Watchblog

Watchblog

Trump’s 2020 Nuclear Weapons Budget Escalates New Arms Race

DOE, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., NNSA, Nuclear Policy, Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Weapons, Plutonium, Plutonium Pit Production, Press Releases, Washington DC

Posted By Scott Kovac Santa Fe, NM – Today the Trump Administration released more budget details for the Department of Energy and its semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration’s nuclear weapons programs for fiscal year 2020. This same fiscal year will also mark the 75th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Global Nuclear... Continue reading→

Sandia National Laboratories Annual Budget is 81% Military Work

DOE, Nuclear Weapons, Sandia National Laboratories, Washington DC

Posted by Scott Kovac – Sandia National Laboratories, has one of the Department Of Energy’s (DOE’s) largest annual budgets and the fiscal year 2020 (FY20) Congressional Budget Request shows continued military priorities for the Lab. There are two components of Sandia’s annual budget – work for DOE (with a $2.4 billion request for FY20) and... Continue reading→

New Momentum for Saner Nuclear Policy: Event Highlights

Climate Change, DOE, Nuclear Policy, Nuclear Weapons, Washington DC

BY SOPHIA STROUD | – NukeWatch NM Web Designer Monday 3/18 Ploughshares Fund hosted an in-depth discussion about the momentum building for a new, saner nuclear policy and how California can lead the way to a safer, more secure world. “The more that I dug into the history of nuclear weapons and the legacy that system has... Continue reading→

Fukushima: Eighth Anniversary of a Crippling Nuclear Disaster

Environmental Impact, Fukushima, Japan, Nuclear Policy, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Waste

A man prays in front of the former Okawa elementary school in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture on the eighth anniversary of the 2011 tsunami disaster. (Credit 2019 AFP) BY SOPHIA STROUD | – NukeWatch NM Web Designer On Friday, March 11, 2011, a 9.0 M earthquake occurred off the East coast of Japan, triggering a massive tsunami... Continue reading→

Trump Budget Would Continue Nuclear Weapons Buildup and Bring More Nuclear Waste to NM

DOE, Environmental Impact, EPA, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Weapons, Plutonium, WIPP

By Scott Kovac, Operations and Research Director The White House released the top line numbers of its fiscal year 2020 Congressional budget request and, although there are some increases heading to New Mexico, they are not the increases that we’d like to see. It’s called – A Budget For a Better America,  Promises Kept. Taxpayers First. but... Continue reading→

WIPP Receives Notice of Upcoming Investigation for Chemical Overexposures to Workers

DNFSB, Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Waste, WIPP

On January 29, 2019, DOE’s Office of Enterprise Assessments notified Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC (NWP), the managing and operating contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plan (WIPP), of its intent to investigate heat stress-related events and chemical exposures at WIPP. The events, occurring from July through October 2018, include multiple overexposures to hazardous chemicals, including carbon tetrachloride, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, as well as... Continue reading→

NNSA’s pet ‘Interoperable Warhead’ is DEAD

DOE, Modernization, NNSA, Nuclear Forces, Nuclear Weapons

The study in question came about because Marylia Kelley, of Tri-Valley CARES, and NukeWatch’s Director, Jay Coghlan, suggested to congressional staff that it be done. But they wanted to ask independent scientists (the JASONs) to do it – instead just NNSA did it. And NNSA dodged the central congressional requirement to compare the benefits and costs... Continue reading→

New Estimate ($377B) Raises Cost of Cold War Cleanup (Again)

DOE, Environmental Impact, High-level Radioactive Waste, Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Lab, Nuclear Waste

At some point, DOE will have to admit that it has no idea what it will cost to cleanup the Cold War nuclear weapons complex sites. DOE should stop making more wastes until the existing wastes are remediated. The new estimate is more that twice the amount that has been spent in total since cleanup... Continue reading→

Plutonium Pit Production NEPA Talking Points

Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., NEPA, Nuclear Weapons, Plutonium

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the landmark environmental law which requires executive agencies to give the public the opportunity to formally review and comment on major federal proposals. These talking points outline the history of the Department of Energy’s NEPA compliance on its various proposals concerning the production of plutonium pits (the fissile... Continue reading→

LANL 2018-salary by county

“Preliminary” Research Pushes Economic Impact Boundaries for LANL

DOE, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Sandia National Laboratories

While Sandia, LANL, and Journal Statements Leave Many Questions A January 15 Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) press release reviewed preliminary research from the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER). The research claimed that the “average annual total impact on economic output across New Mexico from 2015 to 2017 was $3.1... Continue reading→

Key Messages from the 2019 Doomsday Clock Announcement – ICAN

Doomsday Clock, ICAN, Nuclear News, Nuclear Safety

ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) believes that the success of people-powered change and the leadership of the majority of nations supporting the TPNW is a positive development these last years. ICAN’s success and the TPNW is a turning point for the world, and we will be working to turn it backwards from now.... Continue reading→

NukeWatch Joins Suit To Stop WIPP Expansion

DOE, Nuclear News, Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Waste, WIPP

NukeWatch Joins Suit To Stop WIPP Expansion On January 17, 2019, Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC) and Nuclear Watch New Mexico (NWNM) filed an appeal in the New Mexico Court of Appeals to overturn the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) approval of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Disposal Volume permit modification, which was... Continue reading→

DOE, Savannah River Site Watch

Columbia, SC – New aerial photos by pilot High Flyer of the nation’s costly and bungled nuclear construction projects are being released by Savannah River Site Watch. Of primary importance, the photos – linked in “notes” below – reveal details at the Department of Energy’s terminated plutonium fuel (MOX) project at the Savannah River Site... Continue reading→

Belen passes resolution opposing nuclear waste transportation

Environmental Impact, Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Waste

Belen passes resolution opposing nuclear waste transportation NISG (Nuclear Issues Study Group) worked to get a resolution opposing the transportation of High Level Radioactive Waste in front of the City of Belen. The Belen City Council passed the resolution on Nov. 19th! It was 3 votes yes and 1 abstention. Belen is the 18th City... Continue reading→

Principles for Safe Management and Geological Isolation of Irradiated Nuclear Fuel

High-level Radioactive Waste

Summary: The environmental risks posed by irradiated fuel are extreme: As observed by the U.S. Court of Appeals, it has “the capacity to outlast human civilization as we know it and the potential to devastate public health and the environment.” Nuclear Energy Inst., Inc. v. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 373 F.3d 1251 (D.C. Cir. 2004).If irradiated fuel... Continue reading→

Federal District Court Allows Lawsuit to Proceed Against DOE/LANS Potential Penalties Exceed $300,000,000

Environmental Impact, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab.

For Immediate Release New Mexico Environmental Law Center Nuclear Watch New Mexico – Santa Fe, NM A United States District Court judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed by Nuclear Watch New Mexico (NukeWatch) can move forward. The lawsuit is based on thirteen (13) violations of corrective actions Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS) and... Continue reading→

New Contractors Selected For Expanded Nuclear Weapons Production at Los Alamos

Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Weapons, Press Releases

Santa Fe, NM – Today the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced its choice for the new management and operating contract for the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The new contractor, Triad National Security, LLC, is a limited liability company consisting of the Battelle Memorial Institute, the University of California and Texas... Continue reading→

Groups Release Key DOE Documents on Expanded Plutonium Pit Production, DOE Nuclear Weapons Plan Not Supported by Recent Congressional Actions

Pit Production

Santa Fe, NM & Columbia, SC – Two key U.S. Department of Energy documents on future production of plutonium “pits” for nuclear weapons, not previously released to the public, fail to justify new and upgraded production facilities at both the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico and the Savannah River Site (SRS) in... Continue reading→

What’s Not in NNSA’s Plutonium Pit Production Decision

Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Lab, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Weapons, Pantex Plant, Sandia National Laboratories, Savannah River Site, WIPP, Y-12 Nat'l Security Complex

 Today the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced: To achieve DoD’s [the Defense Department] 80 pits per year requirement by 2030, NNSA’s recommended alternative repurposes the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to produce plutonium pits while also maximizing pit production activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory in... Continue reading→

NNSA Albuquerque Complex gets new $202 million facility, nuclear weapons money near doubles

Nuclear Weapons

See the National Nuclear Security Administration’s brief press release below on a new facility for its Albuquerque Complex. Nuclear weapons spending for NNSA’s Albuquerque Complex nearly doubled from $312 million in FY 2018 to $604.4 million in FY 2019. Within that, Directed Stockpile Work nearly tripled from $133.4 million in FY 2018 to $338.9 million... Continue reading→

The Regional Coalition of LANL Communities: Benefits for the Select Few

Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nuclear Weapons

 According to media reports, Andrea Romero, Executive Director of the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities, is accused of charging some $2,200 dollars of unallowable travel costs, such as alcohol and baseball tickets, while lobbying in Washington, DC for additional funding for the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). She in turn accused the nonprofit group Northern... Continue reading→

Major LANL Cleanup Subcontractor Implicated in Fraud; Entire Los Alamos Cleanup Should Be Re-evaluated

Environmental Impact, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Weapons, WIPP

 On December 17, 2017, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded a separate $1.4 billion contract for cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos, LLC (also known as “N3B”).[1] This award followed a DOE decision to pull cleanup from LANL’s prime contractor, Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS), after... Continue reading→

Trump’s Budget Dramatically Increases Nuclear Weapons Work

Nuclear Weapons

In keeping with the Trump Administration’s recent controversial Nuclear Posture Review, today’s just released FY 2019 federal budget dramatically ramps up nuclear weapons research and production. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous nuclear weapons agency, is receiving a $2.2 billion overall boost to $15.1 billion, a 17% increase above the... Continue reading→

Testimony Calls Out Continued DOE Cost Estimating Mismanagement

Nuclear Security, Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Weapons

Testimony Calls Out Continued DOE Cost Estimating Mismanagement Given that DOE has challenges estimating almost all large projects, taxpayers must push to spend on cleanup first. Both nuclear weapons and environmental management estimates keep increasing. We can keep spending on dangerous nuclear weapons that we don’t need, or we can finally focus on cleaning up... Continue reading→

Govt pulls full Nuclear Posture Review – Get it here!

Nuclear Security, Nuclear Weapons

The old link for the full Nuclear Posture Review https://media.defense.gov/2018/Feb/02/2001872886/-1/-1/1/2018-NUCLEAR-POSTURE-REVIEW-FINAL-REPORT.PDF live on Friday February 2, 2018, now yields nothing. The Defense Department’s new link https://www.defense.gov/News/Special-Reports/0218_npr/ has an executive summary and some fact sheets, but not the full  Review. Interestingly, the executive summary looks like it’s translated into Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and French. No doubt... Continue reading→

“Gateway Drug to Nuclear War” Feeds More Nuke Addiction

Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Security, Nuclear Weapons

“Gateway Drug to Nuclear War” Feeds More Nuke Addiction The Trump Administration’s high policy document, the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), released February 2, includes recommendations for the deployment of lower yield, “more usable” nuclear warheads. This will only feed the US addiction to nukes. An article on the same day in The American Conservative, “Trump’s... Continue reading→

Draft Nuclear Posture Review Degrades National Security

Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nuclear Security, Nuclear Weapons, Sandia National Laboratories

Yesterday evening the Huffington Post posted a leaked draft of the Trump Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). This review is the federal government’s highest unclassified nuclear weapons policy document, and the first since the Obama Administration’s April 2010 NPR. This Review begins with “[m]any hoped conditions had been set for deep reductions in global nuclear... Continue reading→

New Mexico Environment Department Surrendered to DOE Extortion

Environmental Impact, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab.

  The New Mexico State Auditor Office recently questioned whether two settlements between the New Mexico Environment Department and the Department of Energy were in the best interests of New Mexico. That Office noted: The [New Mexico Environment] Department unnecessarily forgave tens of millions of dollars in civil penalties related to various waste management issues and... Continue reading→

Some notes on the Congressional Budget Office study on nuclear weapons modernization costs

Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Lab, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nuclear Weapons, Sandia National Laboratories

CBO quotes in italics. First, some policy matters not addressed in the CBO study. Driving the astronomical expense of modernization that the CBO reports on is the fact that instead of maintaining just the few hundred warheads needed for the publicly claimed policy of “deterrence,” thousands of warheads are being refurbished and improved to fight... Continue reading→

Cost of Nuclear Weapons Upgrades and Improvements Increases to $1.2 Trillion

Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Weapons

Cost of Nuclear Weapons Upgrades and Improvements Increases to $1.2 Trillion Today, in Washington, DC, the Congressional Budget Office released its new report Approaches for Managing the Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2017 to 2046, which it summarized as: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the most recent detailed plans for nuclear forces, which were incorporated... Continue reading→

Santa Fe City Council: LANL Cleanup Order Must Be Strengthened & Expanded Plutonium Pit Production Suspended Until Safety Issues Are Resolved

Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nuclear Waste

Santa Fe, NM – On October 25 the Santa Fe City Council passed the following: A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THAT THE NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT STRENGTHEN THE REVISED LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABS CLEANUP ORDER TO CALL FOR ADDITIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LEGACY NUCLEAR WASTES, INCREASED CLEANUP FUNDING, AND SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONAL SAFETY TRAINING; AND SUSPEND ANY PLANNED EXPANDED... Continue reading→

ICAN wins Nobel Peace Prize, NM politicians and Archbishop should support nuclear weapons abolition

Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Lab, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nuclear Weapons, Sandia National Laboratories

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Wins Nobel Peace Prize NukeWatch Calls on New Mexico Politicians and Santa Fe Archbishop To Support Drive Towards Abolition Nuclear Watch New Mexico strongly applauds the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (as disclosure, NukeWatch is one of ICAN’s ~400 member... Continue reading→

Talking Points: The 2016 LANL Cleanup Consent Order Should Be Rescinded

Los Alamos Nat'l Lab.

Why rescind the 2016 Consent Order?  In June 2016 the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), the Department of Energy (DOE) and Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS) signed a revised Consent Order governing cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The new Consent Order is a big step backwards in achieving comprehensive, genuine cleanup... Continue reading→

Chromium Groundwater Contamination at Los Alamos Lab Far Greater Than Previously Expected; LANL’s Treatment Plan Must Be Drastically Changed

Environmental Impact, Nuclear Waste

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has detected far more hexavalent chromium (Cr) contamination than previously estimated in the “sole source” regional groundwater aquifer that serves Los Alamos, Santa Fe and the Española Basin. Sampling in July from a new well meant to inject treated groundwater back into the aquifer detected chromium contamination five times... Continue reading→

Expanded Plutonium Pit Production at LANL Will Not Result in Significant Positive Effect On Job Creation and the Regional Economy

Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nuclear Weapons

Abstract: Expanded production of plutonium pits, the fissile cores of modern thermonuclear weapons, is cynically being justified as a source of job creation. Precise data on employment in plutonium pit production at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the number of additional jobs if expanded is not publicly available to our knowledge. However, the... Continue reading→

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board to advocate for nuclear weaponeers?

Kansas City Plant, Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Lab, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab., Nevada National Security Site, Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Weapons, Pantex Plant, Sandia National Laboratories, Savannah River Site, Y-12 Nat'l Security Complex

From our colleague Don Hancock at the Southwest Research and Information Center: Two members (Roberson and Santos) of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) have gone public over an internal dispute about a Memorandum of Agreement between DNFSB and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in which DNFSB staff would be detailed to NNSA... Continue reading→