The Case Against Increasing Plutonium Pit Production Capacity
Nickolas Roth | Feb 09, 2012 |
1 
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Though we won’t know for sure until the fiscal year 2013 budget is released on February 13, reports suggest that the Obama administration has decided to delay construction of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s multi-billion dollar facility, the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF). I recently wrote a piece on this topic titled, "The Case Against Increasing Plutonium Pit Production Capacity."
The key findings are:
1. While the CMRR-NF will be used for a range of activities, it can also be used to support an increase plutonium pit production capacity.
2. The Obama administration Nuclear Posture Review endorsed the Bush administration’s concept of a responsive infrastructure, restating that new nuclear warhead production facilities will serve as a “hedge against technical or geopolitical surprise.”
3. By the time of its scheduled completion date of 2024, most nuclear weapons in the arsenal will have already been refurbished or in the middle of a refurbishment.
4. Increased capacity would inhibit opportunities for increasing security by altering perceptions about the U.S. commitment to reductions or disarmament.
5. Given the potential risks involved, the current budget environment presents an opportunity for Congress to reevaluate whether it is necessary to move ahead with this facility.
You can read the entire piece here.
Nuclear Weapons Complex, budget, Life Extension Program, NNSA, Nukes on a Blog (all tags)
Are Ambitious Life Extension Programs on Hold?
Nickolas Roth | Jan 26, 2012 | 0 
A B61 bomb in Europe
I recently wrote an analysis on the future of the proposed life extension program for the B61 gravity bomb.
It argues, "Congress provided the full $233 million NNSA requested for the B61 life extension program in FY 2012. However, when you read the fine print, it is less clear how Congress will respond to future funding requests. According to the Conference Report for H.R. 2055, the legislation which funds the government for FY 2012, including NNSA, Congress withheld $134 million until “NNSA submits to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations the outcome of the Phase 6.2/2A design definition and cost study.
The results of this study, as well as other stringent reporting requirements mandated by Congress, are likely to present insurmountable hurdles to NNSA’s plan to move forward with the most ambitious option for the B61 LEP. The current budget environment is no doubt also a key driver of the need to reevalutate the objectives of the program, but a rethinking of the goals of the planned refurbishment would be necessary even in better economic times."
You can read the entire piece here.
Nukes on a Blog, budget, NNSA, tactical nuclear weapons (all tags)
Fewer Weapons, More Explosives
Nickolas Roth | Aug 31, 2011 | 0 Yesterday, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) began construction of a new 45,000 square foot $142 million high explosives facility at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. The public account (which cites the wrong cost estimate) of the groundbreaking primarily focused on how the new facility, called the High Explosives Pressing Facility (HEPF), will replace old buildings and increase efficiency. In reality, the HEPF is part of a plan to significantly increase the United States’ capacity to produce high explosives for nuclear weapons.
Nukes on a Blog, NNSA, Nuclear Weapons Complex, modernization (all tags)
