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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCriticism of the lab\u2019s safety record has intensified as the federal government pushes to restart production of plutonium cores for the nation\u2019s nuclear weapons arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following serious concerns about management more than a decade ago, the University of California formed a consortium with Bechtel and other private companies to become Los Alamos National Security LLC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Problems persisted, however, and federal officials announced in 2015 that the contract wouldn\u2019t be renewed due to missed performance goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Nuclear Security Administration followed up in 2017 with a request for proposals that called for the would-be contractor to foster a \u201csecurity conscious culture,\u201d something watchdog groups have said has been missing at the lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty didn\u2019t address the lab\u2019s previous problems in a statement issued Friday. Instead, she mentioned its history of scientific innovations related to national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe lab will continue to be a critical resource to ensure the future safety and security of the United States as we begin work on new endeavors, like the effort to recapitalize our plutonium pit mission,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gordon-Hagerty was referring to a recent recommendation by her agency that Los Alamos each year produce at least 30 plutonium cores \u2014 the triggers for nuclear warheads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Production of the cores has been based at Los Alamos since the 1990s, although none have been turned out since 2011 because of safety problems and concerns about a lack of accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least 50 cores, also known as pits, will be produced each year at the U.S. Energy Department\u2019s Savanna River Site in South Carolina under the recommendations outlined in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The effort is worth hundreds of jobs and billions of dollars in federal funding that would be needed to either revamp existing buildings or construct new factories to support the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Nuclear Security Administration said Triad was \u201cthe best value to the government when all factors were considered and will provide future stability\u201d for up to 10 years if all contract options are exercised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
University of California and Texas A&M officials said in a joint statement that they were committed to building on seven decades of world-class research and innovation at Los Alamos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked about the lab\u2019s troubled history, the University of California\u2019s Office of the President said it could not provide any more information about the new management team\u2019s plans until the transition begins later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The University of California has played a role in management since the lab\u2019s inception in the 1940s as part of the Manhattan Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greg Mello with the watchdog Los Alamos Study Group questioned Friday whether the universities, Battelle and the other companies will be able to keep clear lines of responsibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overseeing a top nuclear weapons laboratory that has had security and safety problems will be the responsibility of a new management team that includes two universities and a research firm with offices around the world, the U.S. government announced Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":58450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":48,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,11,33,36,48],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2503],"class_list":["post-26178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-home","category-newsletters","category-the-americas"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"G5K5Y7TVQVD2HIMTFHJTKTOFFM","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/the-americas\/2018\/06\/08\/new-25b-contract-awarded-to-manage-nuclear-weapons-lab\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n