National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Hensel Phelps, a construction subcontractor working at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, recently completed concrete placements for four warehouses that will provide more than a football field’s worth of additional storage capacity and workspace.  Approximately 5,000 cubic yards of concrete were laid for the foundation on June 15, a milestone the lab announced […]

The recent unprecedented expansion of the Los Alamos National Laboratory workforce will continue for at least another year before leveling out at around 2,0000 employees, a senior lab official told the Los Alamos County Council on Tuesday. All told, there are 17,244 people employed at Los Alamos in various capacities from professional National Nuclear Security […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed a spending bill that would give the National Nuclear Security Administration nearly $2 billion more than the $22.1 billion the White House sought and almost exactly the $24 billion the House has proposed.  The bill, approved 29-0 by the committee, also includes larger-than-requested appropriations for plutonium pit factories […]

An amendment to the Senate’s fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act bill could make it easier for nuclear-site employees to receive compensation for beryllium-related illnesses associated with their work. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) successfully won approval for her amendment to the Senate version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill Thursday.  The amendment […]

Whoever next manages the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, could hold the job for 20 years under a contract worth up to $30 billion now that a final pair of five-year options periods have been approved by senior officials.  A final request for proposals (RFP) for a new management contract at […]

Nearly $19 billion is included in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s 2024 spending bill for National Nuclear Security Administration nuclear-weapon programs, with funding boosts for planned facilities that will process plutonium and uranium for refurbished nuclear weapons. The Appropriations Committee began marking up the Energy And Water Development Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill Thursday morning. The […]

The recent unprecedented expansion of the Los Alamos National Laboratory workforce will continue for at least another year before leveling out at around 2,0000 employees, a senior lab official told the Los Alamos County Council on Tuesday. All told, there are 17,244 people employed at Los Alamos in various capacities from professional National Nuclear Security […]

Over the next decade, the U.S. will spend an estimated $756 billion on modernizing and maintaining its current and future nuclear forces, or about $75 billion per year, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office found.  Looking at the 10 years from 2023 to 2032, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), found that U.S. spending […]

The House version of the 2024 defense authorization act includes funding to develop a nuclear-tipped seal-launched cruise missile, and the program will make it into law despite the White House’s desire to kill it, according to Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.). Wittman, who is vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee, chair of the tactical […]

Whoever next manages the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, could hold the job for 20 years under a contract worth up to $30 billion now that a final pair of five-year options periods have been approved by senior officials.  A final request for proposals (RFP) for a new management contract at […]

Wagner Group mercenaries entered a Russian nuclear base where they hoped to steal backpack-sized nuclear weapons to use as bargaining chips during their short-lived mutiny last month, Ukraine’s chief spymaster Kyrylo Budanov told Reuters in a recent interview. U.S. and other Western officials insist that Wagner mercenaries were never within reach of Russian nuclear weapons […]

Released midday Tuesday, the Senate Armed Service’s version of the 2024 defense policy bill boosts spending on nuclear weapons by $276 million and increases overall funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration, compared with the agency’s funding request.  Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) jointly […]

National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Jill Hruby and nonproliferation lead Corey Hinderstein visited Georgia in June, a nation the agency says is on the frontlines of nuclear-materials smuggling.  The NNSA has “extensive ties” to Georgia, located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and has worked in the country for more than 20 years on […]

Los Alamos County, N.M., home to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos National Laboratory is under stage 1 fire restrictions by order of the county’s fire marshal. The restrictions, brought on by seasonal high temperatures and dry conditions, went into effect July 7, the Los Alamos County Fire Department (LAFD) said in a statement. […]

The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act narrowly passed the House of Representatives on Friday morning, when four lawmakers from each party crossed the aisle for a final vote of 219 to 210. Emerging earlier this week from the House Rules Committee, the bill ended up with a few additions pertaining to the National […]

In a letter earlier this year, two Democratic appropriators in Congress blasted the secretary of energy about moving money around in the Department of Energy’s budget to cover the soaring cost of the Uranium Processing Facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn. “We write to you to express our deep concerns about the Executive Branch’s fiscal year […]

The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act is now in the hands of the full House of Representatives after a late-night vote by the Rules Committee slashed allowable amendments to 209 from a record 1,502.  Approved at 11 p.m. Tuesday by a nine to four vote split on party lines, the bill ended up […]

Released midday Tuesday, the Senate Armed Service’s version of the 2024 defense policy bill boosts spending on nuclear weapons by $276 million and increases overall funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration, compared with the agency’s funding request.  Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) jointly […]

Some of the 1,502 amendments filed in the House for an annual defense policy bill deal directly with the U.S. nuclear weapons enterprise, including a call to allow the National Nuclear Security Administration more time to make 80 new plutonium pits annually. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) filed an amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization […]

National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Jill Hruby and nonproliferation lead Corey Hinderstein visited Georgia in June, a nation the agency says is on the frontlines of nuclear-materials smuggling.  The NNSA has “extensive ties” to Georgia, located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and has worked in the country for more than 20 years on […]

Los Alamos County, N.M., home to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos National Laboratory is under stage 1 fire restrictions by order of the county’s fire marshal. The restrictions, brought on by seasonal high temperatures and dry conditions, went into effect July 7, the Los Alamos County Fire Department (LAFD) said in a statement. […]

Charlotte, N.C.-based Honeywell has sold its stake in the Fluor-led joint venture that runs the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina, the company said this week. The company has divested its interest in Savannah River Nuclear Solutions to the remaining partners, Fluor and Huntington Ingalls Industries, Honeywell said in a Monday press […]

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, which manages and operates portions of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site wants to hire a company for an undisclosed “large capital project,” according to a notice on the federal government contracting website.  Located about 15 miles south of Aiken, South Carolina, the Savannah River Site (SRS) comprises 310 contiguous […]

The newly inked agreement between New Mexico’s Environment Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration about what to do with radioactive waste will prioritize old waste ahead of byproducts of an impending ramp-up in plutonium pit production. A New Mexico Environment Department spokesman said the “settlement agreement prioritizes legacy waste ahead of newly generated waste […]

The security of commercial nuclear power plants and fuel facilities overseen by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is strong based upon force-on-force exercises and related reviews by the agency during 2022, according to a report to Congress. Thanks to the decline in COVID-19 infections among the workforce, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staged more force-on-force exercises […]

William Quigley has been named deputy associate administrator for the Office of Partnership and Acquisition Services at the National Nuclear Security Administration, effective July 3.   Quigley, who goes by “BJ” has acted in this position since August 2022. Quigley previously served as the director of acquisition management and head of contracting. Prior to coming to […]

The newly inked agreement between New Mexico’s Environment Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration about what to do with radioactive waste will prioritize old waste ahead of byproducts of an impending ramp-up in plutonium pit production. A New Mexico Environment Department spokesman said the “settlement agreement prioritizes legacy waste ahead of newly generated waste […]

After extensive searches, the International Atomic Energy Agency says there are no visible mines or explosives set by Russian troops at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.  IAEA officials in recent days have been inspecting parts of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), including some sections of the perimeter of the plant’s large cooling pond, the […]

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, which manages and operates portions of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site wants to hire a company for an undisclosed “large capital project,” according to a notice on the federal government contracting website.  Located about 15 miles south of Aiken, South Carolina, the Savannah River Site (SRS) comprises 310 contiguous […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed a spending bill that would give the National Nuclear Security Administration nearly $2 billion more than the $22.1 billion the White House sought and almost exactly the $24 billion the House has proposed.  The bill, approved 29-0 by the committee, also includes larger-than-requested appropriations for plutonium pit factories […]