PLUTONIUM SAMPLING AT LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
Cost of RECA Chart
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Trump’s Talk of Nuclear Tests Recalls Fears of the Cold War
“Yes, we can learn things by nuclear testing. But when you look at the big picture, we have much more to lose by going back to testing than we have to gain.”
– SIEGFRIED S. HECKER, a former director of the Los Alamos weapons lab in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was created, after President Trump’s call to resume nuclear testing revived a Cold War debate. The New York Times nytimes.com
“There is nothing comparable in our history to the deceit and the lying that took place as a matter of official Government policy in order to protect this industry. Nothing was going to stop them and they were willing to kill our own people.”
— Stewart Udall, United States Secretary of the Interior under President Kennedy and President Johnson.
He was the father of Senator Tom Udall (who ended up being a vigorous supporter of expanded nuclear weapons “modernization” plans).
In 1985, US President Ronald Reagan and Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev declared that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”
NEW & UPDATED
COMMENT TRAINING for the Plutonium Pit Production Draft PEIS – Recording of Kansas City-Focused Training May 6, 2026
Learn more about the government’s plan to mass produce new plutonium pits for nuclear weapons, Kansas City’s role in this program, and how to give a well-informed and impactful testimony at the public comment hearing in Kansas City on May 7 or submit written comments until July 16.
Presented by PeaceWorks KC, Physicians for Social Responsibility KC, Veterans for Peace KC and special guests from Nuclear Watch New Mexico and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
See more info at https://PitPEIS.com
https://peaceworkskc.org/plutonium/
Plutonium Pit Production Draft PEIS – Recording of Public Hearing North Augusta, South Carolina, Tues May 5, 2026
Nukes and AI require 1.4 million gallons of water a day at New Mexico lab
“In a state that’s already short on the resource, Los Alamos National Laboratory expects to double water use.”
HIGH ATOP A PLATEAU IN NORTHERN NEW MEXICO, Los Alamos National Laboratory is facing its biggest expansion since the World War II-era Manhattan Project, the top-secret government effort to produce the world’s first atomic weapons. The current expansion will require a colossal use of resources, including one that New Mexico has in short supply these days — water.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy projected that the Los Alamos expansion would require around 504 million gallons of water annually — about 1.4 million gallons of water per day — for at least another decade. By comparison, a single New Mexico resident uses about 81 gallons per day.
The lab started making plutonium bomb cores, or “pits” for a new generation of warheads well before an environmental impact statement was published in March. In its latest move, however, the Department of Energy has set its sights on an even larger — and thirstier — expansion.
Plaintiffs Tour the Savannah River Site’s Plutonium “Pit” Bomb Core Plant –
Most Expensive Building in U.S. History is Key to New Nuclear Arms Race
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 22, 2026
Contact: Tom Clements, Director, SRS Watch, 803-240-7268 | Email
Jay Coghlan, 505.989.7342, c. 505.470.3154 | Email
Shelby Cohen, Comms Manager, SC Env. Law Project, 864.414.7726 | Email
Columbia, SC – On April 21, plaintiffs Savannah River Site Watch, Nuclear Watch New Mexico and Tri-Valley CAREs toured the plutonium “pit” bomb core production plant at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina. They were accompanied by their attorney from the South Carolina Environmental Law Project and a science consultant from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Plutonium pits are the core components of all U.S. nuclear weapons. The NNSA is seeking to expand production to at least 30 plutonium pits per year at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico and at least 50 pits per year at SRS, which has never previously produced pits. NNSA pushed forward with the project without required public review, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Plaintiffs sued in federal court in Columbia, SC and won, requiring the NNSA to complete a nationwide programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS), with public hearings to be held this May (listed below). The court-approved settlement agreement also required an inspection of the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility by plaintiffs to ensure that no production begins before the completion of the final PEIS and simultaneous Record of Decision, which NNSA now says is expected in early 2027. NNSA officials also informed plaintiffs that 90% design and “rebaselined” costs will not be completed until September 2026, which means that once again Congress will be appropriating taxpayers’ money without knowing full costs.
The SRS pit plant will be the most expensive buildings ever built in the USA, with a current NNSA estimate of up to $30 billion even before all total costs are known (includes at least $5 billion in sunk costs for SRS’ failed MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility being “repurposed” to pit production). The agency’s recent budget request for FY 2027 (pp 17-19) reveals an 87% jump in combined pit production funding for LANL and SRS, averaging $5 billion for each of the next six years.
LIVE: Press Briefing After Plaintiffs Inspect Savannah River Site Plutonium “Pit” Bomb Core Plant
Update on DOE’s Savannah River Site Plutonium “Pit” Bomb Core Plant, Day after Court-Authorized Bomb-Plant Tour by Public Interest Groups
Media Advisory on SRS Pit Plant briefing, April 22, South Carolina State House & YouTube Livestream, 07:00 MT
April 17, 2026
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Tom Clements, Director, SRS Watch, 803-240-7268, tomclements329[at]srswatch.org;
Jay Coghlan, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, 505-989-7342, cell: 505.470.3154, jay[at]nukewatch.org;
Shelby Cohen, Communications Manager, SC Env. Law Project, 864-414-7726, shelby[at]scelp.org
WHAT: Press briefing following an April 21 inspection of the proposed Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility, as stipulated in an historic legal “settlement agreement.” Update on just-released draft environmental review of pit production and report on massive budget request by DOE for FY27.
WHO: Plaintiffs Savannah River Site Watch, Nuclear Watch New Mexico and Tri-Valley CAREs (Livermore, CA), represented by the South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP). The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is their scientific consultant. These groups will be on the pit plant tour.
WHEN: Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 9:00 am EST/6:00 am PT.
WHERE: South Carolina State House, first floor, Columbia, SC. It will also be livestreamed on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VVjm1JrnJU4. The public is welcome to attend.
WHY: Plutonium “pits” are the core of all U.S. nuclear weapons. The Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is seeking to expand production to at least 30 plutonium pits per year at the Los Alamos Lab in New Mexico and at least 50 pits per year at the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, SC, which has never produced pits. NNSA pushed forward with the project without proper review, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act. Plaintiffs sued in federal court in Columbia, SC and won, requiring the NNSA to complete a nationwide Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), with public hearings to be held this May. The court-ordered “settlement agreement” also required an inspection of the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility by plaintiffs to ensure that no production begins before the completion of the final PEIS. Pit production generates a host of radioactive waste streams, some of which would be disposed of in trenches at SRS, and poses public safety concerns, such as plutonium criticality and plutonium fires. No future pit production is to maintain the safety and reliability of the existing stockpile. Instead it is for new-design nuclear weapons that could prompt a return to testing.
Plutonium Pit Production Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) is Out Now! Visit PitPEIS.com for More!
The Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for Plutonium Pit Production was released by NNSA on Friday, April 10th. This opens a critical window for public comment on NNSA’s unnecessary plan to expand production of plutonium “pit” bomb cores. This PEIS was brought on by a lawsuit against NNSA over its failure to complete the NEPA process for this plan. As you likely know, NEPA is fully under attack by the current administration — this may be the last foreseeable full NEPA process taking place, making it all the more critical to be involved.
As a resource to help you comment and encourage widespread comment-making in your community, we (lawsuit plaintiffs Nuclear Watch New Mexico and Tri-Valley CAREs, as well as the Union of Concerned Scientists, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and groups from the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability), created a website that is now live!
Your Pit PEIS central hub for information and action: https://pitpeis.com/
Please take a look and feel free to share, and note that we’ll be continuing to update it as soon as new resources become available.
For example, we will soon have:
– A schedule of comment trainings
– Sample comments and talking points
– Regional-focused resources to help engage your local community around this issue
Nuclear Weapons Issues & The Accelerating Arms Race: April 2026
Nuclear Weapons:
Trump has gone beyond the pale, threatening to wipe out an entire civilization (Iran). The Senate majority leader John Thune tweeted thuggishly, “Iran would be wise to take President Trump at his word. They can choose the easy way or the hard way.” Speaker Mike Johnson had adjourned the House.
There is only one thing made by man that can wipe out a civilization overnight and that is nuclear weapons. NNSA and LANL are all complicit in this. 46 Democratic House members have invoked the 25th amendment to get rid of Trump but no Republicans. We have a two week truce which Netanyahu seems determined to destroy by carpet bombing Lebanon.
FY 2027 budget: See press release and press release.
- Military spending in FY 2026 was already a record breaker at $1 trillion. Trump proposes nearly $1.5 trillion for FY 2027. $1.1 trillion as base budget, $355 billion through reconciliation.
- $18 billion for Golden Dome through reconciliation. In the Alice in Wonderland world of nuclear weapons policies, defense is offense.
- $53.9 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE) in FY 2027. Sixty-one per cent ($32.8 billion) is for its semi-autonomous nuclear weapons agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). DOE’s Office of Science is gutted by $1.1 billion which “eliminates funding for climate change and Green New Scam research.” DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is eliminated. Nationwide cleanup of legacy Cold War radioactive and toxic wastes at DOE sites is cut by $386 million to $8.2 billion. LANL’s cleanup program is given a modest 5% bump but there is escalating conflict with the New Mexico Environment Department.
- Funding for plutonium pit production is increased by 87%, an average of $5.1 billion in projected costs for each year FY 2028-2031, pretty much equally divided between LANL and the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. LANL will spend $14 billion for pit production over the next six years. None of this is to maintain the safety and reliability of the existing nuclear weapons stockpile. It is all for new designs.
- Aggressive nuclear warhead production, including the new-design W93. More new designs in the wings.
Performance Evaluation Reports: Received via the Freedom of Information Act and posted into NNSA’s E-FOIA reading room, thanks to our two earlier lawsuits. Concerning the LANL PER please see our press release at https://nukewatch.org/press-release-item/lanl-2025-per-pr-3-6-26/ Tom Clements of SRS Watch points out that the SRS PER makes clear poor contractor performance at the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility. This shows the value of the PERs and can be used as a cudgel against them. I smell blood in the water over the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility.
LANL AI center in Ypsilanti, MI: The Township lawyer contacted me after the article Tiny City Fears Iran Drone Strikes Because of New Nuclear Weapons Datacenter was published. I ended up having a 1.5 hour zoom with him and Township staff. They are fighting LANL’s AI center hard. I sent them our press release on the LANL SWEIS which they say was helpful. In response to a commenter’s question (probably me), the final SWEIS explicitly says that a data center will not be built at LANL. However, it completely fails to mention the one in Ypsilanti, is really duplicitous.
Accelerating Arms Race: Trump’s threat to obliterate a 7.000 year old civilization. Now Iran will really want nuclear weapons.
CRITICAL EVENTS
Endless Nuclear Waste Storage in NM?? Not On Our Watch…
Keep up with the Stop Forever WIPP Coalition to learn how to take action against the Federal Government’s Plan to Expand WIPP and keep it open indefinitely.
Visit the Stop Forever WIPP Coalition’s website and social media:
Website: www.StopForeverWIPP.org
Facebook: facebook.com/StopfvrWIPP
Twitter: twitter.com/stopforeverwipp
Instagram: instagram.com/stopfvrwipp
Stay Informed of All Permit-Related Happenings at WIPP! Sign Up for Updates:
The New Mexico Environment Department maintains a Facility Mailing List to which you can add your name and address to get the latest information – just email Ricardo Maestas at the New Mexico Environment Department at ricardo.maestas@state.nm.us and ask to be added to the list. Or mail your request with your mailing address to:
Continue reading
New Nuclear Media: Art, Films, Books & More
Watch BOMBSHELL on PBS American Experience — streaming across all PBS-branded platforms, including YouTube, PBS.org and the PBS App!
The wait is over! BOMBSHELL is available NOW on PBS American Experience — and will be streaming simultaneously across all PBS-branded platforms, including YouTube, PBS.org and the PBS App.
BOMBSHELL examines how the U.S. government manipulated public opinion through propaganda and censorship to justify the use of nuclear weapons and to minimize the human toll. Against this powerful machinery, a small group of journalists—including a Black pool reporter, a Japanese American staffer, a Japanese photographer, and a freelance magazine writer—identified gaps in the official narrative and courageously reported on the human consequences of the atomic bombings.
The Wall Street Journal described BOMBSHELL as offering “lessons for our own age of ascendant AI,” while Foreign Policy called it “provocative history that brings to life the dangers that arise when government secrecy and control overwhelm press freedom.”
A House of Dynamite review – Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear endgame thriller is a terrifying, white-knuckle comeback
★★★★★: Amid a global arms race, ending the threat of nuclear war — and even the testing of nuclear weapons — is imperative, said the Holy See’s diplomat to the United Nations.
By Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian | September 2, 2025 theguardian.com
Kathryn Bigelow has reopened the subject that we all tacitly agree not to discuss or imagine, in the movies or anywhere else: the subject of an actual nuclear strike. It’s the subject which tests narrative forms and thinkability levels.
Maybe this is why we prefer to see it as something for absurdism and satire – a way of not staring into the sun – to remember Kubrick’s (brilliant) black comedy Dr Strangelove, with no fighting in the war room etc, rather than Lumet’s deadly serious Fail Safe.