A US Department of Energy task force has recommended in a report that the three DOE weapons laboratories be consolidated as part of a major restructuring of the US nuclear weapons program. The restructuring would also include the design of a new nuclear “reliable replacement warhead” that “should lead to a family of modern nuclear weapons.” The report was completed in July by the nuclear weapons complex infrastructure task force under the auspices of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman said in early September that he couldn’t comment on the specifics of the report until the end of the month, “but I have read the report and it is serious work by serious people and it makes significant recommendations that will have technical, engineering, and managerial impact.” The recommendation to consolidate the labs would be politically sensitive “with leaders in Congress who have an interest...
