DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Status of the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex – Congressional Research Service Report Summary
Congressional Research Service | 3/31/2021
On March 31, 2021, the Congressional Research Service released an updated overview of the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex, featuring the Department of Energy (“DOE”) sites. The nuclear weapons complex (referred to as the Nuclear Security Enterprise by DOE) consists of namely nine government-owned, contractor-operated sites in seven states and a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) nuclear reactor. These nine
sites include three laboratories, five component fabrication/materials production plants, one assembly and disassembly site, a geologic waste repository, and one testing facility that now conducts research. The overview summarizes operations at each of these sites.
National Labs:
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Sandia National Laboratories
Testing and Research:
Nevada National Security Site
Production:
Kansas City National Security Campus
Savannah River Site
Pantex Plant
Y-12 National Security Complex
TVA’s Watts Barr Reactor
Support:
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)
In a 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) prepared by Department of Defense (DOD), concern was expressed over the aging and funding levels for the U.S. nuclear weapons infrastructure. Funding for National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semiautonomous DOE agency, has increased in both budget request funding and actual funding appropriation levels each fiscal year. Most
recently, NNSA received budgetary increases to achieve the goal of producing 80 nuclear pits per year, which would take place at Los Alamos (30 pits) and the Savannah River Site (50 pits). There is some skepticism over the feasibility of this two-pronged approach.
The report moves through summarizing the background, origins, and organization of the Nuclear Weapons Enterprise beginning with the Manhattan Project. Most significantly, the report provides an updated overview of the nine sites along with the TVA reactor.
- Los Alamos: solely responsible for the nuclear design and engineering of the B61, W76, W78, and W88 warheads. It also manages the life extension and alteration programs affecting the W76 warhead, the B61-12 bomb, and the W88 warhead.48 These programs replace aging components in existing warheads with “newly manufactured and sometimes modernized
components.” Los Alamos has the unique capability within the weapons complex for plutonium processing and fabrication.
- FY2020: operating budget $2.58 billion, with $1.95 billion (76%) allocated to nuclear weapons activities
- FY201 request: $3.43 billion, with $2.91 billion (85%) allocated to weapons activities
- Lawrence Livermore: solely responsible for nuclear design activities for the B83 bomb, W80 warhead, and W87 warhead. It is also responsible for the life extension program for the W80-4 cruise missile warhead and for the development of the first interoperable warhead (IW1).
- FY2020: operating budget $1.89 billion, with $1.59 billion (84%) allocated to nuclear weapons activities
- FY2021 request: $2.02 billion, with $1.79 billion (89%) allocated to nuclear weapons activities
- Sandia: designs, develops, and tests the nonnuclear components that are required to arm, fuse, and fire a weapon to military specifications. Sandia is also responsible for the systems integration of U.S. nuclear weapons, including integration with DOD’s nuclear capable delivery vehicles. In addition, Sandia participates in the warhead life extension
programs, as it is responsible for the nonnuclear components of each weapon
- FY2020: operating budget $3.92 billion, $2.52 billion was provided by NNSA, and $2.06 billion (82%) was allocated to nuclear weapons activities
- FY2021 request: $2.8 billion included $2.4 billion for weapons activities
- Nevada National Security Site: the site is not only the primary location where experiments using radiological and other high-hazard materials can occur but is also the only location where “highly enriched-driven plutonium experiments” can be conducted.
- FY2020: operating budget $510 million, with $357 million (70%) for nuclear weapons activities
- FY2021 request: $744 million, with $588 million (79%) was allocated to nuclear weapons activities
- Kansas City National Security Campus: is responsible for the procurement and manufacturing of nonnuclear mechanical, electronic, and engineered material components for nuclear weapons. While some of these components are produced at Los Alamos National Laboratories, about 85% are produced at Kansas City. According to NNSA, the NSC is also responsible
for evaluating and testing nonnuclear weapon components
- FY2020: $1.01 billion, with $957.6 million (95%) for nuclear weapons activities
- FY2021 request: $1.2 billion, with $1.13 billion (94.6%) allocated to weapons activities
- Savannah River Site: SRS no longer operates its nuclear reactors, and, therefore, no longer produces tritium. It does, however, recycle tritium from dismantled warheads. It also extracts tritium from tritium producing burnable absorber rods irradiated in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Watts Barr commercial power reactors 1 and 2 in
Tennessee. SRS also provides interim storage for much of the excess plutonium in the United States and maintains responsibility for the surplus plutonium disposition program, although this effort is in flux.
- FY2020: $2.41 billion, with $753 million (31%) weapons related
- FY2021 request: $2.62 billion, with $867 million (33%) for weapons activities
- Pantex Plant: Since 1975, it has been the only facility in the United States where nuclear weapons are assembled and disassembled. Pantex is also responsible for the development, testing, and fabrication of high-explosive components.
- FY2020: $885 million, with $879 million (99.3%) directed to weapons activities
- FY2021 request: $1.0 billion, with $992 million (99.1%) allocated to the weapons activity
- Y-12 National Security Complex: The Y-12 site continues to manufacture nuclear weapons components from uranium and lithium. It manufactures all U.S. nuclear weapons secondaries, canned subassemblies (CSAs), and radiation cases, and it is the only source for enriched uranium components for nuclear weapons. It also contributes to life extension programs
by producing refurbished, replaced, and upgraded weapon components. In addition, Y-12 serves as the main storage facility for highly enriched uranium; conducts dismantlement, storage, and disposition of highly enriched uranium; and supplies highly enriched uranium used in naval reactors.
- FY2020: $1.89 billion, with $1.84 billion related to weapons activities
- FY2021 request: $2.24 billion, with $750 million allocated to weapons activities
- TVA Watts Barr Reactor: NNSA has been producing tritium by irradiating Tritium-Producing Burnable Absorber Rods (TPBARs) in the Watts Bar Unit 1 (WBN1) nuclear power reactor owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).101 In addition to producing tritium, this reactor burns domestically produced low-enriched uranium and produces electricity for
domestic use.
- Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: WIPP missions include: (1) disposal of TRU waste generated by ongoing nuclear weapons production activities; (2) disposal of TRU waste generated during “cleanup” operations by DOE’s Environmental Management program, and (3) disposition of plutonium declared “surplus” from stockpile needs.
- FY2020: $400 million
- FY2021 request: $388 million, $413 million enacted
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
9,700 tons of nickel at Paducah DOE site could bring millions into the community
WPSD Local | 5/19/2021
A metal stockpile at the Paducah Department of Energy site could be a potential gold mine for the community. The Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization, or PACRO, met in person on Wednesday, for the first time in a year, to discuss how nickel ingots at the site could bring millions to the area. There is currently 9,700 tons of nickel sitting out at the site.
The material at the former gaseous diffusion plant is owned by the U.S. government. McCracken County commissioner and new PACRO Chairman Eddie Jones wants to put a spotlight on how that could be used as an asset to the area.
Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local
governments.
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