Forum on June 14 in Aiken, SC on Expanded Production of Plutonium “Pits” – for Nuclear Weapons – to Give Voice to Concerns in Face of DOE’s Failure to Engage and Inform the Public about the Risky Proposal
Columbia, SC– The controversial proposal by the U.S. Department of Energy to expand production of plutonium “pits”- the core of all nuclear weapons – will be the subject of a public forum in Aiken, South Carolina on Friday, June 14, 2019. The event is free and open to all members of the public.
In response to DOE’s lack of public engagement about the proposal and its potential environmental and health impacts, three public interest groups that work on DOE and nuclear weapons issues have taken the initiative on the matter. The questionable proposal by DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration is to expand pit production at the Savannah River Site into the shuttered MOX plant – a totally new and unproven mission for SRS – and at the Los Alamos National Lab to 80 or more pits per year. Such pit production for new and “refurbished” nuclear weapons may help stimulate a new nuclear arms race. The vague proposal is far from finalized and is unauthorized and unfunded by Congress.
To stimulate both a public discussion and attendance at the event, a quarter-page color ad – linked here in PDF and here in JPEGand here in PNG– about the forum will run in the Aiken (SC) Standard on May 12 & 13 and June 12 & 13, in the Augusta (GA) Chronicle on May 13 and on the Metro Spirit(Augusta) website from May 13 to June 13. The forum will be publicized by the groups, including via an “event” on the SRS Watch Facebook page.
Who: Sponsors & Presenters:Savannah River Site Watch (Columbia, SC); Nuclear Watch New Mexico (Santa Fe, NM) & Tri-Valley CAREs (Livermore, CA) – all members of Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA)
Co-sponsors: Aiken Peace, Carolina Peace Resource Center, Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions, League of Women Voters of SC, Nuclear Watch South, SC Chapter Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists
What: Public forum on“PlutoniumBomb Plant:Risky Project Targeted for Savannah River Site”
When: Friday, June 14, 2019, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: Aiken Municipal Building Auditorium, 215 The Alley, downtown Aiken, SC 29801
Contact: Tom Clements, SRS Watch, tel 803-834-3084, srswatch(at)gmail.com
Jay Coghlan, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, tel. 505-989-7342, jay(at)nukewatch.org
Marylia Kelley, Tri-Valley CAREs, tel. 925-255-3589, marylia(at)earthlink.net