In one of its first public field hearings since before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board will review operations at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico this November.
During a Nov. 16 session in Santa Fe, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) will look into both cleanup by the DOE Office of Environmental Management and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) work, such as the planned increased in plutonium pit production at Los Alamos, according to an August notice in the Federal Register.
NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby headlines the list of federal and contractor witnesses, according to an agenda posted on the DNFSB website.
Other witnesses expected to participate are NNSA’s field office manager Ted Wyka and laboratory director Thom Mason as well as Environmental Management’s field office boss Michael Mikolanis and Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) President Kimberly Lebak. Triad is the operations manager for the lab and N3B is the legacy cleanup contractor.
DNFSB will conduct three sessions. The first starts at noon Mountain Time and will focus on nuclear safety by Environmental Management and N3B at Los Alamos Area G, where nuclear waste is handled.
The second session starts at 4 p.m. and focuses upon NNSA safety and plans for increased production at the Plutonium Facility. Los Alamos is refurbishing its PF-4 Plutonium Facility in an effort to produce 30 fissile cores for thermonuclear weapons by fiscal year 2026.
The final session is set for 6 p.m. and will include board discussion, a report by DNFSB staff and public comments, according to the agenda. The DNFSB was created by congress to provide independent analysis and recommendations for DOE nuclear defense sites, except for naval reactors sites.
The event is set for the Santa Fe Community Convention Center 201 West Marcy Street Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501.
