and Institutional R&D Programs, according to a notice posted last week. The NNSA’s advanced simulation office provides technical guidance to create and manage computational modeling and simulation capabilities […]