The Senate has left town until next week, leaving the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) without a vote. Senators were scheduled to resume consideration fo the bill on Tuesday.
The Senate’s version of the fiscal 2024 defense authorization bill includes $24.1 billion for nuclear defense programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration, almost exactly in line with the full House’s version of the bill.
The Senate’s bill provides $32.4 billion for the Department of Energy nuclear programs, slightly less than the $32.5 billion requested for fiscal 2024. Of that, just over $24 billion would go to the National Nuclear Security Administration.
John Sarrao, deputy director for science, technology & engineering at Los Alamos National Laboratory, has been named director of Stanford University’s Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), President Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced this week.
Sarrao will succeed Chi-Chang Kao, who last fall announced his intention to step down after 10 years in the position. Sarrao will formally assume his position as director on Oct. 2, 2023.
“John’s experience and leadership make him an excellent choice to lead SLAC into its next chapter. The lab is a vital partner in Stanford’s research ecosystem, with unique facilities and expertise enabling us to tackle some of the most critical scientific challenges of our time,” Tessier-Lavigne said. “I want to thank the search committee for their effort and dedication, and I want to extend my deep appreciation to Stanford Vice President for SLAC Stephen Streiffer for playing an instrumental role as interim laboratory director throughout the transition.”
The National Nuclear Security Administration will hold a meeting on domestic production of the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) on Aug. 29.
The American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2012 (AMIPA) requires the Department of Energy to develop a plan for the domestic production of Mo-99, which is used in thousands of medical diagnostic operations annually in the U.S. The goal is to establish production of the medical isotope without the use of highly enriched uranium.
The meeting is open to the public and accessible online here. The agenda tentatively includes an update on the U.S. government Mo-99 program, produce updates, a discussion of the supply status from industry and time for public comment and questions.
The National Nuclear Security Administration has awarded two organizations five-year grants totaling $2.17 million to develop and strengthen apprenticeship training programs aligned with NNSA’s needs for traditional and emerging technician positions throughout its laboratories, plants, and sites.
The awards are granted under the new DOE National Laboratory Jobs ACCESS, which stands for Apprenticeships for Complete and Committed Employment for Specialized Skills Program. ACCESS is an NNSA-sponsored program that supports apprenticeships designed to bring specialized skills vital to the Nuclear Security Enterprise. The program focuses on skills development in the technician and skilled craft trades to meet ongoing and emerging needs at the national laboratories, plants, and sites.
The nuclear fallout from the Manhattan Project’s first test of an atomic bomb, dubbed the Trinity test, in July 1945 reached 46 states and crossed into Mexico and Canada within just days of detonation, a new study has found.
Researchers sought to examine the fallout from nuclear tests in New Mexico and Nevada from 1945 to 1962. More than 101 atmospheric nuclear weapon tests were conducted in the United States, which led to environmental contamination and exposed people to radiation.
The study was led by Sébastien Philippe, a researcher and scientist at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security. It was preemptively released Thursday ahead of submission to a scientific journal for peer review. “It’s a huge finding and, at the same time, it shouldn’t surprise anyone,” said Philippe in comments to The New York Times.
As the “Oppenheimer” film begins its run in theaters nationwide this week, the author of the book the film is based on, Kai Bird, and Nobel laureates have joined with survivors of U.S. nuclear weapons testing to urge Congress to rectify the harm this group has suffered.
In a letter to Congress released today, the group called for Congress to strengthen and extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) — a program that provides financial support to people suffering from cancers and other illnesses related to exposure to radiation from the testing and production of U.S. nuclear weapons but leaves out people who lived downwind of the Trinity test site in New Mexico, along with others.
Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate that would for the first time extend healthcare benefits and compensation to communities impacted by the test of the first atomic bomb in New Mexico, as well as downwind communities in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Guam, and cover remaining areas of Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
