Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
6/6/2014
With a 2019 exit date for the aged Chemistry and Metallurgy Research facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory creeping up, the Senate Armed Services Committee is directing the National Nuclear Security Administration to streamline efforts to increase the use of the existing radiological laboratory utility office building and repurpose space within the existing Plutonium Facility. The actions represent the first two phases of Los Alamos’ plutonium capabilities revitalization plan—the third involves building small "modules" for other plutonium work—and a provision included in the committee’s version of the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, released this week, directs the NNSA to focus on tasks which support getting out of the CMR facility by 2019.
The provision requires NNSA to report to the committee by September on what activities can be accelerated to meet the exit date milestone. "It is important that such streamlining should not in any way degrade reasonable program control and oversight," the committee said in a report accompanying the bill. "… The intent of streamlining is to avoid deferring tasks that will reduce the risk in either CMR or PF–4, while awaiting broader approvals on critical decisions." The committee said it supported approaching the third phase as a line item project.
Committee Matches Weapons Request, Boosts Nonpro. Funding
Overall, the committee authorized the Obama Administration’s $8.3 billion request for the NNSA’s weapons program, matching the overall funding request while adding $7.5 million to the $9.4 million request for work on the long-range standoff weapon, and added $285 million for the NNSA’s nonproliferation account, authorizing $1.8 billion for the program. That includes a $145 million increase for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (see related story) and $140 million in authorized increases spread out between the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation R&D account, and the Second Line of Defense Program.
UPF Draws Committee Concerns
While raising concerns about Los Alamos’ plutonium strategy, the committee also took a shot at the Uranium Processing Facility, even as it said it supported a scaled-back approach to completing the project. Like Los Alamos’ plutonium plan, such an approach would involve using existing facilities and building smaller modules to help replace Y-12’s 9212 complex, which is expected to be cheaper than building a massive facility to house all of the site’s uranium production needs. Cost estimates ballooned to as high as $19 billion for the project late last year, forcing the NNSA to reassess its options. "The committee looks forward to a conservative cost estimate for the first module in replacing building 9212 but will approach it with trepidation and caution given the past record of this project," the committee said.
Committee Urges Acceleration of Y-12 Lithium Project
Sparked by an incident earlier this year at Y-12’s Beta-2 facility, the committee also urged the NNSA to accelerate work to replace lithium production capabilities, suggesting that a project to replace the facility should begin in FY 2016 rather than FY 2017. Earlier this year, an 8-foot-section of concrete fell from the ceiling at the facility due to rebar corrosion from years of using a desiccant in the air-handling system. "Such working conditions are unacceptable if not dangerous," the committee said, directing the Government Accountability Office to review the "status of the existing facility to meet stockpile needs, whether the NNSA has a long-term and coherent program plan for lithium sustainment, and how well- developed the plans are to replace this unacceptable facility."
B61 Backup Plan Sought
The committee also raised concerns about plans to complete a First Production Unit on the refurbished B61 nuclear bomb, which will consolidate four variants of the bomb into a new variant known as the B61 Mod-12. Because of funding issues, the schedule for completing the First Production Unit has slipped to 2020, and the committee said it wanted to know what backup plan the NNSA has if the schedule is delayed further. "The committee understands the importance of the Mod 12 life extension but is concerned about meeting the 2020 first production unit in order to begin replacing the system deployed by NATO allies and needs to understand what backup plan, if any, the Departments of Defense and Energy have to provide temporary lifetime extension of the existing weapons if the Mod 12 schedule slips as it most likely will," the committee said.
In addition to the B61, the NNSA could have up to five life extension programs underway over the next decade, including the W88 fuse program, an interoperable warhead to replace the W78 and W88, the long-range standoff weapon, and ongoing work on the W76. While noting that schedule delays, including a five-year delay to the interoperable warhead program, could ease the burden on the NNSA’s production facilities, the committee said it was concerned about the workload at the sites. "Concurrency, funding delays, or program slips in any one of these programs can impact the others given they all use the three production facilities," the committee said.
Likewise, the committee said it was concerned about the "fragile nature" of maintaining a workload balance and key personnel at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories. The fear, according to Congressional aides, is that the delay to the interoperable warhead and the long-range standoff weapon could leave the labs without enough weapons work. "The essence of the stockpile certification program is the ability of each laboratory to independently assess the warheads in the current stockpile using separate computer codes and key personnel," the committee said.
Senate Bill Would Not Cut DNFSB Employee Cap
In addition, the Senate bill would authorize a funding level matching the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s FY 2015 budget request of $30.15 million. The Board is seeking an increase of approximately $2 million from current funding levels, with the additional money to go toward hiring five additional full-time equivalents to bring the Board’s staff to 125. The Senate bill, though, does not contain language that appears in the House version that would cut the maximum number of employees the DNFSB can have to 120 full-time employees beginning Oct. 1, 2015. Currently, the Board has an employee limit of 150 employees, and is set to have a total of 120 employees by the end of this fiscal year.
