An independent federal agency created to provide oversight of safety at nuclear security sites around the country has for months been denied access to federal records and meetings its officials have previously used in the course of their work.
Santa Fe New Mexican | September 23, 2026 santafenewmexican.com
Officials from the U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board have raised alarm over what they’ve called “stonewalling” by the U.S. Department of Energy of their efforts, particularly amid a range of changes to the department’s safety requirements — referred to as “Project Velocity” — which officials have characterized as weakening the agency’s safety protocols and requirements in connection with national laboratories.
New Mexico legislators from the Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee recently signed a letter calling on federal officials to “bring the [Department of Energy] back into compliance with federal law” and to restore access to the oversight agency. Another letter expressed concern for the safety-related directives issued in connection with Project Velocity and urged department leaders to explain how the changes could affect safety for workers and the public.
State Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, called the safety outlook a “four-alarm fire moment” for the state’s national laboratories — including Los Alamos National Laboratory, the only facility that produces plutonium pits for the nation’s nuclear arsenal — saying the status quo is “putting New Mexicans’ lives directly at risk.”