nuclear-news

Management shift begins at US nuclear weapons lab – Los Alamos

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. government on Monday cleared the way for a new management team to begin taking over one of the nation’s top nuclear weapons laboratories as it looks to rebuild its reputation.

The National Nuclear Security Administration issued an official notice to proceed to Triad National Security LLC , marking the beginning of a transition at Los Alamos National Laboratory that will take about four months.

Made up of Ohio-based Battelle Memorial Institute, Texas A&M University and the University of California, the management team was announced as the winning bidder in June of a coveted $2.5 billion-a-year contract to manage the northern New Mexico lab.

The University of California has played a key management role at the lab since it was created as part of a top-secret effort during World War II to build the atomic bomb. The federal government opted to put the contract up for bid following missed goals and a string of safety lapses involving the handling of plutonium and radioactive waste.

The new contract also comes as the U.S. has tasked the lab with building at least 30 plutonium cores a year. The cores are used to trigger nuclear weapons, and the work is complex.

The University of California on Monday touted the scientific work done at the lab over the decades — from its role in the Human Genome Project to experiments in nuclear medicine and work on renewable energy and climate change.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/ap-management-shift-begins-at-us-nuclear-weapons-lab-2018-7

July 10, 2018 - Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized