March 17, 2014

GAO PRESSES NNSA TO THINK LONG-TERM ON PLUTONIUM MISSION AT LANL

By ExchangeMonitor

As the National Nuclear Security Administration continues to study its plutonium options at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the wake of the deferral of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-Nuclear Facility, the Government Accountability Office urged the agency to think long-term as it zeroes in on a plutonium solution. The agency is considering a modular approach to meeting the nation’s plutonium needs that would hinge on the phased construction of several smaller buildings, but it has also studied utilizing existing space at the lab, as well as space at other sites, to meet its plutonium mission. In a report released yesterday, the GAO questioned whether the agency will “make costly investments in short-term facilities that may ultimately not address its longer-term plutonium research needs. It is imperative that NNSA make prudent investments that right-size the solution with the actual and anticipated needs or it may continue to spend significant sums of money with little to show for it.”

The NNSA is still studying its options and hasn’t settled on a price tag for the modular approach. The GAO said preliminary estimates by the lab have put the potential price to move capabilities among facilities at the lab between $480 and $820 million. Such a move would come with several other concerns, the GAO said. The GAO said a 2012 LANL study noted that other plutonium research missions at the lab could be cramped if other lab space was devoted to meeting the nuclear weapons. Using facilities at other sites could also lead to delays in completing analytical chemistry and materials characterization work because of the time needed to transfer samples between sites, the GAO said, and a lack of knowledgeable analytical chemistry staff could slow work on any of the options. It said the study noted that staffing for analytical chemistry at the lab had decreased by 60 percent from 2005 to 2012 because of retirements and budget cuts, and any of the options being considered would strain the lab’s workforce. “Staff shortages could adversely impact the ability of NNSA and LANL to meet proposed schedules for its nuclear weapons work,” the GAO said. It takes years for staff to develop analytical chemistry expertise, the GAO noted. “The uncertainty of where the new capabilities will be located or what the level of capacity is needed has complicated planning efforts,” the GAO said.

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