Cost of RECA Chart
In 1985, US President Ronald Reagan and Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev declared that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”
NukeWatch NM Google News Feed
- UNM faculty featured in USA Today documentary on NM's nuclear legacy - UNM Newsroom October 28, 2026UNM faculty featured in USA Today documentary on NM's nuclear legacy UNM Newsroom
- Trinity test fallout haunts New Mexico as US expands nuclear plans - Kansas City Star October 23, 2026Trinity test fallout haunts New Mexico as US expands nuclear plans Kansas City Star
- Secret nuclear weapons report released amid SC, NM factory fight. Here’s what to know - The State August 17, 2026Secret nuclear weapons report released amid SC, NM factory fight. Here’s what to know The State
- Once secret report on atomic weapons production released as greens fight plans in SC, NM - The State August 14, 2026Once secret report on atomic weapons production released as greens fight plans in SC, NM The State
- Nuclear Watch New Mexico sues Department of Energy for plutonium pit report - Santa Fe New Mexican August 5, 2026Nuclear Watch New Mexico sues Department of Energy for plutonium pit report Santa Fe New Mexican
- Nuclear weapons pit study kept secret, groups say. Here’s what to know - The State July 14, 2026Nuclear weapons pit study kept secret, groups say. Here’s what to know The State
- Hidden study casts doubt on need for nuclear weapons factories in SC, NM, critics say - The State July 11, 2026Hidden study casts doubt on need for nuclear weapons factories in SC, NM, critics say The State
- Plaintiffs in SRS plutonium pit lawsuit demand documents, extension of public comment period - Post and Courier July 10, 2026Plaintiffs in SRS plutonium pit lawsuit demand documents, extension of public comment period Post and Courier
- New Mexico environment officials mandate more legacy nuclear waste at WIPP - Source New Mexico April 24, 2026New Mexico environment officials mandate more legacy nuclear waste at WIPP Source New Mexico
- Rare tour of Savannah River plutonium facility stokes opponents fears of 'new nuclear arms race' - Post and Courier April 23, 2026Rare tour of Savannah River plutonium facility stokes opponents fears of 'new nuclear arms race' Post and Courier
- A major environmental decision is now locked in, with lingering questions about the process behind it - Federal News Network April 22, 2026A major environmental decision is now locked in, with lingering questions about the process behind it Federal News Network
- Nuclear watchdogs toured a planned SC plutonium plant. Here’s what they saw. - South Carolina Daily Gazette April 22, 2026Nuclear watchdogs toured a planned SC plutonium plant. Here’s what they saw. South Carolina Daily Gazette
- WATCH: Vasquez Presses Administration Officials on Their Openness to Resuming Above-Ground Nuclear Testing, Jeopardizing American Health and Safety - Representative Gabe Vasquez | (.gov) April 22, 2026WATCH: Vasquez Presses Administration Officials on Their Openness to Resuming Above-Ground Nuclear Testing, Jeopardizing American Health and Safety Representative Gabe Vasquez | (.gov)
NEW & UPDATED
U.S. Considers Expanded Nuclear Arsenal, a Reversal of Decades of Cuts
“China’s expansion and Russia’s threats of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine and in space have changed a U.S. drive to reduce nuclear weapons.”
ByJulian E. Barnes and , New York Times | June 7, 2024 nytimes.com
A senior Biden administration official warned on Friday that “absent a change” in nuclear strategy by China and Russia, the United States may be forced to expand its nuclear arsenal, after decades of cutting back through now largely abandoned arms control agreements.
The comments on Friday from Pranay Vaddi, a senior director of the National Security Council, were the most explicit public warning yet that the United States was prepared to shift from simply modernizing its arsenal to expanding it…
A ‘TOTAL, COMPLETE’ FAILURE
“Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is speaking out against his own party’s House leadership after the chamber left for the week with no plan for reauthorizing and expanding a program compensating victims of nuclear radiation exposure that’s due to expire on June 10.”
By Anthony Adragna, Politico | June 5, 2024 politico.com
“Clearly, it’s not a priority,” Hawley told Inside Congress. “The next few days, hopefully, are focusing people’s minds on the fact that we’re about to go over the precipice here.”
Hawley, who has been an outspoken champion of expanding the program to include Missouri communities, said the program’s looming expiration represents “just the failure of leadership.” He worked with Democrats, including Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), to get an expanded version of the program, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act, through the Senate in March by a wide 69-30 bipartisan margin.
Critics have blushed at the cost of the expansion, estimated at $50 to $60 billion over ten years without any offsets for the new spending. That has complicated passage in the House, and Speaker MIke Johnson’s office did not respond to Hawley’s comments.
Cracks in the Sin Screen: The Link Between Mormon Tithes and Nuclear Weapons
Read Taylor Barnes’ deep dive into Northrup Grumman, chosen manufacture of the Sentinel ICBM, for which the Los Alamos National Lab and Savannah River Site would make new plutonium pits. As they are the ones doing the dirty work of preparing for full-scale nuclear war (a la the “Nuclear Posture Reviews” of Trump & Biden), all NNSA and DOE contractors need this kind of scrutiny. — Tom Clements, SRS Watch
Words: Taylor Barnes – Pictures: Aubrey Odom, Inkstick Media | June 4, 2024 inkstickmedia.com
On March 28, 1979, a handful of Air Force officers and a Mormon civilian employee from Utah’s Hill Air Force Base arrived in Salt Lake City for an unusual meeting. They were seeking a blessing: For the Church of Latter-day Saints’ top three leaders to endorse a plan to construct 8,500 miles of roads and 4,600 concrete garages for a nuclear weapons system. It would constantly shuttle 200 missiles on racetracks, playing a “shell game” intended to keep the Soviet military guessing where America’s nuclear warheads really were at any given moment. The Soviets could, of course, just build more nuclear weapons and take out the entire missile field at once, so American war planners imagined the project, called “Missile, Experimental,” or MX, would continuously grow, becoming 8,250 garages and 360 missiles by 1990. And so on.
That sort of arms race meant the Air Force needed Americans willing to host the ever-growing missile field. The desert landscape of the Great Basin spanning western Utah and central Nevada appealed to them. It had few highways, little infrastructure, and relatively sparse numbers of human residents. Of the population that did exist in the basing area, however, 80% was Mormon, according to an account of the MX battle in “The Mormon Military Experience,” a book recently published by historians Sherman L. Fleek and Robert C. Freeman from West Point and Brigham Young University.
Beyond Oppenheimer: Nuclear Weapons in U.S. Popular Media
“In recent years, nuclear weapons have made their way back to a prominent role in popular media in the United States. The headliner has been Oppenheimer, the most feted film of the 2024 Academy Awards and the most high-profile movie depicting nuclear weapons in decades. Beyond that example, nuclear weapons have appeared repeatedly in other U.S. media products, playing roles of varying significance in fictional movies, TV and streaming series, and docuseries and documentaries.”
By: Luisa Kenausis, Arms Control Association | June 2024 armscontrol.org
In recent years, nuclear weapons have made their way back to a prominent role in popular media in the United States. The headliner has been Oppenheimer, the most feted film of the 2024 Academy Awards and the most high-profile movie depicting nuclear weapons in decades. Beyond that example, nuclear weapons have appeared repeatedly in other U.S. media products, playing roles of varying significance in fictional movies, TV and streaming series, and docuseries and documentaries.
Nuclear weapons are not a new element in cinematic culture in the United States, but it seems they are more of a focus today than they have in a generation. To understand the surge in interest, viewers must consider the societal function of storytelling, the interaction of global politics and popular culture, and the history of nuclear weapons in pop culture.It is also necessary to examine some recent and upcoming nuclear weapons-related films and TV shows, assess how they interact with prevailing Western narratives about nuclear weapons, and consider their potential impact on public opinion on nuclear weapons in the United States.
Your NukeWatch NM Team in DC!
Your Nuclear Watch New Mexico team has just returned from a weeklong trip to Washington D.C. (we went so you don’t have to!). We proudly joined the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) in their annual “DC Days” conference and following Spring Meeting, where over 60 individuals from 30+ groups journeyed to DC to lobby congress on nuclear weapons, energy, and waste policy on behalf of the frontline nuclear communities we represent. From across the U.S. near nuclear complex sites in Georgia, New Mexico, Tennessee, California, Missouri, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan and beyond, members were present from the following groups: Beyond Nuclear, Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Parents Against Santa Susana Field Laboratory, Peaceworks Kansas City, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles & Wisconsin, Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center, Snake River Alliance, Southwest Research and Information Center, Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. There were also a number of individual attendants participating from groups not currently affiliated with ANA as official members, notably more than previous years, which lends optimism for the potential growth of DC Days and ANA as a whole.
Boulder County reconsidering involvement in trail connection to Rocky Flats due to plutonium concerns
“During a windstorm on April 6, Michael Ketterer, a retired scientist and adjunct professor at the University of Denver, took samples and said he detected high levels of plutonium in the air.
‘The concentrations in the dirt that’s just kind of blowing right past us on that day are higher than can be explained in any way in normal,’ said Dr. Ketterer.”
By Natalie Chuck, Denver 7 News | May 23, 2024 denver7.com
“More people are coming every day,” said Scott Riemer, who comes to the area to bike multiple times a week.
But now, Boulder County commissioners are facing concerns from community members as a result of decisions made by their predecessors. At the center of the controversy is Rocky Flats, acres of federal land formerly home to a nuclear weapons facility.
In 1989, the facility was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for alleged environmental violations, including elevated levels of plutonium. All operations were suspended. Since then, trails have been developed on Rocky Flats.
In 2016, wheels were set in motion to develop the Rocky Mountain Greenway, a string of trails from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge to the Rocky Flats Mountain Wildlife Refuge to Rocky Mountain National Park.
While trails on Rocky Flats have been built, construction impacting Boulder County has yet to start.
Feds: Indian Point owner Holtec had laid-off workers agree not to testify against company
“It is essential that current and former plant workers feel free to raise safety concerns with the NRC,” spokesman Neil Sheehan said. “They are (or were) at the plant on a daily basis and can have knowledge of issues that are not available to us.”
This is the second time in recent months Holtec has reversed course after the NRC caught the company violating federal regulations.
In February, the NRC cited Holtec for spending $63,000 of ratepayer funds meant for the demolition of Indian Point to sponsor a high school fashion show, sports teams and a golf outing. Holtec had to reimburse the money, which it took out of some $2 billion in decommissioning trust funds it inherited after buying the plant from Louisiana-based Entergy.
By, LOHUD | May 29, 2024 lohud.com
Indian Point’s owners had workers sign agreements saying they would not discuss safety concerns with outsiders after they stopped working at the shuttered nuclear power plant, an investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found.
The NRC last week cited Holtec International, the plant’s New Jersey-based owners, for including language in the severance agreements of employees who left the company in 2022 and 2023 that would restrict or discourage them from testifying as a witness in a proceeding that could damage Holtec.
Additionally, the NRC said, Holtec required the employees to tell Holtec if they received “subpoenas, correspondence, telephone calls, requests for information, inquiries or other contacts” from government agencies or other third parties.
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