LIVERMORE COMPLETES DE-INVENTORYING EFFORT

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has finished removing all but tiny quantities of special nuclear materials from its grounds in a move that will allow the National Nuclear Security Administration to cut back on security and potentially save approximately $40 million a year. The plan to remove all special nuclear material requiring Category I and II protection, focused on the lab’s “Superblock” plutonium facility, has been in the works since 2008, with shipments going to Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Nevada National Security Site, the Savannah River Site, the Y-12 National Security Complex, and Idaho National Laboratory. The NNSA had said the de-inventorying effort would be completed by the end of Fiscal Year 2012. “We’re always looking for ways to improve the way we do business,” NNSA Administrator Tom D’Agostino said in a statement. “Consolidating this nuclear material will help save critical taxpayer dollars, help improve the safety and security posture at the site, and help align our enterprise for the coming decades. The team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory deserves a lot of credit for doing this efficiently and safely.”