National Nuclear Security Administration

The National Nuclear Security Administration was created by congressional action in 1999,{{cite web |url=http://www.gao.gov/htext/d0736.html |title=National Nuclear Security Administration: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Management of the Nation's Nuclear Programs |date=January 2007 |publisher=Report to the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, U.S. Government Accountability Office |access-date=April 19, 2010 |archive-date=June 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615000818/http://www.gao.gov/htext/d0736.html |url-status=dead }} in the wake of the Wen Ho Lee spy scandalJames Risen and Jeff Gerth (March 6, 1999), [https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/06/world/breach-los-alamos-special-report-china-stole-nuclear-secrets-for-bombs-us-aides.html "BREACH AT LOS ALAMOS: A special report.; China Stole Nuclear Secrets For Bombs, U.S. Aides Say" (includes extensive corrections)], The New York TimesPaul Farhi (June 2, 2006), [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060201060.html "U.S., Media Settle With Wen Ho Lee"], The Washington Post and other allegations that lax administration by the Department of Energy had resulted in the loss of U.S. nuclear secrets to China.Eric Schmitt, "Spying Furor Brings Vote in Senate For New Unit", The New York Times, July 22, 1999 Originally proposed to be an independent agency, it was instead chartered as a semiautonomous agency within the Department of Energy to be headed by an administrator reporting to the secretary of energy.Eric Schmitt, "In Shift, Secretary Supports Bill That Overhauls Energy Department", The New York Times, September 28, 1999 The first Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA administrator appointed was Air Force General (and CIA Deputy Director) John A. Gordon."C.I.A. Official Chosen for Weapons Agency", The New York Times, March 3, 2000

In 2006, it was confirmed that NNSA employee information had been hacked. A report criticized the response. NNSA's Administrator took responsibility.{{cite web |url=https://www.governmentattic.org/2docs/34DOE-OIG-ClosingMemos_2007-2008Updt.pdf |title=Closing Memoranda and Final Reports for 34 Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Investigations, 2007-2008 |publisher=Government Attic |access-date=July 12, 2021}}

In February 2025, CNN reported that the Trump administration had fired 300 National Nuclear Security Administration employees, while the Department of Energy responded that "less than 50 people" had been fired, and that the fired employees "held primarily administrative and clerical roles".{{cite news |last1=Marsh |first1=Rene |last2=Nilsen |first2=Ella |title=Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country's weapons stockpile, sources say |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/14/climate/nuclear-nnsa-firings-trump/index.html |access-date=February 16, 2025 |work=CNN |date=February 14, 2025}} A day after the firings, the Trump administration informed NNSA that "termination letters for some NNSA probationary employees are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel", since the fired employees had been blocked from their federal government email accounts, so the Trump administration asked NNSA to forward the notice to the fired employees' personal email accounts.{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Peter |last2=Marquez |first2=Alexandra |title=Trump administration wants to un-fire nuclear safety workers but can't figure out how to reach them |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-wants-un-fire-nuclear-safety-workers-cant-figure-rcna192345 |access-date=February 16, 2025 |work=NBC News |date=February 15, 2025}}

NNSA has the following missions with regard to national security:{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/missions|title=Missions|access-date=14 June 2018}}

• To manage the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
• To reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction and to promote international nuclear safety and nonproliferation.
• To provide the United States Navy with safe, militarily effective nuclear propulsion plants and to ensure the safe and reliable operation of those plants.

One of NNSA's primary missions is to maintain the safety, security and effectiveness of the United States' nuclear weapons stockpile.{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/missions/maintaining-stockpile|title=Maintaining the Stockpile|access-date=14 June 2018|archive-date=June 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615011556/https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/missions/maintaining-stockpile|url-status=dead}} After the Cold War, the U.S. voluntarily ended underground nuclear testing. NNSA maintains the existing nuclear deterrent through the use of science experiments, engineering audits and high-tech simulations at its three national laboratories: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories. It also creates new weapons programs as required by the United States Department of Defense.{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/w93mk7-acquisition-fact-sheet|title=W93/Mk7 Acquisition fact sheet|access-date=30 March 2024}}

NNSA assets used to maintain and ensure the effectiveness of the American nuclear weapons stockpile include the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility (DARHT) at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Contained Firing Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Z Machine at Sandia National Laboratories.{{Cite web |last=Laboratory |first=Los Alamos National |title=DARHT {{!}} Science Facilities |url=https://science-innovation.lanl.gov/science-facilities/darht/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=Los Alamos National Laboratory |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Facilities and Centers {{!}} Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory |url=https://www.llnl.gov/science-technology/facilities-centers |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=www.llnl.gov |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Z Pulsed Power Facility |url=https://www.sandia.gov/z-machine/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=Z Pulsed Power Facility |language=en-US}} NNSA also uses powerful supercomputers to run simulations and validate experimental data; these computers often appear on the Top500 list.

Another important asset used to test the stockpile is the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at LLNL, a laser-based inertial confinement fusion research device.{{Cite web |title=National Ignition Facility & Photon Science |url=https://lasers.llnl.gov/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=lasers.llnl.gov}} NIF achieved the first scientific breakeven controlled fusion experiment on December 5, 2022, with an energy gain factor of 1.5.{{Cite web|title=DOE National Laboratory Makes History by Achieving Fusion Ignition|url=https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-national-laboratory-makes-history-achieving-fusion-ignition|date=December 13, 2022|access-date=3 February 2023}} Since then four additional ignition shots followed the December experiment: July 30, 2023; October 8, 2023; October 30, 2023; and February 12, 2024. The most recent experiment produced an estimated 5.2 MJ—more than doubling the input energy of 2.2 MJ.{{Cite web |title=Fusion Ignition and the Path to Inertial Fusion Energy {{!}} National Ignition Facility & Photon Science |url=https://lasers.llnl.gov/news/fusion-ignition-and-the-path-to-inertial-fusion-energy |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=lasers.llnl.gov |language=en}}

The Office of Secure Transportation provides safe and secure transportation of nuclear weapons and components and special nuclear materials, and conducts other missions supporting national security.{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/office-secure-transportation|title=Office of Secure Transportation|access-date=14 June 2018}} OST shipments are moved in specially designed equipment and escorted by armed and specially trained federal agents.{{Cite web |title=Federal Agent Recruitment Nuclear Materials Courier {{!}} Office of Secure Transportation |url=https://fmt.kcnsc.doe.gov/OSTfederalagent/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=fmt.kcnsc.doe.gov}}

NNSA's Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation works with international partners, federal agencies, U.S. national laboratories, and the private sector to discover, protect, and or dispose of radiological and nuclear materials.{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/missions/nonproliferation|title=Nonproliferation|access-date=14 June 2018}}

The office strives to:

• Extract, dispose, and reduce the materials used in the proliferation of nuclear arms
• Protect technology, materials, and the facilities used to store such materials and technology
• Track the spread of nuclear materials, expertise, and the technological knowledge associated with the creation of nuclear weapons
• Conduct research and development for solutions to mitigate the spread of nuclear materials, and the application of protective measures
• Develop policy solutions and develop programs to reduce nuclear and radiological dangers.

The agency created the Global Threat Reduction Initiative in 2004 to expand efforts similar to the Cooperative Threat Reduction program beyond the former Soviet Union.[https://www.ne.anl.gov/activ/pdfs/RERTR.pdf Global Threat Reduction Initiative – Conversion Program: Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR)][https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/bushrecord/factsheets/terrorism.html Defending Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism]

In 2016, GTRI was renamed the Office of Materials Management and Minimization, and continues the efforts of supporting reactor conversions, fuel returns, and LEU fuel development.

The work of the Office of Materials Management and Minimization is divided into three subprograms: Conversion, Nuclear Materials Removal, and Material Disposition.

Through this office and its predecessors, NNSA has successfully led the recovery efforts of nuclear materials from dozens of countries. Since 1996, the Department of Energy/NNSA has disposed of enough material to produce more than 325 nuclear weapons. {{Cite web|title=NNSA Administrator Hruby's remarks at the 2023 Nuclear Deterrence Summit|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/nnsa-administrator-hrubys-remarks-2023-nuclear-deterrence-summit|date=February 14, 2023|access-date=30 March 2024}}

For example, in 2017, it removed all the highly enriched uranium from Ghana and repatriated it to China. The Ghanaian reactor now uses low-enriched uranium.{{cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/nnsa-removes-all-highly-enriched-uranium-ghana |title=NNSA Removes All Highly Enriched Uranium from Ghana |date=August 22, 2017 |publisher=NNSA Press Release |access-date=August 17, 2018}}

NNSA's Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation focuses on:{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/missions/counterterrorism |title=Counterterrorism|access-date=14 June 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nuclear-emergency-support-team-nest|title=Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST)|access-date=13 Jan 2022}}

• Radiological search – searching for radiological materials as well as identifying them.
• Rendering safe – comprehensive evaluation of radioactive materials and or nuclear device if such a device is found, to ensure safety.
• Consequence management – analysis of the spread of radioactive materials if such an incident were to occur.

The office oversees the capabilities of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team.

NNSA deploys response teams dozens of times each year, usually to check for radioactive materials. Missions assuage safety concerns, support other agencies, and bolster law enforcement capabilities at large public events such as presidential inaugurations and the Super Bowl.

NNSA provides expertise, tools and technically informed policy recommendations to advance U.S. nuclear counterterrorism and counterproliferation objectives. It is responsible for understanding nuclear threat devices and foreign activities that cause proliferation concerns. To do this, members of the counterproliferation office confer with international counterparts on nuclear security and counterterrorism; conduct scientific research to characterize, detect and defeat nuclear threat devices; develop and conduct WMD counterterrorism exercises; and promote nuclear information security policy and practices.

NNSA's Nuclear Propulsion Program – working with Naval Nuclear Laboratories – is responsible for providing efficient nuclear propulsion plants to the United States Navy. It is also known as Naval Reactors. It conducts the design, development and operational support required to power all the U.S. Navy's aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. The program consists of both civilian and military personnel who maintain, design, build, and manage the reactors.

The following are the elements of the program:{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/missions/powering-navy|title=Powering the Navy|access-date=14 June 2018}}

• Research and development to support currently operational laboratories
• Skilled contractors who design and build propulsion plant equipment
• Shipyards that service, repair and build nuclear powered ships
• Facilities to support the U.S. Navy
• Training facilities for Naval Reactors and Nuclear Power schools
• Various field offices and the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Headquarters

NNSA has several offices that support its primary missions. Among them are:

NNSA's Office of Emergency Operations has the obligation of responding to emergencies on behalf of the entire Department of Energy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-offices/emergency-operations|title=Emergency Operations|access-date=14 June 2018}} Its high level of alertness allows the United States to respond to incidents in a rapid manner.

NNSA's Office of Defense Nuclear Security is responsible for the overall security of facilities housing nuclear weapons as well as the components and materials required to develop them -- this includes oversight of Federal Protective Forces at NNSA's labs, plants, and sites.{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-offices/defense-nuclear-security|title=Defense Nuclear Security|access-date=14 June 2018}} The office also safeguards personnel and produces threat assessments.

• Laboratories
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Sandia National Laboratories
• Sites
• Nevada Test Site
• Savannah River Site
• Complexes
• Kansas City National Security Campus
• Pantex Plant
• Y-12 National Security Complex

• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory{{Cite web |title=Pacific Northwest National Laboratory {{!}} PNNL |url=https://www.pnnl.gov/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=www.pnnl.gov |language=en}}

{{main|Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security#Officeholders}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Library resources box}}

• [https://www.science.org/content/article/us-china-mission-rushes-bomb-grade-nuclear-fuel-out-africa "U.S.-China mission rushes bomb-grade nuclear fuel out of Africa"] by Richard Stone, Science, August 31, 2017
• [https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/us-mission-secure-nuclear-material-chile-exclusive/story?id=10310921 "Exclusive: Inside U.S. Mission to Secure Weapons-Grade Nuclear Material: Chile is 18th Country to be Cleared of Highly Enriched Uranium"] by Cynthia McFadden, Melia Patria and Teri Whitcraft, ABC News Nightline, April 8, 2010 [https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/loose-nukes-10316316 "Video: Nightline Cameras Watch Teams Safeguard Nuclear Materials in Chile"]

• {{Official website}}
• [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/national-nuclear-security-administration National Nuclear Security Administration] in the Federal Register
• [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-10423/uslm/COMPS-10423.xml National Nuclear Security Administration Act] as amended ([https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-10423/pdf/COMPS-10423.pdf PDF]/[https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/COMPS-10423 details]) in the GPO [https://www.govinfo.gov/help/comps Statute Compilations collection]

{{DOE agencies}}

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Category:Government agencies established in 2000

Category:Nuclear safety and security

Category:Nuclear weapons infrastructure of the United States

Category:United States Department of Energy agencies