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As you may know, the recent federal reconciliation bill increased the budget for

expanded plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site, located in South

Carolina, by one billion dollars. Yes, one billion dollars in one year! A “pit” is the

plutonium core of a nuclear weapon. The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to

fabricate 50 plutonium pits per year there.

In anticipation of the 80th anniversaries of the 1945 atomic bombings in the USA

and Japan, a number of hybrid educational events will be held next week.

In this week’s Update CCNS provides information about the upcoming

commemorations of two harmful atomic events that both occurred in New Mexico on

July 16th. The first is the 80th commemoration of the plutonium bomb test at the Trinity

Test Site on July 16, 1945 at the White Sands Missile Range.

This week, a coalition of 13 attorneys general issued Multistate Guidance

affirming the necessity and legality of environmental justice initiatives to ensure a

healthy environment for all people to live, play, learn, work and worship. Despite

attempts by the Trump administration to eliminate this critical work by businesses,

nonprofits, and other organizations as illegal through the use of Executive Orders, the

attorneys general are pushing back.

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) planned to vent 30,000 curies of

radioactive tritium into the air during several weekends this summer but it must have

approval from the New Mexico Environment Department. James Kenney, Environment

Department Secretary, citing significant public interest in the proposed plan, determined

that prior to the Environment Department making any final decision, LANL would be

required to perform four additional steps.

It has been raining in Northern New Mexico this week, providing many blessings

of moisture and delaying the proposed venting of radioactive tritium from Los Alamos

National Laboratory (LANL), at least for now. Importantly, the New Mexico Environment

Department continues its review of LANL’s application for “temporary authorization” to

vent up to 30,000 curies of tritium into the air from four Flanged Tritium Waste

Containers, or FTWCs.

Dylan K. Spaulding, author of the new report, is a senior scientist in the Union of

Concerned Scientists Global Security Program. He holds an undergraduate degree in

physics from Brown University and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

His work focuses on technical issues related to nuclear stockpile stewardship and

policies that can reduce the threat posed by nuclear weapons.

Just a few days ago, on May 9 th , the Department of Energy (DOE) and its

National Nuclear Security Administration announced that virtual public “scoping”

meetings would be held next week about their plans to prepare a nationwide

Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Plutonium Pit Production (PEIS).

DOE and NNSA are working to turn Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) into a

manufacturing facility for plutonium triggers, or pits, for nuclear weapons.

If you haven’t already signed the electronic petition to STOP Los Alamos

National Laboratory (LANL) plans to vent large quantities of radioactive tritium into the

air beginning on or after June 2 nd , 2025, there’s still time.

Access the petition at actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-to-deny-lanls-request-

to-release-radioactive-tritium-into-the-air The text of the petition is also available at

nuclearactive.org

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) plans to vent large quantities of

radioactive tritium into the air beginning on or after June 2 nd , 2025. Tritium is a form of

hydrogen that forms radioactive water in the environment. It can cross the placenta and

fetuses, babies and children may receive a radiation dose about three times greater

than adults.

During the early days of the pandemic, on March 10, 2020, LANL mailed a notice

to people on the facility mailing list about the proposed venting of radioactive tritium into

the air from four metal containers stored at Area G. LANL’s request provided

information about its plan to seek temporary authorization to vent from the New Mexico

Environment Department, specifically from the Hazardous Waste Bureau.

the bomb is a groundbreaking multimedia installation that immerses audiences in

the strange, compelling and unsettling reality of nuclear weapons. Since General

Groves and Robert Oppenheimer arrived in New Mexico in late 1942 to establish the

Manhattan Project, the danger has only increased. The world is confronted by the nine

nations that possess about 12,000 nuclear weapons. And those nations are

modernizing their arsenals, including the United States at Los Alamos National

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) promised the People of New Mexico that

it would cleanup and dispose of its plutonium-contaminated nuclear bomb waste by

depositing it into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) over 25 years and close. DOE

broke its promise when that deadline passed on March 26 th , 2024. But DOE has a new

plan to keep the deep geologic nuclear waste disposal facility at WIPP open for 60 more

years for legacy bomb waste and for newly-generated bomb waste from fabricating new

weapons.

The Department of Energy (DOE) promised the People of New Mexico that they

would cleanup and dispose of its plutonium-contaminated nuclear bomb wastes by

depositing waste into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) over 25 years and close.

DOE broke its promise when that deadline passed on March 26, 2024. But DOE has a

new plan to keep the deep geologic nuclear waste disposal facility at WIPP open for 60

more years for legacy bomb waste.

Community members and Tribal advocates are standing together to say NO to

the proposed expansion of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). As part of a

growing movement for environmental justice and accountability, local community

organizations including Tewa Women United, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety,

Communities for Clean Water, Honor Our Pueblo Existence, and Three Sisters

Collective launched the 2025 SovereignTea Community Conversations series that will

end with a powerful hybrid session that will center public education, dialogue, and action

around LANL’s ongoing and proposed nuclear weapons activities.

Community members and Tribal advocates are standing together to say NO to

the proposed expansion of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). As part of a

growing movement for environmental justice and accountability, local community

organizations including Tewa Women United, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety,

Communities for Clean Water, Honor Our Pueblo Existence, and Three Sisters

Collective are launching the 2025 SovereignTea Community Conversations

series—beginning with two powerful sessions that will center public education,

Public comments for the draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for

Continued Operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory are currently due on

Thursday, April 10th. Tewa Women United, Honor Our Pueblo Existence, CCNS,

Communities for Clean Water, and the Union of Concerned Scientists will host

workshops to assist you in the preparation and submission of your comments.

Comments may be submitted to LANLSWEIS@nnsa.doe.gov

Public comments for the draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for

Continued Operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory are currently due on

Thursday, April 10th. CCNS, Tewa Women United, Three Sisters Collective,

Communities for Clean Water and others will host two workshops to assist you in

preparing your comments.

Did you know that the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the U.S. and

Russia, known as the New START, expires on February 5, 2026? It’s time for the U.S.

and Russia to get back to the table to negotiate for a world without nuclear weapons!

Monday, March 3 rd begins the weeklong Third Meeting of States Parties to the

United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations in

New York City. Government representatives, civil society organizations, non-

governmental organizations, artists, health and justice workers and more from around

the world will gather to take stock of the progress achieved by the States Parties since

the last meeting in 2023.

On Wednesday, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) extended

the public comment period by 30 days for the draft Site Wide Environmental Impact

Statement (SWEIS) for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The comment period

was extended from March 11 th to Thursday, April 10 th , 2025.

On Thursday, February 20 th , Lindsay A. Lovejoy, Jr., the attorney for Honor Our

Pueblo Existence and CCNS, will argue before the New Mexico Court of Appeals that

the non-government organizations have standing to challenge the misregulation of the

Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility, a key facility at Los Alamos National

Laboratory (LANL). The RLWTF treats liquid radioactive and hazardous waste

generated at the Plutonium Facility from the fabrication of plutonium pits, or the cores,

of nuclear weapons. Those activities are ramping up under U.S. government plans to

spend over $1 trillion dollars for new design weapons for use in a post-Cold War nuclear

arms race.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), operated by the Department of Energy, plays a critical role in maintaining the safety and reliability of the nation’s nuclear stockpile. Central to this mission is the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility (RLWTF), which was constructed in the early 1960s to treat, store, and dispose of radioactive and hazardous liquids

You are invited to participate in a virtual Nuclear Watch New Mexico workshop

about the draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for the Los Alamos

National Laboratory (LANL) on Thursday, February 6 th from 5:30 pm to 7 pm Mountain

Time. With LANL expanding its nuclear weapons programs—despite a long history of

environmental contamination and nuclear safety issues—the draft SWEIS represents a

vital opportunity for the public to demand transparency, accountability and

environmental justice.

This Update relates to historic and important resources that can be useful for

your participation in the public hearings about draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact

Statement for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and its proposed operations in

the next 15 years or so. Public hearings under the National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) will begin on Tuesday, February 11th in Santa Fe, followed by a wednesday,

February 12th hearing in Española, and a Thursday, February 13th hearing in Los

Alamos. The specifics are available at nuclearactive.org.

Earlier this week the U.S. Forest Service admitted that it has limited authority and

oversight of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s proposed Electrical Power Capacity

Upgrade Project, or EPCU, that would transmit 173 megawatts of energy across sacred

National Forest System lands. The admission made in its 35-page Response to

Comments document to complete its role in the environmental assessment process.

More than two years after the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National

Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sought public input about the scope of a site-

wide environmental impact statement (SWEIS) for Los Alamos National Laboratory

(LANL) operations, a draft LANL SWEIS will be released for a 60-day public review and

comment period on Friday, January 10th. Public hearings will be held during the week

of February 10th. The public comment period ends on March 11th.

The New Mexico Environment Department’s hazardous waste permit for the

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to submit

a Legacy Transuranic, or TRU, Waste Disposal Plan to the Environment Department.

DOE submitted its inadequate Plan on November 4 th for a 60-day public comment

period, which ends on Friday, January 3 rd , 2025. A sample public comment letter you

can use is available at our website at nuclearactive.org

A new condition in the New Mexico Environment Department’s hazardous waste

permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) requires the Department of Energy

(DOE) to submit a Legacy Transuranic Waste Disposal Plan to the Environment

Department. DOE submitted its Plan on November 4 th , 2024 for a 60-day public

comment period.

There is a unique opportunity to provide your comments about the Waste

Isolation Pilot Plant’s Legacy Transuranic Waste Disposal Plan. The disposal plan

describes WIPP’s strategies to keep the disposal site for plutonium-contaminated

hazardous wastes open for 60 more years, despite WIPP’s promises to New Mexicans

to close in 2024.

On Friday, November 1st, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)

adopted Resolution LV-24-061 opposing the proposed Electrical Power Capacity

Upgrade Project “bisecting the Caja del Rio, highlighting the adverse impacts on Tribal

cultural resources and sacred sites” to construct and operate a 115 kilovolt-

transmission line to operate Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) supercomputers.

The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to the Japanese non-governmental

organization, Nihon Hidankyo, for its 68-years of education and advocacy. The Nobel

Peace Prize Committee recognized Nihon Hidankyo “for its efforts to achieve a world

free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear

weapons must never be used again.” Nihon Hidankyo is the Japanese Confederation

of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization.

In an embarrassing turn of events, independent scientists Bernd Franke and Dr. Arjun Makhijani have provided Tewa Women United and the public with the analyses that the Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Environmental Protection Agency would not – that the four flanged waste tritium containers may not need to be vented because they may not contain explosive materials. DOE, NNSA and LANL did not follow the regulations to determine whether the venting was necessary and EPA, as a regulatory agency, did not either. Community members downwind and downstream of the proposed venting have been traumatized by four years of maybe yes, maybe no, mixed DOE messages.

On Monday, Tewa Women United released two independent scientific reports

about the harm that would be done to public health and the environment should Los

Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) be allowed to vent radioactive tritium from four

Flanged Tritium Waste Containers stored at LANL’s Area G radioactive and hazardous

waste dump. It is another important step taken by Tewa Women United to hold LANL

and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accountable to the law.

For the first time since the end of the Cold War in 1989 and with the increasing

threat of nuclear war, early this month the First Committee on International Peace and

Security of the United Nations passed a resolution to study the impacts of nuclear war

for the first time in 35 years. In support of the study were 144 countries, France, the

Russian Federation and the United Kingdom voted no. Thirty countries abstained,

including the United States.

The title of the new film may make you think it is about Los Alamos National

Laboratory (LANL) located in northern New Mexico. But you would be wrong. “Half-Life

of Memory: America’s Forgotten Atomic Bomb Factory,” a film by Jeff Gipe, is about the

dangerous legacy of the Rocky Flats atomic bomb factory, located near Denver,

Colorado. The world premiere will take place in early November at the Denver Film

Festival.

This week Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, individuals and NGOs

submitted comments opposing the U.S. Forest Service’s plan to approve a Los Alamos

National Laboratory (LANL) proposal to install a companion electric transmission line

through the heart of the Caja del Rio traditional cultural landscape, an area sacred to

Pueblos.

You are invited to participate in a transformative walk in downtown Santa Fe

beginning at noon on Friday, October 25th. Organized by the Caja del Rio Coalition,

the walk will begin at the Santa Fe County Administration Building, located at 240 Grant

Avenue, and go to the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security

The U.S. Forest Service is accepting public objections to the draft Decision

Notice, Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Final Environmental Assessment

(EA) for the proposed Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Electric Power Capacity

Upgrade (EPCU) Project and Associated Land Management Plan (Forest Plan)

Amendment. Only those who submitted comments during the scoping period that

occurred between April 19, 2021 and May 21, 2021 and during the two comment

periods for the draft EA beginning December 19, 2023 and ending January 17, 2024

and beginning January 22, 2024 and ending February 20, 2024 are eligible to submit

objections. As evidence of public concern, over 22,000 public comments were

submitted during these comment periods.

On Monday, September 30th, United States District Court Judge Mary Geiger

Lewis ruled that the Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Nuclear Secrurity

Administration (NNSA) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) because

the federal agencies failed to take a “hard look” at the alternatives to fabricate plutonium

pits, or the triggers, for nuclear weapons at two of its sites. Los Alamos National

Laboratory (LANL) was created to design and fabricate the atomic bombs used during

World War II. The Savannah River Site in South Carolina has never fabricated pits for

nuclear weapons

The Three Sisters Collective is painting a new and colorful “I am Life (Creator of

Worlds)” mural on the Lena Wall in O’Ga P’ogeh Owingeh, the White Shell Water Place,

or Santa Fe. You are invited to make your mark on the wall on Thursday, October 3rd

through Saturday, October 5th during the community paint hours. The new mural is

adjacent to the mural by artist Chip Thomas about stopping expanded production of

plutonium pits, or the triggers, for nuclear weapons at Los Alamos National Laboratory

(LANL).

The Mixed Waste Landfill at Sandia National Laboratories is a 2.6-acre dump

that is leaking radioactive, hazardous and toxic wastes from unlined pits and trenches

that threaten Albuquerque’s drinking water aquifer. The public has been asking the

New Mexico Environment Department for nearly 25 years to order Sandia to excavate

the dump. Evidence of migrating contamination, such as the detection of volatile

organic compounds 400 feet below the dump in 2015, verifies the public’s concern.

Local, regional, national and international non-governmental organizations are

coming together for a week of raising public awareness about the fossil fuel

corporations doing business in New Mexico. Under the banner of Warheads to

Windmills.org, the week begins on Monday, September 23rd and extends through

Sunday, September 29 th . This is a second week of action. The first week focused on

nuclear weapons. Both present existential threats to life on Planet Earth – one that kills

in an instant; the other painfully over time.

Local, regional, national and international non-governmental organizations are

coming together for a week of raising public awareness about the nuclear weapons

corporations doing business in New Mexico. The week of action begins on Monday,

September 16 th and extends through Sunday, September 22 nd . New Mexicans will

challenge two nuclear weapons profiteers who operate here. They are Honeywell and

HII, or Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Many local, regional and international non-governmental organizations are

organizing live and virtual actions in recognition of the International Day of Peace on

Saturday, September 21 st and you can join in these efforts. From the “No Money for

Nuclear Weapons” Week of Action headed by the International Campaign to Abolish

Nuclear Weapons to the Warhead to Windmills Coalition (the Coalition), small and large

actions will be taking place around the world.

“When the Cold War ended in 1991 and the Doomsday Clock was at its furthest

from midnight, the world sighed in relief… . It was a moment of hope where many

believed this low tension between the military and economic powers of the world would

lead to peace talks and nuclear disarmament.. . . So, why didn’t nuclear disarmament

happen when the iron curtain fell?. . .” This question is at the center of “Making Nuclear

Weapons Taboo,” a 2023 address by Dr. Carlos Umaña, Co-President of International

Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.

On Wednesday evening the Stop Forever WIPP Coalition held a webinar to alert

people about the opportunity to voice their concerns to the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) next week about the Department of Energy (DOE) proposal to expand

the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). DOE wants to keep WIPP open until at least

2083 for disposal of radioactive and hazardous wastes generated from fabricating

triggers, or pits, for nuclear weapons at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico

and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

On August 13th, U.S. Congressman John Garamendi of California delivered a

speech at the United States Strategic Command 2024 Strategic Deterrence Amidst

Global Transformation Symposium in which he asked “Why?” as in “Why does

America need nuclear weapons?” and mostly importantly asked, “How do we deter in a

way that ensures there is a tomorrow worth protecting? Must we continue a 50-year-old

triad strategy without considering the alternatives? Why, why are we stuck in a logic

silo with the blast door closed?”

The Department of Energy (DOE) wants to expand its operations at the Waste

Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for plutonium-contaminated waste from the fabrication of

nuclear weapons. In March, DOE submitted a Planned Change Request to the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking permission to mine and operate two

underground disposal panels in the WIPP underground disposal facility. EPA wants to

hear from you and is hosting public meetings in Carlsbad and Santa Fe the week of

August 26th.

All are welcome to join the Veterans For Peace, New Mexico PeaceFests and

Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety on Friday, August 9 th at 11 am on the Santa Fe

Plaza to commemorate the events leading up to the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and

Nagasaki, Japan in early August 1945.