Washington, DC 20585 January 2004 National Nuclear Security Administration

U.S. Nonproliferation Efforts Continue asNuclear Material is Removed From Bulgaria

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NNSA Dismantles Last Nuclear Artillery Shell NNSA has dismantled the lastnuclear artillery shell in the U.S.nuclear stockpile, eliminating thevestige of a type of battlefieldnuclear weapons that comprised akey element of America’s Cold Wararsenal. A ceremony in Amarillo, Texas,marked the achievement byemployees at NNSA’s Pantex Plantwho dismantled the last W-79warhead.

“This administration is committed toreducing the threat of nuclear weaponsworldwide,” said Energy SecretarySpencer Abraham. “We havecompleted dismantlement of anotherclass of nuclear weapons - weaponsthat were a very important deterrentduring the Cold War.”“Eliminating the last nuclear artillerywarhead marks the end of an era inU.S. defense policy that includedground-launched battlefield nuclear

weapons,” said NNSAAdministrator Linton Brooks.“This completes an historic stepbegun by the United States in1991. I congratulate ouremployees at Pantex who wereinvolved in this piece of history.” The United States introducedartillery-fired atomic weapons inits defense arsenal in1957. Sixtypes were deployed over the

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Seventeen kilograms of Russian-origin highly enriched uranium(HEU) have been returned fromBulgaria to the Russian Federation,U.S. Secretary of Energy SpencerAbraham announced. It was one ofa string of successful efforts by theDOE-funded Russian ResearchReactor Fuel Return Initiative. Thefresh HEU was airlifted from GornaOryahovista airport in Bulgaria toDmitrovgrad, Russia, where it willbe down-blended. “The Bush Administration hastaken the lead on nonproliferationefforts to help make our worldsafer,” Secretary Abraham said.“With U.S. leadership and throughcooperation and determination withother nations, a more secure world

is eventually attainable. Proliferation ofnuclear material is a worldwide problemand requires a worldwide solution. We

must not allow terrorists andothers with bad intentions to

HEU RETURNED FROM BULGARIA: HEU fuel canisters are loaded onto a Russianaircraft.

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NNSA Dismantles LastNuclear Artillery Shell

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years. The W-79 was designed tobe fired from an 8-inch artillerypiece. These weapons strengtheneddeterrence by improving thecapability of NATO battlefieldcommanders to stop a Warsaw Pactarmored thrust into Western Europe. In 1991, President George H.W.Bush announced his decision toretire artillery-fired atomic weaponsin the U.S. stockpile. The Presidentmade his decision unilaterally, apartfrom any arms control agreementwith the former Soviet Union. Theweapons, including all W-79s, werereturned to NNSA fordismantlement at the Pantex Plant. The Pantex Plant plays a criticalrole in the surveillance of the U.S.nuclear deterrent. Each yearapproximately 100 weapons fromthe active stockpile are sent toPantex where they undergo a

Nuclear Nonproliferation

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comprehensive diagnostic exam.While most of the weapons arereassembled and returned to themilitary services, the remainingweapons are subject to destructiveevaluation, providing additionalinsights into the health of the

stockpile. Pantex also refurbishesnuclear weapons in the currentstockpile as part of the Stockpile LifeExtension Program. Thedismantlement of the W79 and otherweapons took place over the yearsas scheduling permitted.

W-79 DISMANTLED: Pantex Site Office Manager Dan Glenn (left) examines a mock-up ofa W-79 warhead with Brig. Gen. Ronald Haeckel, NA-10 (center), and BWXT PantexPresident and General Manager Mike Malloy.

acquire deadly material and theDepartment of Energy will continuedoing its part.” The highly enriched nuclear fuelassemblies were originally supplied toBulgaria by the former Soviet Unionfor the Russian-designed twomegawatt research reactor, located inSofia. The reactor was shut down in1989 and is going to be reconstructed.The nuclear fuel was loaded into fourfresh fuel transportation canistersprovided by the Russian Federation.International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) safeguards inspectors andDOE technical experts monitored theprocess of loading the fuel in the

canisters. An AN-12 Russian cargoplane was used to complete the airshipment of the HEU fuel fromBulgaria. The shipment of the researchreactor fuel from Bulgaria to Russiawas part of a U.S.-led cooperativeinternational effort to reduce, and ifpossible eliminate, the use andstorage of high enriched uranium incivilian nuclear activities. “The Bulgarians have shownleadership as they have cooperatedwith the U.S., Russia, and the IAEAin seeking ways to reduce the threatof nuclear proliferation, including thereturn of HEU from Bulgaria toRussia,” NNSA Administrator LintonBrooks said. “Along with thedecision to return fresh HEU to

Russia, the Bulgarian governmentalso has made a decision toreconstruct the existing researchreactor in Sofia to low enricheduranium fuel. These are importantsteps in our overall nonproliferationefforts worldwide.” The shipment of HEU fromBulgaria is the second shipmentconducted under a tripartite initiative(the United States, the RussianFederation, and the IAEA) to returnRussian-supplied HEU researchreactor fuel for long-termmanagement and disposition. Thefirst shipment of fresh Russian-originHEU fuel from Romania to theRussian Federation was carried outon September 21, 2003.

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PORTABLE IMAGE RECOGNITION: The Kansas City Police Department’s robotcarries the PIRATE device during a demonstration at the Kansas City Plant. A scenario wascreated for the demonstration in which an individual was handcuffed to the steering wheel ofa car and a suspicious package with a substance seeping out of it was present under thevehicle.

Monitor, analyze and communicatereal-time threat situations. That’s what the BetterEnvironment to Stop Terror (BEST)Portable Image Recognition &Analysis Transducer Equipment(PIRATE) accomplishes. This unique system of hazardanalysis and communication wasdeveloped by associates at theNNSA’s Kansas City Plant. The PIRATE is a compact, securewireless communications platform andhazard analysis system. The systemprovides a standard personal-computer interface that allows first-responders to conduct threatinvestigations using global positioningsensors and image recognitionsoftware in a self-contained, remote-powered unit. The system can be deployed in astand-alone configuration wherehazards can be diagnosed on the spot,or placed in remote locations requiringthe collected data to be transmitted toregional or national command centersfor analysis. PIRATE collects data through animage recording and analysis methodand transmits directly to the controlunit. The control unit collects andanalyzes the data and communicatesthe information - via an encrypted,wireless network - to the openarchitecture transmission andsupervision unit for local analysis.

Kansas City Plant’s PIRATE Ready to Set Sail

NNSA News is published six times per year by the Office of Congressional, Intergovernmental and Public Affairs,C. Anson Franklin, Director.Editors: Al Stotts and Bryan WilkesLayout: Barbara CourtneyContributors include: Jim Danneskiold, Los Alamos Lab; Wess Hudelson, Kansas City Plant; Bernie Pleau,NNSA Service Center; Jud Simmons, Pantex Plant; and Bill Wilburn, Y-12.

Local site personnel may thendetermine an appropriate course ofaction or may transmit the collecteddata via cellular or satellite telephoneto a networked location, anywhere inthe world, for further analysis. This enhanced system is moreaccurate, user friendly, and deliversreal-time data to first responders,military, scientists/laboratories, lawenforcement and governmentagencies. The demand for smaller and user-friendly technologies for the nation’sfirst responders became top priorityfollowing the events of September 11,2001.

PIRATE meets the demandthrough the flexibility of the systemarchitecture which enablescustomization and miniaturization andreduces the at-risk factors for firstresponders. As a national security asset, theKansas City Plant is committed tousing cutting edge technologies andscientific expertise to make Americasafer. PIRATE is the beginning of thefacility’s quest to leverage its existingresources into technological tools thathelp protect our homeland. First responders, the privatesector and the federal laboratorieswill be important partners in thisendeavor.

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Y-12 Develops Mobile Medical Shelter System A significant new technology for thefuture treatment of wounded soldiershas been unveiled at the Y-12 NationalSecurity Complex. The Future Medical ShelterSystem (FMSS) is a highlymobile two-table operatingroom that can be set upvirtually anywhere and performtrauma surgery in a matter ofminutes. Duane Bias is theproject manager and LeeBzorgi is the lead engineer. “The FMSS can literally gofrom the back of a truck to‘ready to receive patients’ inabout 30 minutes,” Bias said. “Two key features makerapid set up possible. First, thesurgical suite unfolds in a singleuniform movement using aunique system that resulted intwo patents for Bzorgi, amechanical engineer. Thisallows the unit to transformfrom an ISO (International StandardsOrganization) container that is 8 feethigh by 8 feet wide by 20 feet long intoa surgical suite that is approximately 20feet by 20 feet in two minutes. “Second, the unit carries all surgicalequipment, tables, lights and suppliesonboard in movable cabinets that maybe positioned as required,” Bias said. Another key feature is mobility.“FMSS can be moved easily by truck,rail, ship, cargo aircraft or helicopter.Additional features include someprotection against small arms fire andprotection against nuclear, biological orchemical contamination. It also can beattached to other existing shelter unitsin the Army’s inventory to providefacilities that may be sized to meet anymission requirements,” Bzorgi said.

Congressman Zach Wamp, whorepresents Tennessee’s third district,said, “This technology will saveAmerican lives. If we ask our

soldiers to go and fight, and they getwounded, we don’t want them towait for treatment. The FMSS willhelp them get life-saving treatmentas soon as possible.” CongressmanWamp has been a long-timechampion of this innovativebattlefield technology. While currently designed as asurgical suite, FMSS has potentialfor other uses. “The reality is thatwe could turn the surgical suite intoanything from a command andcontrol center to a logistics oroperations center with fewmodifications,” Bias said. “So,utility to all facets of the services, orto Guard and Reserve units issignificant, and the potential use forhomeland defense response

activities is huge,” Bias said. FMSS is a project for the U.S.Army Medical Research andMateriel Command at Fort Detrick,Md. It is a $10 million project with

approximately $7 million for Y-12’sportion of the project.” The prototype FMSS wasdesigned and built through Y-12’sNational Security Programs. Thisprogram performs work forgovernment agencies other than theDepartment of Energy. BWXT Y-12 is the designer andfabricator of the FMSS. MobileMedical International Corporation ofSaint Johnsbury, Vt.; Duval Designsof Rockland, Maine; InterstateMechanical of Knoxville, Tenn.; andthe U.S. Army’s Soldier Biologicaland Chemical Command, of NatickMass., were contracted to supportthe project.

MOBILE MEDICAL SHELTER: A Y-12 electrician works on the Future Medical Shelter System.

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NNSA Biologist Works With Law Enforcement,Other Agencies On Anti-Terrorism Task Force

ANTI-TERRORISM NETWORKING: John-Olav Johnsen (center) of the NNSAService Center talks to Assistant United States Attorney Sasha Siemel (left) and City ofAlbuquerque Emergency Manager Jim Hunter.

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Ultimately, domestic security is alocal issue that needs nationalresources and plenty of local, stateand federal coordination. That’s theworking hypothesis behind theefforts of John-Olav Johnsen of theNNSA Service Center inAlbuquerque. John-Olav is servingas the science coordinator andtechnical advisor to the U.S.Attorney for the District of NewMexico’s Anti-terrorism AdvisoryCouncil Science Panel and as avolunteer NNSA science advisorand liaison to the AlbuquerqueOffice of the Mayor. A medical-forensic entomologist,John-Olav is the Service Center’sSenior Technical Advisor forBiological Science and its HomelandSecurity Coordinator and Liaison.He recently received acommendation from New MexicoU.S. Attorney David Iglesias for hisleadership in support of lawenforcement in the community. “Through the U.S. Attorney’s

advisory panel, we’re trying to getsome synergy between the localscientific community that can helpdevelop new technologies and lawenforcement practitioners who neednew technologies,” John-Olav said.

“We’re listening to their ideas andissues and trying to translate that intotechnical solutions.” In addition to John-Olav, the

FEDERAL AGENTGRADUATION: Dr. EveretBeckner, Deputy Administrator forDefense Programs, administers an oathto twenty-three graduates of the Officeof Secure Transportation (OST) AgentCandidate Training program. Armedfederal agents accompany allshipments of NNSA nuclear materials.They drive the OST tractor-trailers andescort vehicles and operate thecommunications and other convoyequipment. Federal agents areauthorized by the Atomic Energy Act tomake arrests and carry firearms in theperformance of their duties.

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NNSA Biologist

InfrastructureUpdate:Roof ManagementContract in Place A five-year, $50 million contractto provide management of roof repairand replacement at sites in thenation’s nuclear weapons complexhas been issued by the U.S.Department of Energy’s NationalNuclear Security Administration(DOE/NNSA) to Detroit-basedBuilding Technology Associates.

The contract, which was issuedthrough Honeywell FederalManufacturing & Technologies, aprime contractor to NNSA, willenable NNSA to operate under asingle management contract formultiple facilities to enhance andextend preservation of its assets byeliminating or reducing roofingdefects and thus extending the usefullife of facility roofs. The Roof Asset ManagementProgram was developed by a teamof NNSA contractor representativesfrom Honeywell FM&T, located inKansas City, Mo.; BWXT Pantex,located in Amarillo, Texas; and

BWXT Y-12, located in OakRidge, Tenn. The program alsoincludes partnerships with BechtelNevada, which operates facilitiesat the Nevada Test Site in LasVegas, Nev., and with theUniversity of California, whichoperates facilities at the LosAlamos National Laboratory inLos Alamos, N.M. andLawrence Livermore NationalLaboratory in Livermore, Calif. The program uses commercialbest management practices andstandard industry techniques torepair, replace and maintain roofinfrastructure assets.

advisory panel is made up of about50 scientists from Sandia NationalLaboratories, Los Alamos NationalLaboratory, the NNSA AccidentResponse Group, the Air ForcePhillips Lab, universities and theprivate sector. So far they have heldmeetings in Albuquerque and insouthern New Mexico to promotethe science-law enforcementdialogue. Some promising match-upshave already developed in areas suchas identification technologies anddetection technologies for chemicalagents and substances. John-Olav’s career in science hasbeen multi-faceted. Prior to joiningthe Department of Energy in 1990 asa physical scientist, he worked as asenior entomologist for the U.S.Army Environmental Hygiene Agencyin Atlanta, Ga., and prior to that forthe New Mexico Department ofAgriculture in the Forestry Division. As a federal scientist employed asa civilian with the Army, he conducted

forensic entomological investigationsfor the Army Criminal InvestigativeDivision, provided forensicassistance to state and municipal lawenforcement agencies and conducteddisease vector biology work. In the New Mexico ForestryDivision he directed forest insect anddisease surveys, evaluated impactsof forest insect outbreaks, andworked on large-scale aerial sprayprojects. The forensic skills, it turns out,are very useful in the post 9/11security planning environment. In hisrole as advisor to the Mayor’soffice, for example, John-Olav hasbecome familiar with the City ofAlbuquerque’s Animal Sentinelprogram that tracks animal diseases. “In the event of a terroristbiological attack,” he said, “the earlysymptoms of some possible diseaseagents of concern would typicallyalso show up in animals. The City’sAnimal Sentinel program is a keygroup. The federal side of thecommunity was not aware of thisresource, so I was able to bring it to

the attention of the Anti-terrorismAdvisory Council and the NewMexico Homeland SecurityDepartment and they’re workingtogether now.” A licensed pilot and aircraftowner, John-Olav’s familiarity withaviation and with aerial spraytechnology has been of particularvalue in addressing concerns ofpossible terrorist use of aircraft and“crop dusting” equipment todisperse biological agents. Although John-Olav’s work isfocused on Albuquerque and NewMexico, he says the knowledge,experience and networking createdthrough municipal, state, tribal andfederal cooperation rolls up to theDepartment of Justice and all anti-terrorism advisory councilscoordinated by U.S. Attorneysthroughout the nation.“I’m proud that NNSA resourcescan be shared with the communityand with other government agenciesas we all work together to protectthe nation,” he said.

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NNSA is on the frontline of U.S.efforts to prevent terrorists fromacquiring the materials to make adirty bomb through its Offsite SourceRecovery Program. The radioactive neutron sourcesrecovered from a small college inNew York City recently arrived at anNNSA secure storage and stagingarea with help from Los AlamosNational Laboratory. Over the nextyear, about 25 more shipments ofapproximately 200 sources fromcolleges, universities and researchinstitutions nationwide, all containingsmall amounts of weapons-gradeplutonium, will pass through the newstorage facility on their way to LosAlamos and ultimately, the WasteIsolation Pilot Plant at Carlsbad,N.M. The goal of the Los Alamos-based recovery program is to recoverand safely dispose of more than18,000 excess radioactive sourcescontaining plutonium-239, americium-241 or plutonium-238 by 2010.Sources are used to calibrateinstruments, run quality checks onexperiments, analyze geologicalconditions in oil and gas boreholesand for multiple other purposes. “These sources from ManhattanCollege have been a high prioritysince 9/11, and we’ve workedclosely with NNSA, with officials atthe college and with members of theNew York State congressionaldelegation to make this happen,” saidLee Leonard, who heads the OSRP. Los Alamos is the only site in theDOE complex with a certified

Los Alamos Program RecoversOrphaned Radioactive Sources

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program for shipping sealed sourcesto WIPP. Since August 2003, OSRProgram field teams have visitedinstitutions throughout the UnitedStates to package the plutonium-239sources, which were among sourcesissued by the former Atomic EnergyCommission under loan/leaseagreements dating back to the1950s. The OSRP found a new homerecently within NNSA’s Nuclear andRadiological Threat Reduction TaskForce (NA-20.2), directed by EdMcGinnis (see sidebar story). Sinceit was set up in 1999, under DOE’sOffice of EnvironmentalManagement, OSRP has recoveredmore than 7,700 radioactivesources. During the 1990s, LosAlamos had recovered and disposedof about 1,100 additional sources.The OSRP hopes to recover a totalof 2,000 more sources during the2004 fiscal year, and 18,000 bydecade’s end. “One bright spot is that theaverage size and thus the amount ofradioactive material contained ineach source we recover is gettingsmaller, which means we probablyalready have recovered most of thesources that could present thehighest risk,” Leonard said. “Thegoal of the OSRP is not to recoverevery source, just all sources that areexcess, unwanted or improperlysecured, and thus achieve significantrisk reduction.”

NuclearRadiologicalThreatReductionTask Force The Nuclear Radiological ThreatReduction Task Force, under whichthe Offsite Source RecoveryProgram now operates, was formedlast year to control radiologicalmaterials by identifying and securinghigh risk materials both in the U.S.and overseas. It is also chargedwith identifying vulnerable researchreactors worldwide that needadditional assistance in securingfresh and spent nuclear fuel. NNSA Administrator LintonBrooks said the effort “showsSecretary Abraham’s commitment tomeeting the proposed threat bynuclear and radiological terrorism ona global basis.” Ed McGinnis, whoheads the task force, says the neweffort consolidates DOE’s programsin the U.S. and abroad and willaddress the full spectrum of threatreduction. He says the task forcewill work closely with theInternational Atomic Energy Agencyand the State Department.

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BWXT Y-12 And Tennessee State UniversityStrengthen Mentoring-Protégé Agreement

Y-12 LOANED EXECUTIVE: BWXT Y-12project manager Benjamin Thomas.

The NNSA’s Kansas City Plant,Lawrence Livermore NationalLaboratory , Sandia NationalLaboratories , BWXT Pantex and theNA-63 Office of Procurement andAssistance Management placedthemselves on the leading edge ofcommunications and system/processintegration with the development ofthe award-winning NNSA NA-63portal.

These organizations wererecognized with the prestigiousNNSA Administrator’s Gold Medalof Excellence for DistinguishedService at the annual NNSAProcurement and Property Seminar inSanta Fe, N.M. The award was presented to theKansas City Plant’s project leaderSusie Ross Ackley, technical leadLynette Kidd, Marcus Gatewood,and other design team members from

LLNL, SNL, and BWXT Pantex.LANL, NTS, Y-12 and theAlbuquerque Service Center werealso recognized for contributing fundsto support the project. The OPAM portal effectively linksthe procurement and propertyorganizations throughout the NNSANuclear Weapons Complex. Theportal grants access to approximately200 users who commonly share andmaintain data.

NNSA Portal Receives Administrator’s Gold Medal

As part of a strong mentor-protégé agreement, BWXT Y-12 isproviding a loaned executive toTennessee State University to lead thecooperative efforts between thecompany and the university. BWXT Y-12 has signed anagreement with TSU President JamesHefner allowing Benjamin Thomas, aproject manager with BWXT Y-12Technical Computing, to provide atechnology/management bridgebetween the two institutions. Thomasmay serve in the loaned executivecapacity for up to five years. Dennis Ruddy, BWXT Y-12’spresident and general manager, saidthat the loaned executive initiative“will significantly contribute to Y-12’sachieving its objectives of promotingtechnological growth and businessdevelopment opportunities withinTSU. It will further serve as a meansfor ensuring that a higher percentageof minority students are aptlyprepared with the engineering and

science skills that are so criticallyneeded in support of Y-12 nationalsecurity missions.” Under the agreement, Thomaswill be co-located between Nashvilleand Oak Ridge working with TSUon the program. BWXT Y-12 andTSU established their mentor-protégé agreement in December2001. TSU, located in Nashville, is aparticipant in the Historically BlackCollege and Universities program. The TSU-BWXT Y-12 mentor-protégé agreement also supportsTSU’s participation in the TennesseeLouis Stokes Alliance for MinorityParticipation, a program that has agoal of doubling the number ofminority students in science,technology, engineering andmathematics during the next fiveyears. Part of Thomas’ role will be tocoordinate TSU’s participation in theLouis Stokes program with the otherparticipating institutions—the

University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt,Middle Tennessee State University,LeMoyne Owens College and theUniversity of Memphis. The BWXT Y-12/ TSU mentor-protégé agreement is the first of itskind across the DOE Complex.