Who gets to keep what...

Miscellaneous opinions...

Lookhead Martin will lose Sandia but will get Los Alamos. Boeing and UTexas will get
Sandia. The plan will be to turn Los Alamos into a Sandia like laboratory and turn
Sandia into a science like laboratory. Bechtel keeps Livermore from now on. All this has essentially been decided. The rational is this: Lookhead Martin messed up with the congressional scandal, however Sandia runs well.

LANL is run very badly so we should put Lookhead Martin in charge. Boeing has wanted in for some time so lets give them a chance. Bechtel has run LLNL perfectly so they get to keep it for as long as it wants.

July 27, 2016 at 7:29 PM

 

 Anonymous said...

Lockheed did an extremely poor job running its one small nuclear facility at Sandia, the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR), which been plagued with problems, for many years. I'm very skeptical that an aircraft company will be capable of running or restarting LANL's multi- (e.g. PF-4, Area G, RANT, WCRRF, WETF, CMR, RULOB upgrades, etc.) major nuclear facilities, including the accelerators (e.g. LANSCE, DAHRT).

July 28, 2016 at 4:38 AM

 

 Anonymous said...

"I'm very skeptical that an aircraft company will be capable of running or restarting LANL's multi- (e.g. PF-4, Area G, RANT, WCRRF, WETF, CMR, RULOB upgrades, etc.) major nuclear facilities, including the accelerators (e.g. LANSCE, DAHRT). "

It is not about running or not running something it is about keeping Lockheed paid.
In 10 years time when it is another failure they will go back to managing Sandia.

July 28, 2016 at 6:55 AM

 

 Anonymous said...

LANL is run very badly so we should put Lookhead Martin in charge.

NM schools bid

Lockheed Martin Corp, which has held the contract since the 1993 through its wholly owned subsidiary Sandia Corporation, announced in an emailed statement and press release Monday that the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (frequently called New Mexico Tech) and New Mexico State University had both joined a bid to manage the lab, along with Purdue University.


http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2016/07/25/two-more-nm-schools-join-a-bid-for-sandia-labs.html

Does this indicate that Lockheed will be next operator at Test Site?

Does this indicate that Lockheed will be next operator at Test Site?

http://www.goinhouse.com/jobs/451622-lockheed-martin-at-lockheed-martin

Scientific fraud

Great article on scientific fraud. Relevant the the deuterium EOS fiasco at Livermore 

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/when-scientists-lie-ian-freckleton-on-scholarly-misconduct-fraud/7660464
Note that all the fraudulent work mentioned the article was ultimately retracted. No such thing for the Livermore scientists involved in the deuterium work. Why didn't the scientific community ever demand a retraction? Also, why does NNSA continue to fund the very same people to do EOS work on NIF?

Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 483–486 (1997)
Absolute Equation of State Measurements on Shocked Liquid Deuterium up to 200 GPa (2 Mbar)

Class action lawsuit planned

 Class action lawsuit planned over Hanford pensions, benefits

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/hanford/article90443167.html

Employee thefts at LANL

Business as usual with continuing employee thefts at LANL 


The new contractor has a long term mess to clean up when they take over next year.


http://www.lamonitor.com/content/pipe-fitter-accused-taking-copper-lab

POGO investigation

POGO investigation uncovers intentional mislead of WaPo by NNSA and Lab Director

A little time invested in looking at the dates should indicate which Lab Director was part of the scheme to fool the press. Since the email was sent from NNSA to OMB, it would appear that the highest levels of the administration were involved in the deception.

http://www.pogo.org/straus/issues/nuclear-security/2016/nuclear-agency-rope-a-dopes.html

Pits will be made at LANL

No matter how many the US needs, pits will be made at LANL. Since McMillan called a safety stand down at TA-55 several years ago, not much has been heard on this national security topic. It would seem that whatever company wins the contract next year will have a clear job to do in pit manufacture to keep the US up to date with strategic nuclear deterrence. 

http://www.abqjournal.com/808298/debate-is-on-over-making-more-nuke-triggers-at-los-alamos-lab.html

Newsline for retirees

I am a retiree from llnl. I have a room to rent to scholar of llnl or sandia lab. I call the llnl to ask about putting my add on the newsline classified section , but the lab said they no longer take add from retirees. Is this correct? If it is then how do I look for llnl or sandia scholars needing rooms ? Any idea woukd be appreciated.

Bechtel omission of LLNL

 Bechtel doesn't even list LLNL on its Facility & Operations website, it does however list UPF, Y-12, LANL, Pantex, and Kwajalein.

http://www.bechtel.com/expertise/defense-nuclear-security/operations-management-start-up/

Sandia bid

So were there really only two teams that went the distance on the Sandia bid? One led by Lockheed Martin and one led by Boeing, the two largest US defense contractors.

The government isn't prohibited from disclosing how many bids were received, so this must be some other politics at work.

http://www.abqjournal.com/807629/government-keeps-tight-lid-on-bidders-for-sandia-contract.html

July 14, 2016 at 10:03

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 Anonymous said...

One led by Lockheed Martin and one led by Boeing, the two largest US defense contractors.


The plan is for Boeing to get Sandia and Lokheed to get LANL. Bechtel keeps LLNL.

July 17, 2016 at 10:22 PM

 Anonymous said...

You must mean "UC keeps LLNL" as there is almost no Bechtel presence at LLNL compared to UC's involvement in the Lab. The LLNL Director is UC, there are very close interactions between LLNL and LBNL, as well as UC Berkeley, UC Davis and UC Merced.

July 18, 2016 at 9:50 AM

 Anonymous said...

July 18, 2016 at 9:50 AM

I take it that you do not work at LLNL?

July 18, 2016 at 10:06 AM

 Anonymous said...

July 18, 2016 at 10:06 AM

I've been in Operations & Business at LLNL for 20 years, and see no "really" Bechtel presence at LLNL. Yes, there's some influence on the board, but name one thing that Bechtel has done at LLNL on a regular basis. This doesn't include those phony and time wasting management reviews that are inflicted on us.

July 18, 2016 at 10:57 AM

Notice from DOE Inspector General

Subject: Report Alert Notice from DOE Inspector General

The Office of Inspector General has issued a report titled “Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Laser Inertial Fusion Energy Endeavor," (OAI-M-16-13).

This report is now available for viewing and can be accessed by clicking the link below:

http://energy.gov/node/1906311            

       

If you are unable to access this report, please call (202) 586-4128 for assistance.

GAO Report on DOE Whistleblower Retaliation

 http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/678332.pdf

Press Conference on Whistleblower Retaliation

"Wyden, Markey, McCaskill to Hold Press Conference on Whistleblower Retaliation
by Contractors at the Energy Department" (12pm ET Thursday July 14, 2016) 

https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/advisory-wyden-markey-mccaskill-to-hold-press-conference-on-whistleblower-retaliation-by-contractors-at-the-energy-department

Employee Union Calls For A Profit-Free LANL

 http://www.ladailypost.com/content/employee-union-calls-profit-free-lanl
Employee Union Calls For A Profit-Free LANL

We want the labs to be operated by a non-profit entity,” UPTE Executive Vice President Jeff Colvin said in an interview before a public meeting Wednesday evening at Fuller Lodge. “The privatization of the lab has had a big negative effect on laboratory science and national security and that alone has changed the whole culture of the lab, the way it operates and the way science is done here.” Colvin said. “The current management by limited liability corporations (Los Alamos National Security and Lawrence Livermore National Security, for example) hasnot solved the problems they were meant to resolve and have instead created a host of new problems,” Colvin said.
Among the new problems he mentioned the introduction of steep increase in management feesalong with bloated management, employee lay-offs, higher overhead, collapsed morale, major failures (National Ignition Facility deadline in California) and enterprise-wide disruption (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico).
The root of the problem in the profit-making structure, according to Colvin has been the degradation of the science mission at the laboratories caused by “a focus on meeting project milestones so the bosses get their management bonuses.”

why did you retire?

How many of you retired because you were just fed up with llnl?

Ignition question

Not including the NIF in Livermore, CA, what other ignition facility or scalable module to ignition proposals is DOE reviewing (if any), and what are their construction costs?