Watchblog

Watchblog

Obama’s Speech in Hiroshima

Obama’s speech is  beautiful and very moving. But he’ll be gone soon while the one trillion dollar modernization of U.S. nuclear forces that begins under him will go on for 30 years and then some (unless we stop it, that is). http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/28/world/asia/text-of-president-obamas-speech-in-hiroshima-japan.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0   Text of President Obama’s Speech in Hiroshima, Japan MAY 27, 2016   Continue reading

Sign the Petition – No Loopholes, No Excuses – Full Cleanup at Los Alamos!

Dear Friends, Thanks to those who made it to the meeting last night!   NukeWatch has a new petition – The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has issued a proposed new “Consent Order” governing cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the birthplace of nuclear weapons. We demand NMED close the giant loophole in the... Continue reading

Nuclear Watch NM Files Lawsuit Over Lack of Cleanup at the Los Alamos Lab

May 17, 2016 Nuclear Watch NM Files Lawsuit Over Lack of Cleanup at the Los Alamos Lab; NM Environment Dept. Forgoes Nearly $300 Million in Penalties Santa Fe, NM – Nuclear Watch New Mexico has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Department of Energy and Los Alamos National Security LLC (LANS), the for-profit... Continue reading

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC Performance Evaluation Report – Wrong B61-12 tail case?

Buried in the just released NNSA FY 2015 Performance Evaluation Report (PER) for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC (the combined contract for Pantex and Y-12 run by Lockheed Martin and Bechtel) is the remarkable note that Pantex sent to the Defense Department a Joint Test Assembly (JTA) of the B61-12 nuclear smart bomb with the wrong... Continue reading

Comment Period Extended for Proposed Los Alamos Cleanup Order

The New Mexico Environment Department’s Hazardous Waste Bureau is extending the public comment period on the proposed changes to the Draft Consent Order which governs legacy clean-up at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The public comment period now continues through May 31.  To obtain a copy of the documents or a portion thereof, visit the NMED... Continue reading

Sample General Comments on the proposed new Los Alamos Cleanup Agreement

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has issued a draft revised Consent Order (CO), which was the agreement in 2005 between the State and the federal Department of Energy (DOE) for fence-to-fence cleanup of legacy Cold War wastes at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The Consent Order was designed as a plan-to-make-a-plan with investigations... Continue reading

NukeWatch NM Heads to DC To Stop U.S. Nuclear Weapons “Trillion Dollar Trainwreck”

NukeWatch NM Heads to Washington to Press Congress, Obama Officials To Stop U.S. Nuclear Weapons “Trillion Dollar Trainwreck” — LANL Whistleblower Chuck Montaño to Be Honored   Three members of Nuclear Watch New Mexico will visit Washington, DC from April 17 to April 20 to oppose U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons projects, which... Continue reading

Watchdogs Demand Expedited Release of Lab Evaluations to E-FOIA Reading Room

Watchdogs File Second FOIA Request for Los Alamos and Sandia Labs Evaluations, Demand Expedited Release to E-FOIA Reading Room   Santa Fe, NM – Nuclear Watch New Mexico has filed a second request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s FY 2015 Performance Evaluation Reports for the Los Alamos... Continue reading

Watchdogs Denounce New Consent Order on Los Alamos Lab Cleanup

For immediate release March 30, 2016 Contacts:       Jay Coghlan, 505.989.7342,  jay[at]nukewatch.org Scott Kovac, 505.989.7342, scott[at]nukewatch.org   Watchdogs Denounce New Consent Order on Los Alamos Lab Cleanup   Santa Fe, NM – Today, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) issued a new draft Consent Order that in theory will govern cleanup at the Los Alamos... Continue reading

Nuclear Watch New Mexico Action Alert – Release of Revised Los Alamos Cleanup Agreement

Nuclear Watch New Mexico Action Alert  NM Environment Department Plans to Unveil Revised Los Alamos Cleanup Agreement March 30, 2016, 1PM, Sandia Resort Public Comment Is Invited Los Alamos Cleanup At the Crossroads NM Environment Department and officials from Los Alamos National Laboratory plan to roll out a draft of the revised Consent Order, which is... Continue reading

STAND AGAINST THE RUSH TO RE-OPEN AN UNSAFE WIPP

STAND AGAINST THE RUSH TO RE-OPEN AN UNSAFE WIPP  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that it intends to re-open the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in December 2016. The nation’s only deep geologic repository, located 26 miles east of Carlsbad, has been shut down since February 2014 because of two events –... Continue reading

Los Alamos Cleanup At the Crossroads: Treat All Los Alamos Lab Radioactive Wastes Consistently

Los Alamos Cleanup At the Crossroads: Treat All Los Alamos Lab Radioactive Wastes Consistently The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s role and responsibility includes gathering information regarding the hazards to the public and workers posed by the management of transuranic (TRU) wastes at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), as well as the Department of Energy’s... Continue reading

Los Alamos Cleanup At the Crossroads – New Cleanup Agreement Requires New Schedule and That Is About All

Los Alamos Cleanup At the Crossroads New Cleanup Agreement Requires New Schedule and That Is About All Following protracted negotiations, threatened litigation, and claims of imminent and substantial endangerment, the New Mexican Environment Department (NMED), the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) contractor agreed to sign the original Consent Order... Continue reading

ABQ Journal Article: Los Alamos lab would get $2.1 billion in proposed budget; officials discuss plans for making plutonium `pits’

This article has some details on future expanded plutonium pit production and related facility upgrades and new construction at the Los Alamos Lab. 1) Brig. Gen. S.L. Davis, NNSA acting deputy administrator for defense programs, explicitly ties future underground “modules” to the 50 to 80 pits per year production rate. That is the most explicit... Continue reading

Watchdogs Call for Renewed Investigation of Corruption at Los Alamos Lab

For immediate release February 2, 2016 Watchdogs Call for Renewed Investigation of Corruption at Los Alamos Lab and Questionable Suicide of Former Deputy Director Santa Fe, NM – Today three well-known whistleblowers sent a certified letter to Mr. Damon Martinez, the US Attorney for the District of New Mexico, asking him to reopen an investigation... Continue reading

Baseless Claims?

Baseless Claims? In the January 20th, 2016 Albuquerque Journal article, Nuclear Watch to sue over LANL cleanup problems, by Mark Oswald, there is an interesting quote from New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Secretary, Ryan Flynn, in response to our notice of intent to sue DOE/LANL. “Flynn said Wednesday, “These are nothing more than baseless claims being... Continue reading

Nuclear Watch NM Gives Notice of Intent to Sue Over Lack of Cleanup at the Los Alamos Lab

Nuclear Watch NM Gives Notice of Intent to Sue Over Lack of Cleanup at the Los Alamos Lab Nuclear Watch New Mexico has notified the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) that it will file a lawsuit over their failure to meet cleanup milestones under a “Consent Order” governed by... Continue reading

National Nuclear Security Administration Gives Green Light For Expanded Plutonium Pit Production at Los Alamos

 For immediate release January 15, 2016 Contacts:       Jay Coghlan, NWNM, 505.989.7342, c. 505.470.3154, jay[at]nukewatch.org National Nuclear Security Administration Gives Green Light For Expanded Plutonium Pit Production at Los Alamos Santa Fe, NM – Today the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, an independent agency commissioned by Congress, posted a weekly report that makes explicit a... Continue reading

LANL In No Hurry With Emergency Response Plans

LANL In No Hurry With Emergency Response Plans In the recent letter, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board told DOE that they were concerned with the pace and completeness of the emergency preparedness and response efforts at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  The Board is an independent organization that provides recommendations and advice regarding public... Continue reading

Federal Nuclear Safety Oversight at LANL Remains Drastically Understaffed

Federal Nuclear Safety Oversight at LANL Remains Drastically Understaffed A recently released report, Office of Enterprise Assessments Targeted Review of Work Planning and Control and Biological Safety at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), December 2015, explains nuclear safety oversight staffing shortages. The Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) is the Department of Energy’s (DOE) organization responsible... Continue reading

Despite Uncertainty of When/If WIPP Will Reopen, DOE Hatches Plan to Send More Waste

Despite Uncertainty of When/If WIPP Will Reopen, DOE Hatches Plan to Send More Waste In a recent  Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board Editorial: Another WIPP delay spells more tax dollars wasted, we are reminded of the delays affecting the reopening  of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), which has not been disposing radioactive waste since February 2014 when... Continue reading

Four Strikes and You’re Out

Four Strikes and You’re Out In stunning news on December 18, Justin Horwath of the SF New Mexican reported that the management and operating contractor of Los Alamos National Laboratory will not have its contract renewed after it ends Sept. 30, 2017. This is stunning because LANS LLC, the M&O contractor, could have potentially run the... Continue reading

SF New Mexican – LANL misses cleanup deadline set in 2005 for largest waste site

There are a couple of minor inaccuracies in this story, for instance – “which blazed through waste dump site “Area R.” Nor sure what this refers to. And – “ the lab has missed several milestones, including a June 2014 deadline to remove above-ground radioactive waste — delayed due to last February’s leak at WIPP.”... Continue reading

NukeWatch Calls for Public Seats at the Table in LANL Cleanup Negotiations

For immediate release December 7, 2015 Contacts: Jay Coghlan, jay[at]nukewatch.org Deadline for Last Cleanup Milestone of LANL Consent Order Passes NukeWatch Calls for Public Seats at the Table in Negotiations Santa Fe, NM – Yesterday, December 6, was the deadline for the last compliance milestone in the Consent Order between the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and the Department... Continue reading

Important Public Meeting On the Future of Cleanup At Los Alamos – Join Us on November 12

Important Public Meeting On the Future of Cleanup At Los Alamos – Join Us on November 12 The future of hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of radioactive and hazardous wastes is being evaluated now. Will Northern New Mexico be turned into a permanent nuclear waste dump? The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and Los... Continue reading

Op-ed: B61 bomb is fuel for new arms race

Op-ed: B61 bomb is fuel for new arms race By Jay Coghlan / Nuclear Watch New Mexico Albuquerque Journal Sunday, October 25th, 2015 at 12:02am http://www.abqjournal.com/665029/opinion/b61-bomb-is-fuel-for-new-arms-race.html The article “‘New’ U.S. nukes are anything but” should be judged more by its omissions than its contents. While arguing that the soon-to-be rebuilt B61 bomb won’t be a... Continue reading

NukeWatch Pushes Environment Department for More Public Input in Los Alamos Cleanup

NukeWatch Pushes Environment Department for More Public Input in Los Alamos Cleanup An in-depth article, Consent order facing changes, by Mark Oswald in the Albuquerque Journal (October 9, 2015) lays out how legacy waste cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is being negotiated between DOE and the NM Environment Department (NMED) without the fully required... Continue reading

Public Meeting to Discuss Chromium From Los Alamos That Has Reached Our Aquifer

Public Meeting to Discuss Chromium From Los Alamos That Has Reached Our Aquifer   DOE/LANL sponsored Public open house and poster session Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 Time: 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Cities of Gold Conference Center 10-A Cities of Gold Rd. Pojoaque, NM  87506   Sampling from monitoring wells at Los Alamos National Laboratory... Continue reading

Pope Francis Calls for the Complete Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

September 25, 2015 Pope Francis Calls for the Complete Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons   Santa Fe, NM – In his speech today at the United Nations Pope Francis stated: The Preamble and the first Article of the Charter of the United Nations set forth the foundations of the international juridical framework: peace, the pacific solution...

DOE Sites Partially or Fully Closed: WIPP, Pantex & now Savannah River Site…

From Tom Clements of SRS Watch, our colleague and fellow member of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability: DOE Sites Partially or Fully Closed: the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Pantex & now the Savannah River Site (SRS) The main contractor at SRS, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), has halted non-essential operations. See SRS shutdown email below…sent... Continue reading

Los Alamos National Laboratory Files Motion to Dismiss James Doyle Whistleblower Case

Los Alamos National Laboratory Files Motion to Dismiss James Doyle Whistleblower Case Santa Fe, NM – On August 25, 2015 the for-profit contractor that runs the Los Alamos National Laboratory filed a motion with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Hearings and Appeals to dismiss Dr. James Doyle’s whistleblower complaint. Doyle’s case received widespread... Continue reading

What does $4.79 million look like to Lockheed Martin?

What does $4.79 million look like to Lockheed Martin Inc, the world’s biggest defense contractor? Recently, Lockheed Martin (LM) agreed to pay a $4.79 million settlement to the federal government to settle Justice Department allegations that LM illegally used taxpayer money to lobby for an extension of its Sandia Labs management contract.LM was trying to... Continue reading

Watchdogs Denounce Slap on Wrist for Illegal Lobbying Activities

Watchdogs Denounce Slap on Wrist for Illegal Lobbying Activities By the World’s Biggest Defense Contractor Demand Real Accountability by Barring Lockheed Martin From Future Sandia Labs Contract   Santa Fe, NM – In notice given late Friday the Department of Justice announced a settlement with Lockheed Martin over alleged violations of federal anti-lobbying laws to... Continue reading

Federation of American Scientists Nuclear Watch New Mexico For immediate release August 12, 2015 Contacts:       Jay Coghlan, NWNM, 505.470.3154, jay[at]nukewatch.org Hans Kristensen, FAS, 202.454.4695, hkristensen[at]fas.org Robert Alvarez, IPS, 301.585.7672, kitbob[at]rcn.com Dr. James Doyle, nonproliferation expert, 505.470.3154, jimdoyle6[at]msn.com   Nuclear Weapons Experts File Amicus Brief To Support Marshall Islands Lawsuit To Require Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations... Continue reading

Major Protests at U.S. Warhead Facilities Across the Nation Unite to Decry Trillion Dollar Plan for New U.S. Nuclear Weapons

For more information: Ralph Hutchison, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> , 865-776-5050 Marylia Kelley, Tri-Valley CAREs, Livermore, mailto:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> , 925-443-7148 Other key national and regional contacts are listed at the end of this release For immediate release, August 4, 2015 HISTORIC 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF ATOMIC BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA, NAGASAKI: Major Protests at... Continue reading

Please join Nuclear Watch New Mexico and Global Zero at CCA for the premier of “Message from Hiroshima.”

Please help us prepare for Thursday evening by registering today. Speaking of silent auctions, we have a great list of items that can be yours. For instance, one of the pieces is “Daybreak” by Santa Fe artist Jamie Chase (18” x 24”, 2015)                        ... Continue reading

Response to the Inaccurate Wall St. Journal Op-Ed “The Faded U.S. Nuclear Deterrent”

On July 13, 2015 the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed entitled The Fading U.S. Nuclear Deterrent by Robert Monroe, a retired Navy vice admiral and  former director of the Defense Nuclear Agency. The op-ed’s byline is “The next president must restore America’s aging arsenal to face a world of new atomic threats.” Among other... Continue reading

Lockheed Martin’s illegal lobbying to extend Sandia contract

The Center for Public Integrity has come out with a hard-hitting article about illegal lobbying by the world’s biggest defense contractor Lockheed Martin to extend its management contract of the Sandia Labs. Sandia contracted former congresswoman Heather Wilson for consulting services that had no written work requirements, although she denies engaging in illegal lobbying activity.... Continue reading

Watchdog Groups Seek Info On Alleged Rat Shootings in Nuclear Weapons Facilities

Peace Farm Nuclear Watch New Mexico   For immediate release June 30, 2015 Contacts: Cletus (Jerry) Stein, Board President, Peace Farm, 806.351.2744, [email protected] Jay Coghlan, Executive Director, NWNM, 505.989.7342, [email protected] Watchdog Groups Seek Info On Alleged Rat Shootings in Nuclear Weapons Facilities Amarillo, TX – Today, the Peace Farm and Nuclear Watch New Mexico have... Continue reading

NukeWatch response to ABQ Journal article “Putin’s plans to add nukes closely watched in New Mexico”

Putin clearly cannot be trusted, but this article is very one sided. First, it is alarmist to say Putin is “adding” 40 ICBMs. Instead, Russia is replacing old ones and, as the article points out, staying within New START limits. Putin claims that these new ICBMs are more capable of penetrating missile defenses. But this... Continue reading

WIPP Sold With a 10,000 Year Guarantee

WIPP Sold With a 10,000 Year Guarantee   10,000 years ago: Jericho has been inhabited for a thousand years Many megafauna go extinct, including the giant ground sloths, woolly rhinoceros, cave bear, and sabre-toothed cats (Mammoths survive in small groups for another 6500 years) Cattle are domesticated and the plow is invented In what is... Continue reading

WATCHDOG GROUPS HEAD TO D.C.TO URGE CONGRESS TO CONFRONT “THE GROWING U.S. NUCLEAR THREAT”

Alliance for Nuclear Accountability A national network of organizations working to address issues of nuclear weapons production and waste cleanup Nuclear Watch New Mexico   May 14, 2015   WATCHDOG GROUPS HEAD TO D.C. TO URGE CONGRESS, OBAMA ADMIN. TO CONFRONT “THE GROWING U.S. NUCLEAR THREAT;” NEW REPORT SEEKS CUTS IN BOMB PLANTS, WARHEAD MODERNIZATION DIVERTING... Continue reading

Four Reasons Why U.S. Claims of NPT Compliance Are False

 Four Reasons Why U.S. Claims of NPT Compliance Are False  In April 2015 the U.S. State Department issued a so-called Fact Sheet entitled Myths and Facts Regarding the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Regime. Its targeted audience was international delegations attending the 2015 NonProliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. Given the increasing dissatisfaction of non-nuclear weapons states,... Continue reading

Appeals court overturns sabotage convictions of Transform Now Plowshares activists

Appeals court overturns sabotage convictions of Transform Now Plowshares activists, vacates sentences of Megan Rice, Michael Walli and Gregory Boertje-Obed on all charges and remands for resentencing. Court suggests decision may lead to release of Rice, Boertje-Obed and Walli 8 May 2015 for immediate release The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a decision... Continue reading