Tell DOE No to Expanded Plutonium Pit Production at LANL and Savannah River Site – Comments due Monday, July 14th
As you may know, the recent federal reconciliation bill increased the budget forexpanded plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site, located in SouthCarolina, by one billion dollars. Yes, one billion dollars in one year! A “pit” is theplutonium core of a nuclear weapon. The Department of Energy (DOE) plans tofabricate 50 plutonium pits per year there.
10 Juli 4min
Coming Next Week: Nuclear Weapons Educational Events
In anticipation of the 80th anniversaries of the 1945 atomic bombings in the USAand Japan, a number of hybrid educational events will be held next week.
3 Juli 4min
Plans to Commemorate Two New Mexico Atomic Events
In this week’s Update CCNS provides information about the upcomingcommemorations of two harmful atomic events that both occurred in New Mexico onJuly 16th. The first is the 80th commemoration of the plutonium bomb test at the TrinityTest Site on July 16, 1945 at the White Sands Missile Range.
26 Juni 4min
New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Kenney Pauses Proposed Tritium Venting by LANL for Now
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) planned to vent 30,000 curies ofradioactive tritium into the air during several weekends this summer but it must haveapproval from the New Mexico Environment Department. James Kenney, EnvironmentDepartment Secretary, citing significant public interest in the proposed plan, determinedthat prior to the Environment Department making any final decision, LANL would berequired to perform four additional steps.
13 Juni 4min
No Tritium Venting from LANL this Week
It has been raining in Northern New Mexico this week, providing many blessingsof moisture and delaying the proposed venting of radioactive tritium from Los AlamosNational Laboratory (LANL), at least for now. Importantly, the New Mexico EnvironmentDepartment continues its review of LANL’s application for “temporary authorization” tovent up to 30,000 curies of tritium into the air from four Flanged Tritium WasteContainers, or FTWCs.
5 Juni 4min
New Union of Concerned Scientists Report - Plutonium Pit Production: The Risks and Costs of U.S. Plans to Build New Nuclear Weapons
Dylan K. Spaulding, author of the new report, is a senior scientist in the Union ofConcerned Scientists Global Security Program. He holds an undergraduate degree inphysics from Brown University and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.His work focuses on technical issues related to nuclear stockpile stewardship andpolicies that can reduce the threat posed by nuclear weapons.
29 Maj 4min
TODAY! VIRTUAL WORKSHOP ABOUT DOE’S PLANS FOR EXPANDED PLUTONIUM PIT PRODUCTION AT LANL FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS – PUBLIC MEETINGS NEXT WEEK
Just a few days ago, on May 9 th , the Department of Energy (DOE) and itsNational Nuclear Security Administration announced that virtual public “scoping”meetings would be held next week about their plans to prepare a nationwideProgrammatic Environmental Impact Statement for Plutonium Pit Production (PEIS).DOE and NNSA are working to turn Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) into amanufacturing facility for plutonium triggers, or pits, for nuclear weapons.
22 Maj 4min
