Pantex Receives Eight NNSA Awards

  • Posted: Thursday, September 20, 2012, 12:00 am

Plant recognized for stockpile stewardship work

More than 200 individuals on eight teams received recognition Thursday for their work at Pantex supporting the stewardship of America’s nuclear stockpile.

Deborah Monette, deputy assistant deputy administrator for National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Stockpile Management, and Joseph Oder, director of the NNSA’s Office of Nuclear Weapons Stockpile, were at Pantex Thursday to hand out the Defense Programs (DP) Awards of Excellence to members of the eight teams who distinguished themselves in areas ranging from weapon dismantlement to upgrading lightning protection at the plant.

The DP Awards were established by NNSA to recognize on an annual basis the contributions of work performed in support of the Stockpile Stewardship Program. The awards are given for significant achievements in quality, productivity, cost savings, safety or creativity in support of the nuclear weapons program.

Pantex was recognized in the following areas:

  1. The Weapons Dismantlement and Disposition program exceeded planned dismantlements in several areas, including the completion of the B53 nuclear bomb a year ahead of schedule.
  2. The Critical Facilities Lightning Protection Upgrade Project added enhanced protection to buildings that allowed operations to continue during periods of lightning.
  3. Completion of the H1700 Container Project allowed shipment of a specific weapon component to the Department of Defense.
  4. Dr. Kevin Morris developed novel procedures for high explosives analysis utilizing state of-the-art instrumentation known as Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography, resulting in significant cost savings to the NNSA while greatly reducing solvent consumption and waste.
  5. The W76 Life Extension Program (LEP) Assembly Team allowed Pantex to exceed production goals on the W76 LEP.
  6. The B53 Dismantlement Team overcame numerous obstacles and challenges to complete the final dismantlement of the oldest and largest weapon that was currently in the U.S. stockpile.
  7. A team was recognized for establishing air conditioning capability to allow an important building at Pantex to continue to function, keeping critical projects on schedule with minimal modifications to the facility.
  8. The Sanitization and Disposition of Weapons Components Team received an award for its work to reduce legacy and scrap weapons components stored at Pantex to allow for ongoing future dismantlements.

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B&W Pantex manages and operates the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. B&W Pantex is also the proud recipient of the DOE’s Voluntary Protection Program STAR status for safety excellence. The company was also named one of America’s safest companies by Occupational Hazards magazine and has received numerous awards from the National Safety Council.

CONTACT
Greg Cunningham
Public Affairs
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