Nuclear Fuel Services President Joe Henry has been named chief operating officer at B&W Y-12 as the beleaguered Y-12 contractor continues to recover from the July 28 security breach, marking a return to Y-12 for Henry. B&W Y-12 said that Henry will temporarily serve as B&W Y-12’s COO for the next several months, a position that has been created to assist new B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Chuck Spencer and improve operations at the plant. “Joe’s expertise and working knowledge of Y-12 is an asset to us, and we are fortunate to have him assisting us at this time,” Spencer said in a statement. “Ensuring safe, secure operations at Y-12 is imperative, and Joe brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to bear on our mission.” Before taking the helm at B&W subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services, Henry served as B&W Y-12’s chief of nuclear safety operations, where he managed the site’s nuclear safety program and conduct of operations at the site. Before joining the private sector, Henry helmed two nuclear submarines and commanded Submarine Group Ten in Kings Bay, Ga., retiring from the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral.
B&W Y-12 also said yesterday that it had submitted a response to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s “show cause” notice that the agency sent to the contractor threatening to terminate its contract following the July 28 security breach, but it isn’t saying what was contained in its response. “B&W Y-12 is determining whether we’ll be able to release information contained in the response,” spokeswoman Ellen Boatner said in a statement to NW&M Monitor. “Additionally, it’s only appropriate to allow NNSA some time to consider the document before any content is released to the public.” B&W Y-12 has previously said that it’s making progress in fixing security and management problems at the site, shaking up management, retraining security guards, repairing broken cameras and installing new security barriers, and changing how security maintenance work is prioritized. It also issued a “cure” notice to protective force contractor WSI-Oak Ridge threatening to sever its contract. “We’ve taken dramatic actions and are making major security improvements at the site,” B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Chuck Spencer said in a statement last week. “… Moving forward, B&W Y-12 management continues to carefully examine the circumstances that led to the security incursion and make effective improvements that are identified through ongoing internal review processes.”
