Government Contracting at — DOE Nuclear Security Sites

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a premier research institution focused on nuclear weapons science, global security, and breakthrough scientific discovery. It operates the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world's most energetic laser, which achieved fusion ignition in December 2022, and serves as the second nuclear weapons design laboratory alongside Los Alamos.

Idaho National Laboratory is the nation's lead laboratory for nuclear energy research and development. It operates the Advanced Test Reactor, develops next-generation reactor designs, and supports NNSA nuclear security missions. INL also hosts the Critical Infrastructure Test Range for cybersecurity testing of industrial control systems.

Argonne National Laboratory, the first national laboratory chartered in 1946, conducts multidisciplinary scientific research supporting NNSA nuclear security missions alongside its broader DOE science portfolio. It operates the Advanced Photon Source, one of the world's most powerful X-ray light sources, used for stockpile stewardship materials research.

The Kansas City National Security Campus manufactures and procures approximately 85% of the non-nuclear components in the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility produces sophisticated electronic, mechanical, and engineered material components including firing sets, radar systems, and arming, fuzing, and firing systems.

Los Alamos National Laboratory, established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project, is the premier nuclear weapons design laboratory in the United States. It serves as the design agency for most nuclear warheads in the U.S. stockpile, operates some of the world's fastest supercomputers, and conducts cutting-edge research in physics, materials science, and threat reduction.

Sandia National Laboratories is the engineering laboratory of the nuclear weapons enterprise, responsible for non-nuclear components, systems integration, and ensuring the safety, security, and reliability of the nuclear stockpile. Sandia works on every weapon system in the U.S. arsenal and has expanding missions in energy security, cybersecurity, and defense systems.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is the nation's only deep geologic repository for the permanent disposal of defense-generated transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste. Located 2,150 feet underground in an ancient salt formation, WIPP receives TRU waste from DOE sites across the country for permanent isolation from the environment.

The Nevada National Security Site (formerly Nevada Test Site) is a 1,360-square-mile DOE facility that was the primary location for U.S. nuclear weapons testing from 1951 to 1992. Today it supports stockpile stewardship through subcritical experiments, high-hazard operations, emergency response training, and serves as a proving ground for counterterrorism technologies.

Brookhaven National Laboratory operates major scientific user facilities including the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), and the Center for Functional Nanomaterials. BNL supports NNSA missions through nuclear physics research, radioisotope production, and nonproliferation science.

The Savannah River Site is a 310-square-mile DOE facility responsible for tritium production for the nuclear weapons stockpile, plutonium processing, and one of the largest environmental cleanup programs in the world. SRS operates the nation's only tritium loading facility and is the planned site for expanded plutonium pit production.

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee is the nation's primary facility for processing and storing weapons-grade highly enriched uranium (HEU). Y-12 manufactures uranium components for every nuclear weapon in the U.S. stockpile and plays a critical role in global nuclear nonproliferation through HEU downblending programs.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is DOE's largest science and energy laboratory, hosting the world's most powerful supercomputer (Frontier, first exascale system) and the Spallation Neutron Source. ORNL supports NNSA missions through nuclear security research, isotope production, and materials science for weapons programs.

The Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas is the primary facility in the United States for the assembly, disassembly, and maintenance of nuclear weapons. It is the only facility where nuclear warheads are assembled and the final point of nuclear weapon dismantlement. Pantex also serves as the interim storage site for plutonium pits from retired weapons.

The Hanford Site, a 586-square-mile former plutonium production complex along the Columbia River, is the largest environmental cleanup project in the world. Nine nuclear reactors and associated processing facilities produced plutonium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal from 1943 to 1987, leaving behind 56 million gallons of radioactive tank waste and extensive groundwater contamination.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducts research spanning national security, clean energy, and environmental science. For NNSA, PNNL provides expertise in nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear forensics, radiation detection, and arms control verification. It operates the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory and the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory.