Raul Avalos

National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

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, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear explosive testing; works to reduce 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. In addition to its headquarters sites in Washington, DC; Gaithersburg, MD; and Albuquerque, NM, NNSA oversees eight sites to fulfill its national security missions: Kansas CIty National Security Campus in Kansas City, MO; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, CA; Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, NM; the Nevada National Security Site; the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, TX; Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA; the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC; and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, TN.