Stockpile stewardship program strategy
In announcing the extension of the moratorium on nuclear testing, President Clinton reaffirmed the importance of maintaining confidence in the enduring U.S. nuclear stockpile: ''To assure that our nuclear deterrent remains unquestioned under a test ban, we will explore other means of maintaining our confidence in the safety, reliability, and performance of our weapons.'' To this end, the Department of Energy's nuclear weapon program is undergoing fundamental change--from advancing military characteristics to maintaining the reliability and safety of the existing stockpile. Consequently, a new strategy was needed to meet these new mission requirements. This report summarizes the new strategy. The fundamental premise of the new strategy lies in the ability to respond to problems in monitoring and maintaining the existing stockpile by preserving specialized facilities, maintaining the skill and knowledge bases, and advancing our understanding of nuclear weapon physics necessary to manage the nuclear future in an era without nuclear testing. The foundation of this Science-based Stockpile Stewardship strategy was laid at a workshop attended by DOE officials, DoD customers, stakeholders from other government agencies, nuclear weapon experts, and members of the scientific community. The principles of the evolving strategy were regularly discussed during the formative stages with the primary customers and stakeholders and reviewed by the JASONs. This report summarizes the strategy as it now exists, but we recognize that stockpile stewardship must be a continuing process--updated as necessary to respond to national security objectives.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15007680
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-LR-117676; TRN: US200419%%516
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Dec 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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