News

Madelyn Creedon, NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator, recently recognized Pantex Plant Security Police officers Jessie Longoria and Lt. Zach Mayo for providing off-duty aid to a shopping mall security guard in disarming and detaining an alleged assailant earlier this fall.

Creedon recognized the Pantex officers for risking their personal safety and for helping to protect the public while being off-duty from Pantex.

Gary Wisdom, Senior Director of Pantex Safeguards, Security, and Emergency Services, said Pantex security police officers are some of the best trained and dedicated people within the NNSA enterprise. “That these two individuals risked their personal safety to save others is consistent with what I know of both and typical of the caliber and character of people we have protecting the Plant,” he said.

Pantex Security Police officers receive intense training which helped aid in their swift response to the shopping mall incident. The Pantex officers are uniformed individuals authorized to carry firearms and are able to make arrests at Pantex without warrants. They are employed for the protection of special nuclear material, or other government property.

About the photo:
Pantex Security Police officers Lt. Zach Mayo (left) and Jessie Longoria were recognized by Madelyn Creedon during a recent site visit. Each officer received a signature Pantex insignia ball cap as a token of NNSA’s appreciation for their off-duty heroics.

Pantexans are dedicated to encouraging the next generation of technical professionals, skilled trade workers and first responders.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC was a sponsor for the recent Step Up to Success conference for area high school students. Students attended two sessions of their choice with professionals from career fields such as healthcare, business, engineering, agriculture science, criminal justice, law, communications, information technology, culinary arts and skilled trades.

Engineers, sheet metal workers and firefighter paramedics from Pantex Plant shared the education and skill requirements for their jobs.

Los Barrios de Amarillo,, a civic organization established by Hispanic community leaders, hosted the bi-annual event for more than 700 high school students in the Texas Panhandle. Los Barrios also offers a middle school conference in the spring.

NNSA NEWS

U.S. Department of Energy
National Nuclear Security Administration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has awarded 15 Sustainability Awards for innovation and excellence to its national laboratories and sites.

The awards recognize exemplary individual and team performance in advancing sustainability objectives through innovative and effective programs and projects that increase energy, water and fleet efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases, pollution and waste. NNSA has conducted an internal environmental stewardship awards program for more than a decade.

The award categories and award descriptions are developed by the DOE Sustainability Performance Office (SPO) which manages the DOE Sustainability Awards Program. NNSA conducts its internal sustainability awards recognition program based on the NNSA nomination submissions input into the SPO’s sustainability awards program.

“I congratulate the winners of this year’s Sustainability Awards and all those involved in our efforts to implement environmentally responsible and sustainable operations and projects,” said DOE Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz. “NNSA will continue striving to develop new and creative solutions to be the best possible stewards of the environment as we carry out our important and enduring national security mission.”

The award recipients were selected by a panel of judges from NNSA Headquarters and sites who reviewed and scored 24 nominations submitted in 12 of the 15 award categories. The 15 sustainability awards comprise five “Best in Class” and 10 “Environmental Stewardship” as follows:

Best in Class Awards:

• Exceptional Service/Sustainability Champion: Y-12’s Clarence Hill Cultivates the Seeds of Change. (Y-12 National Security Complex)
  The exceptional service/sustainability champion demonstrates a history of exemplary performance in leading implementation of sustainable practices while reflecting a comprehensive approach to energy and environmental management through innovative strategies, practices and outreach.
• Renewable Energy: Pantex Renewable Energy Project. (Pantex Plant)
  This award category and selected project recognizes outstanding achievements in planning, design and constructing renewable energy to replace or lower conventional energy consumption. This award recognizes the Pantex Plant for the renewable energy wind farm project.
• Green Buildings: High Performance Sustainable Building Integrated Commissioning Team. (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
  This award category and selected nomination recognizes site-wide programs and projects that promote comprehensive green building principles and demonstrate progress toward meeting the Guiding Principles for High Performance Sustainable Buildings. This project involves cross-cutting collaboration to support the DOE’s and the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s commitment to reducing energy intensity and operating costs and meeting the Guiding Principles.
• Waste Reduction and Pollution Prevention: Pantex Exceeding Waste Reduction Goals. (Pantex Plant)
  This award category and selected nomination recognizes innovative and effective waste-reduction programs that exceeded performance targets in the Pantex Plants Site's Sustainability Plan.
• Innovation and Holistic Approach: New Data and Information Management Systems for Improved Productivity and Customer Satisfaction. (Sandia National Laboratories)
  This award category recognizes innovative methods and cross-disciplinary research at the site level to support sustainability goal attainment that includes innovative ideas to tackle broad-based sustainability issues.

Environmental Stewardship Awards:

• Change Agent: Jean Dewart. (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
  This award category recognizes an individual who takes the initiative to foster behavior change in the immediate work environment, organizational unit and/or site. Recognition focuses on efforts that advance one or more of the goals identified in the site’s Site Sustainability Plan (SSP).
• Exceptional Service/Sustainability Champion: Dr. John S. Isaacson – A Sustainability Champion. (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
  The exceptional/sustainability champion demonstrates a history of exemplary performance in leading implementation of sustainable practices while reflecting a comprehensive approach to energy and environmental management through innovative strategies, practices and outreach.
• Greenhouse Gas Scope 1 and 2: Eliminating Sulfur Hexafluoride in X-Ray Pulsers. (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
  This award category recognizes site greenhouse gas reduction strategies and management approaches that address Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The approach should exceed or supplement reduction targets in the site’s SSP and emphasize a holistic approach to greenhouse gas management.
• Renewable Energy: Implementation of Field Based Photo Voltaic Charging of Automated Samplers. (Los Alamos National Laboratory)
  This award category and selected project recognizes outstanding achievements in planning, design and constructing renewable energy to replace or lower conventional energy consumption.
• Green Buildings: Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Warehouse 23-160. (Nevada National Security Site)
  This award category and selected nomination recognizes site-wide programs and projects that promote comprehensive green building principles and demonstrate progress toward meeting the Guiding Principles for High Performance Sustainable Buildings. This effort involves cross-cutting collaboration to support the DOE’s and NNSS’s commitment to reducing energy intensity and operating costs and meeting the guiding principles.
• Fleet: Fleet Requirements Working Group. (NNSA Headquarters)
  This award category recognizes comprehensive and/or replicable approaches to fleet management programs and should include cross-cutting strategies to achieve and exceed the fleet goals.
• Water: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Employs Multi-Faceted Approach to Water Conservation in Drought Stricken California. (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
  This award category recognizes an integrated approach to water resource management, addressing all water types as potential resources (waste, storm, grey, etc.) and identifying opportunities for reuse.
• Waste Reduction and Pollution Prevention: Y-12 Unneeded Materials and Chemicals Program. (Y-12 National Security Complex)
  This award category and selected nomination recognizes innovative and effective waste-reduction programs that exceed performance targets in Y-12’s Site Sustainability Plan.
• Innovation and Holistic Approach: Y-12 Sweeping it Clean. (Y-12 National Security Complex)
  This award category recognizes innovative methods and cross-disciplinary research at the site level to support sustainability goal attainment that includes innovative ideas to tackle broad-based sustainability issues.
• SustainABLE Communications: WhY-12 Must Communicate. (Y-12 National Security Complex)
  This award category recognizes successful and innovative communications and marketing strategies that promote sustainability goals, successes and best practices with a focus on effective and unique outreach programs that engage stakeholders and discuss the benefits of sustainability.

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Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; works to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad. Visit www.nnsa.energy.gov for more information.

CONTACT
Steven Wyatt
NNSA Production Office Public Affairs
Office (865) 576-9918

CNS sponsors Halloween party for mental health organization

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC sponsored its annual Halloween party for clients of Texas Panhandle Centers Behavioral and Developmental Health October 31 at the Amarillo Civic Center. The organization serves individuals with mental illness and intellectual and developmental disabilities. The nearly 600 attendees were treated to music, dancing, group photos, and pizza served by Pantex volunteers. This year marks the 12th for this event, which many volunteers say is the most rewarding volunteer experience of the year.

Amarillo home receives gift from CNS

Pantexans are saluting area veterans this week by participating in community events to honor Veterans Day and the men and women who have served our nation.

CNS was a proud corporate sponsor of a Saturday, Nov. 8, front-lawn Veterans Welcome Home Celebration at the Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center in Amarillo, Texas. There, Pantexans volunteered at a dessert booth serving up treats for Celebration attendees. The afternoon Celebration capped off a full day of events which included an all-you-can-eat breakfast and a downtown Veterans Day Parade.

Photos: Pantexans serve up treats at a CNS-sponsored dessert booth during a Saturday, Nov. 8, front-lawn Veterans Welcome Home Celebration at the Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center in Amarillo, Texas.

Pantexans also visited the Ussery-Roan Texas State Veterans Home in Amarillo on Monday to present four bread making machines on behalf of CNS. The home provides long-term nursing care for nearly 120 Texas veterans and family members.

“Providing care for our veterans is important,” said Pantex Deputy Site Manager Todd Ailes. “When we learned the smell of fresh bread baking helps stimulate appetite, we knew the machines can make a positive impact for the residents”.

CNS will also sponsor a December, Veterans Holiday Party at the home.

Photo: Pantex Deputy Site Manager Todd Ailes and Debra Halliday, Pantex community relations coordinator, present bread machines to the Ussery-Roan Texas State Veterans Home.

Pantex employees supported the recent Top of Texas Career Expo for juniors and seniors across the Texas Panhandle. Professionals from various specialties, such as information technology, engineering, security and communications, shared job prospects, necessary education and skills, salary ranges and personal experiences. More than 800 students attended the event at West Texas A&M University.

Sean Usleton, systems architect, Amanda Helker, process engineer, and Kennith Springs, security police officer, talk to students about the variety of careers at Pantex.

NNSA NEWS

U.S. Department of Energy
National Nuclear Security Administration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced today that it had reached the halfway point in the production phase of the W76-1 warhead Life Extension Program (LEP). An event held at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, underscored NNSA’s commitment to meeting the U.S. Navy’s requirements for the W76-1.

Gen. Frank G. Klotz, DOE Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator, was on hand to personally thank the men and women of Pantex who helped achieve the production milestone.

“The W76-1 Life Extension Program is one of several steps we must take as a nation to ensure that America’s smaller nuclear arsenal remains safe, secure and effective,” Klotz said. “The highly skilled Pantex team will continue to play an indispensable role in protecting the security of the United States, as well as our allies and partners, for many years to come. For that reason, it’s imperative that we continue to invest in the people and in the infrastructure needed to carry out that important, enduring task.”

“This is indeed a significant milestone for our nation and our Navy,” stated Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, Director of the Strategic Systems Programs. “Through the Navy’s continued partnership with NNSA, the team has achieved this important milestone, and I look forward to completion of W76-1 production before the decade is out. The combination of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine and the Trident II D5 Strategic Weapon System operated by our dedicated sailors forms the backbone of our nation’s nuclear deterrent.”

The W76-1 Life Extension Program involves engineers, scientists and technicians from NNSA’s Pantex Plant, the Y-12 National Security Complex, Savannah River Site, National Security Campus, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.

The W76-1 Life Extension Program first unit was completed in September 2008. The program remains on track to produce and deliver warheads to the Navy in keeping with its commitment to complete production not later than the end of FY 2019.

The primary goals of the W76-1 Life Extension Program are to extend the original warhead service life from 20 to 60 years and address aging issues. In addition, the goals of the program are to incorporate nuclear safety enhancements, maximize the reuse of W76-0 components, minimize system certification risk in the absence of underground nuclear testing and refurbish the system in a proactive and affordable manner.

As a key part of its national security mission, NNSA, through the Office of Defense Programs, ensures that the U.S. nuclear stockpile meets the country’s national security requirements and continues to serve its essential deterrence role.

Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science in the nation’s national security enterprise. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability, and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; reduces the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad. NNSA homepage: http://www.nnsa.energy.gov/index.htm

CONTACT
Steven Wyatt
NNSA Production Office Public Affairs
Office (865) 576-9918

​Pantex nurse practitioner Tiffany Shadle administers a flu shot during opening day of the annual Flu Clinic.

Pantex and Y-12 employees have been taking advantage of free flu vaccine shots offered at each site in preparation for the upcoming winter months. The practice, which has been an ongoing service for decades at each site, is also good for the community because fewer residents are susceptible to the bug, which means they aren’t spreading it to coworkers, friends or family members.

Nurse Melissa Davis gives the flu vaccine to one of the more than 2,300 employees who took advantage of Y-12's "Flulapalooza."

Knowing how to enter a burning building filled with smoke while battling a blaze requires continuous training to keep people safe. Pantex Fire Department’s recent training helped personnel stay familiar with their equipment and prepared for emergency situations they may not often see.

Bill Ho-Gland, Pantex Assistant Fire Chief, says the training helps support the site and the surrounding communities that may need Pantex assistance during an emergency. Pantex maintains Memorandums of Understanding with the counties surrounding the Pantex site and renders aid when requested.

Members of the Pantex Fire Department maintain certifications so they are ready to respond to any emergency that arises. This year’s training scenario involved an interior structure fire. The team had to bring the fire under control using effective water application practices, firefighting posture and attack techniques.

The Pantex Fire Department is certified through the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP) and regularly trains to ensure it meets or exceeds TCFP continuing education requirements. During recent emergency training, members of the department refreshed their training in the use of self-contained breathing apparatus and other personal protective equipment.

October 1 is last day for families to apply to Pantex assistance program

AMARILLO, Texas – Needy families in the Texas Panhandle have only a few days left to apply for the Pantex Christmas Project, which every year selects more than 50 families to help during the Christmas season.

Any family needing assistance should fill out an application, which can be picked up at any school counselor’s office, public library or online at www.pantex.com and submit it by October 1. Interested families can also call the Project hotline at 477-5533.

For nearly 60 years, Pantexans have generously donated their time, money and gifts to the Christmas Project to help out those in our communities who are less fortunate. The Project started in 1955, assisting two families who needed assistance buying gifts for Christmas. The project has grown over the years, with donations granting the wishes of 117 children and 12 elderly adults last year.

“This is such a rewarding project to work on, and we look forward to it every year,” said Christmas Project Treasurer Laci Hays. “For so many of us at Pantex, the holidays just wouldn’t be the same without the Christmas Project.”

The Project receives referrals from many sources, including schools, churches and childcare facilities.

Pantexans purchase a complete outfit and gifts for each child. The Project also purchases a complete outfit and a necessity bag for each family, using money raised through a variety of fundraisers. The presents and other donations are delivered to the selected families and a huge holiday carnival is given for the families and volunteers to bring them together at Christmas time.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) operates the Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a single contract for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Pantex and Y-12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on the performance excellence and the imperatives of safety, security, zero defects and delivery as promised.

For more information on each site, visit www.pantex.energy.gov or www.y12.doe.gov. Follow Pantex on Facebook, X or LinkedIn. Follow Y-12 on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

CONTACT
Pantex Christmas Project Hotline
(806) 477.5533

Laura Bailey
Public Affairs
Office (806) 573.0502

laura.bailey1@pantex.doe.gov