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
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
Los Alamos Lab Banking on Plutonium “Pit” Production and New-Design Nuclear Warheads But Fights Against Cleanup
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 7, 2026
Contact: Jay Coghlan, 505.989.7342, c. 505.470.3154 | Email
Sophie Stroud, 505.231.9736 | Email
Santa Fe, NM – The Department of Energy (DOE) has released additional details for the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s fiscal year 2027 budget. Earlier budget documents showed an 83% increase in funding for plutonium “pit” bomb core production, bringing it to $2.4 billion in FY 2027. An average of $2.3 billion will be spent in each of the following five years, for a total of $14 billion over six years. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has directed the Lab to double pit production to at least 60 pits per year, making it more and more a nuclear weapons production site. However, no future pit production is to maintain the safety and reliability of the existing nuclear weapons stockpile. Instead, it is all for new-design nuclear weapons for the new nuclear arms race.
As a direct case in point, a newly released DOE budget document demonstrates that LANL will be funded $478 million in FY 2027 for the U.S.’ first completely new-design nuclear warhead since the Cold War, the submarine-launched W93. This is despite the recent completion of life extension programs for the U.S.’ two existing sub-launched warheads (the W76 and W88) that gave them new military capabilities, costing around $12 billion dollars. Nevertheless, the W93 program is moving forward, largely because of lobbying by the United Kingdom.
As LANL becomes more and more a nuclear weapons production site, non-weapons “Science” is being cut nearly in half ($84.7 million in FY 2026 to $43 million in FY 2027). Nonproliferation programs are cut from $377 million in FY 2026 to $345 million in FY 2027. All funding for renewable energy research has been eliminated, with the exception of $5.5 million for geothermal.
Trump Accelerates New Nuclear Warhead Production
Nearly Doubles Funding for Plutonium “Pit” Bomb Core Production
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 6, 2026
Contact: Jay Coghlan, 505.989.7342, c. 505.470.3154 | Email
Sophie Stroud, 505.231.9736 | Email
Santa Fe, NM – The Trump Administration has released military budget numbers for the federal fiscal year 2027 (which begins October 1, 2026). This still current fiscal year 2026 is already a record breaker for military spending at one trillion dollars. Trump now proposes nearly $1.5 trillion in military spending in FY 2027, of which $1.1 trillion is base funding for the Department of War and an additional $350 million is through so-called budget reconciliation. On top of all this, Trump will likely seek $200 billion in supplementary appropriations for the war in Iran, for a potential total of $1.7 trillion in military spending in FY 2027 (a 70% increase above FY 2026). At the same time, there is a 10% across-the-board cut to non-military spending. Much of the remaining discretionary funding for education, wildfire protection, environmental regulations, health care, etc., will be constrained by a focus on border control and immigration enforcement.
Trump proposes $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 ($3 billion of which is reserved for the Hanford Site; other site-specific cleanup budget numbers are still not yet available).
LANL Plans to Spend $11.5B on Pit Production over Next Five Years, While New Mexico Remains One of the Poorest States in the Nation
A full one billion dollars is being added to plutonium “pit” bomb core production at the Los Alamos Lab for fiscal year 2027 (which begins this October 1). This tops out at $2.3 billion for each of the next five fiscal years, for a total of $11.5 billion.
None of this pit production is to maintain the safety and reliability of the existing nuclear weapons stockpile. Instead, it’s all for new-design nuclear weapons which can’t be tested because of the international testing moratorium, thereby perhaps eroding confidence in the stockpile. Alternatively, it could prompt the U.S. to resume testing (which Trump has already threatened), after which other nuclear weapons powers would surely follow, thereby accelerating the new nuclear arms race.
Other than for new-design nuclear weapons, plutonium pit production is simply not needed. In 2006 independent experts found that plutonium pits have serviceable lifetimes of at least 100 years (their average is now around 43 years). The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has avoided fully updated pit lifetime studies since then. There are already at least 15,000 existing pits stored at the NNSA’s Pantex Plant near Amarillo, TX.
Plutonium pit production is the NNSA’s most expensive and complex program ever.
Trump Accelerates New Nuclear Warhead Production
Nearly Doubles Funding for Plutonium “Pit” Bomb Core Production
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 6, 2026
Contact: Jay Coghlan, 505.989.7342, c. 505.470.3154 | Email
Sophie Stroud, 505.231.9736 | Email
Santa Fe, NM – The Trump Administration has released military budget numbers for the federal fiscal year 2027 (which begins October 1, 2026). This still current fiscal year 2026 is already a record breaker for military spending at one trillion dollars. Trump now proposes nearly $1.5 trillion in military spending in FY 2027, of which $1.1 trillion is base funding for the Department of War and an additional $350 million is through so-called budget reconciliation. On top of all this, Trump will likely seek $200 billion in supplementary appropriations for the war in Iran, for a potential total of $1.7 trillion in military spending in FY 2027 (a 70% increase above FY 2026). At the same time, there is a 10% across-the-board cut to non-military spending. Much of the remaining discretionary funding for education, wildfire protection, environmental regulations, health care, etc., will be constrained by a focus on border control and immigration enforcement.
Trump proposes $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 ($3 billion of which is reserved for the Hanford Site; other site-specific cleanup budget numbers are still not yet available).
Federal budget could mean nearly $1.7B more for Los Alamos lab
“A 21% surge in spending for defense programs funded by the U.S. Department of Energy would mean a more than $1.7 billion boost for nuclear weapons work at Los Alamos National Laboratory.”
| April 6, 2026 santafenewmexican.com
Early budget documents for the agency are in line with a presidential budget proposal released Friday, which emphasizes military spending — with a whopping $1.5 trillion recommendation for the Department of War — partially offset by cuts to domestic programs like health care and education, as well as what the federal government calls the “Green New Scam”, or climate-related work.
New nuclear safety rules reduce protections for workers, the public
“They’re pulling away from what’s kept us safe all these years.”
Bradley P. Clawson spent more than three decades handling highly radioactive materials at Idaho National Laboratory, a nuclear energy testing and production hub outside Idaho Falls. His work ranged from shipping and receiving nuclear naval fuels to helping bring hundreds of canisters of leftover fuel to Idaho for storage after the catastrophic Three Mile Island meltdown. He often handled nuclear fuel in “hot cells,” immensely contaminated areas reinforced with thick concrete.
Throughout, Clawson, a member of the United Steelworkers union, leaned on safety standards to argue for extra protections against radiation, including respirators and additional shielding.
But President Donald Trump’s sweeping agenda to expand nuclear energy and modernize nuclear weapons now includes easing the radiation standards that Clawson credits with keeping his exposure as low as possible.
Final Los Alamos Lab Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Future Path for the Lab:
Radically Expanded Nuclear Weapons Production
“Defers” Comprehensive Cleanup Until Plutonium “Pit” Production is Done
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, March 25, 2026
Contact: Jay Coghlan, 505.989.7342, c. 505.470.3154 | Email
Santa Fe, NM – Today the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous nuclear weapons agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), released its final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for Continued Operation of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. This is eighteen years after the last site-wide EIS, during which time the Lab has been increasingly transformed into a nuclear weapons production site for the new global nuclear arms race. As the final SWEIS’ accompanying Record of Decision puts it, “NNSA has decided to fully implement the Expanded Operations Alternative.” Final LANL SWEIS ROD, page 5.
The final LANL SWEIS also states “At this time, MDA C will be deferred until no longer associated with active facility operations.” Final LANL SWEIS, page N-41. Material Disposal Area C is an old radioactive and toxic waste dump, inactive since 1974. Not mentioned is the fact that the New Mexico Environment Department has issued a draft order mandating comprehensive cleanup at Area C, which Nuclear Watch New Mexico strongly supports and DOE and LANL bitterly oppose. The reason DOE and LANL now claim that Area C is “associated with active facility operations” is because it is located within a few hundred yards of PF-4, LANL’s production facility for plutonium “pit” bomb cores. This strongly implies that the Lab will never be comprehensively cleaned up until LANL’s nuclear weapons production mission is over, which in effect means never. Further, LANL still hasn’t documented the extent of the massive groundwater contamination that it has caused.
CRITICAL EVENTS
Salon duc Tape – The U.S Nuclear Weapons Complex: April 24 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Past, present, and an uncharted future
At the salon on Friday, April 24th we will hear a high level overview of the current U.S. nuclear weapons complex, how we got here, and how the U.S. is currently driving a new nuclear arms race. Presentations include representatives from the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, Tri-Valley CAREs, NukeWatch New Mexico, and Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center. This series of presentations welcomes organizers, advocates, and members of the community to learn valuable information to strengthen their awareness and activism. Presentations will include the following subjects, followed by a question and response period:
- Tanvi Kardile will be discussing plutonium pit production for nuclear weapons at Savannah River Site in South Carolina, giving some first-hand experience of touring the site, and transportation of nuclear material/waste. Tanvi is the Nuclear Policy Program Director at Tri-Valley CAREs.
- Scott Yundt will be discussing the new nuclear arms race and the current plan to develop all new nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles. He will also discuss the litigation to challenge new plutonium pit production and why this opportunity to comment is so important. Scott is the Executive Director at Tri-Valley CAREs.
- Sophia (Sophie) Stroud will be discussing plutonium pit production at the Los Alamos National Lab and why new plutonium pit production is unnecessary, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the issue of where future wastes from expanded nuclear weapons production will go, and touch on the myth that is the U.S. nuclear strategy of deterrence. Sophie is the Communications and Associate Director at Nuclear Watch New Mexico.
- Chris Allred will be presenting a brief history of the Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado, which manufactured 70,000 plutonium pits for the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. The presentation will address the history of environmental crimes which contaminated downwind communities throughout the Denver Metro region. Chris is a Nuclear Guardianship Coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center.
Salon duc Tape, a public forum sponsored by the Northern Colorado Alliance for a Livable Future (NCALF), usually meets on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month from 7:00 — 9:00 p.m. You will need to register in advance for this salon here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information – including a new link – about joining the salon.
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.