In 1963 John Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev signed the ban on atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, which was extended to a moratorium in 1992 and secured as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996. The Treaty has been signed by 187 states. On October 31^st, United Nations member states voted on a resolution in support of the Treaty and the global nuclear test moratorium. The United States was the only “no” vote.

Donald Trump is now threatening to resume nuclear testing because “he believes others are doing it.” They aren’t. The threat came after Vladimir Putin announced that the Kremlin had successfully experimented with a torpedo capable of carrying a nuclear weapon.  But if the United States does, they will, too.  https://www.reuters.com/world/china/putin-says-russia-tested-poseidon-nuclear-capable-super-torpedo-2025-10-29/

Tied to this is the situation at Los Alamos National Laboratory, or LANL, the heart of the new trillion-dollar modernization program that will rebuild every nuclear warhead in the planned stockpile with new military capabilities and produce new-design nuclear weapons as well. LANL will fabricate plutonium pits, or triggers, for these nuclear warheads, along with the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

A Nuclear Watch New Mexico press release stated: “The underlying point is that new-design plutonium pits for new-design nuclear weapons may create inexorable pressures for resumed nuclear weapons testing by the United States. This would be sure to set off a chain reaction of testing by other nuclear weapons powers [ ]. The final result is a dramatically accelerating nuclear arms race, arguably more dangerous than the first arms race given multiple nuclear actors, new hypersonic and cyber weapons, and the rise of artificial intelligence.”  https://nukewatch.org/press-release-item/trump-orders-nuclear-weapons-testing-for-new-nuclear-arms-race-new-plutonium-pit-bomb-cores-at-los-alamos-lab-could-make-it-real/

According to the Arms Control Association, it would take 18 to 36 months to establish a contained, full-scale underground nuclear test in the Nevada desert. The association notes, “In 1992, Congress acted to end U.S. testing and can do so again. Thirty-six hours after Trump’s pronouncement, Congresswoman Dina Titus, of Nevada, backed by her delegation and the Arms Control Association, introduced a bill to block resumption of U.S. nuclear testing.” https://www.armscontrol.org/2025-11/take-action-tell-congress-you-oppose-resumption-nuclear-explosive-testing

As a result of the lawsuit filed by Nuclear Watch, Savannah River Site Watch, and Tri-Valley CAREs, the Department of Energy will release a draft Plutonium Pit Production Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement around March 2026. Public hearings will be held around the country, including in Santa Fe.  Once again, the public will need to express its strong opposition to plutonium pit production.

This has been the CCNS News Update, which was adapted from La Jicarita News. https://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/trumps-knee-jerk-threat-to-resume-nuclear-testing/

Contact your two Senators to stop resumption of nuclear weapons testing.

1. Friday, November 7^th from noon to 1 pm – Join the nuclear disarmament community at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval in Santa Fe for the weekly peaceful protest in support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners.

2. Watch A House of Dynamite on Netflix. Read Joe Cirincione’s article A House of Dynamite Explodes the Missile Defense Myth: It is no wonder the interceptors fail in the film. This is an accurate portrayal of what is likely to happen in a crisis in New Republic (October 15, 2025). Cirincione is a national security analyst and author in Washington, D.C.

3. Thursday, November 6th from 4 to 6 pm – HYBRID WIPP Community Forum at Southwest New Mexico College, Room 103, Main Building, 1500 University Drive, Carlsbad, NM, hosted by U.S. Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office and Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO). There will be a short update about the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) with a question and answer period to follow.  Bring your questions about getting the Waste Off the Hill.  To register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/uNCfTOvqS6-62wVIx6ATGA#/registration

4. Saturday, November 8th from noon to 3:30 pm PT – Virtual afternoon sharing memories and tributes to the life and legacy of Dan Hirsch. RSVP to committeetobridgethegap@gmail.com, indicating if you are able to attend in person and the number in your party. If you can’t make it to Simi Valley, there will be a Zoom option starting at 1 pm.  Please click here if you’d like to register for the Zoom; once you’ve registered, you’ll be sent the Zoom info.  Dan’s obituary may be found here.

5. Monday, November 10th – Meeting of the NM Legislature Radioactive & Hazardous Waste Committee at Roundhouse in Santa Fe. The agenda will be posted when available at https://www.nmlegis.gov/Committee/Interim_Committee?CommitteeCode=RHMC

6. Tuesday, November 11th, beginning at 10:30 am on the Santa Fe Plaza. Please join Veterans For Peace Santa Fe chapter for an Armistice Day Peace Vigil.  Bell ringing at 11 am.  Peace songs sing-along with the Santa Fe Raging Grannies. This Armistice Day, Veterans For Peace calls on you to say NO to more wars and to demand justice and peace, at home and abroad. We demand equality for all people and an end to all oppressive and violent policies. We call for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Let’s begin to build a culture of peace, not a culture of war.

7. Wednesday, November 12th from 3 to 5 pm – LANL Public Training Session for the Electronic Public Reading Room and IntellusNM public environmental data portal on MS Teams. IntellusNM is the data portal that provides continuous public access to the environmental data collect on and around LANL.  It is jointly managed by the New Mexico Environment Department DOE Oversight Bureau (NMED-OB) and LANL contractors, N3B and Triad.  For more information:  envoutreach@lanl.gov or call 505-551-4514.

Training Session Information:

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8. Thursday, November 13^th and Friday, November 14^th – International Uranium Film Festival at the Navajo National Museum in Window Rock, Arizona. The IUFF showcases an array of compelling films and explores the detrimental impacts of the uranium fuel chain on communities around the world. Organizers believe the films are a necessary part of the ongoing resistance to nuclear, specifically for public health and harm reduction efforts. For more information, visit: https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/

In response to the president’s call to resume testing of nuclear weapons, contact  your two United States Senators to support Senate Resolution 323 that urges the United States to lead a global effort to halt and reverse the nuclear arms race.  https://www.congress.gov/119/bills/sres323/BILLS-119sres323is.pdf

Introduced on July 16, 2025 – 80 years since the first atomic bomb test at the Trinity Test Site – Senate Resolution 323 calls for the leadership of the United States to prevent testing of nuclear weapons again. To learn more about the Resolution and its sponsors – https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-resolution/323

It recognizes that in less than 100 days, the 2010 Treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, or the New START Treaty, is set to expire on February 5, 2026.  The Resolution recognizes that fact and states in part:

Resolved, That the Senate calls on the President to

actively pursue a world free of nuclear weapons as a national security imperative; and

lead a global effort to halt and reverse a global nuclear arms race and prevent nuclear war by—

engaging in good faith negotiations with—

the other 8 nuclear armed countries to—

halt any further buildup of nuclear arsenals; and

aggressively pursue a verifiable and irreversible agreement or agreements to verifiably reduce and eliminate their nuclear arsenals according to negotiated timetables;

the Russian Federation to pursue and conclude new nuclear arms control and disarmament arrangements with the Russian Federation to prevent a buildup of nuclear forces beyond current levels; and

the People’s Republic of China on mutual nuclear risk reduction and arms control measures;

leading the effort to have all nuclear-armed countries renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first;

implementing effective checks and balances on the sole authority of the President, as Commander-in-Chief, to order the use of United States nuclear weapons;

ending the Cold War-era ‘‘hair-trigger alert’’ posture, which increases the risk of catastrophic miscalculation in a crisis;

ending plans to produce and deploy new nuclear warheads and delivery systems, which would reduce the burden on taxpayers in the United States;

maintaining the de facto global moratorium on nuclear explosive testing;

protecting communities and workers affected by nuclear weapons by –

fully remediating the deadly legacy of environmental contamination from past and current nuclear weapons testing, development, production, storage, and maintenance activities;

providing health monitoring, compensation, and medical care to those who have and will be harmed by nuclear weapons research, testing, and production, including through an expanded program under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (Public Law 101–426; 42 U.S.C. 2210 note); and

actively planning a just economic transition for the civilian and military workforce involved in the development, testing, production, management, and dismantlement of nuclear weapons and for the communities that are economically dependent on nuclear weapons laboratories, production facilities, and military bases.

1. Friday, October 31^st from noon to 1 pm – Join the nuclear disarmament community at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval in Santa Fe for the weekly peaceful protest in support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners.

2. Watch A House of Dynamite on Netflix. Read Joe Cirincione’s article A House of Dynamite Explodes the Missile Defense Myth: It is no wonder the interceptors fail in the film. This is an accurate portrayal of what is likely to happen in a crisis in New Republic (October 15, 2025). Cirincione is a national security analyst and author in Washington, D.C.

3. New 11-Week ONLINE Course from Monday, November 3, 2025 to Monday, February 2, 2026 about Nuclear Weapons & Radiation – Health Risks & Advocacy Training by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and Generational Radiation Impact Project (GRIP) to prepare you to testify in the hearings next spring about the proposed plutonium pit production for new nuclear weapons.  We need a massive turnout by people to oppose this escalation of a new nuclear arms race. PSR and GRIP are looking to enlist a new generation of health professionals and activists who are equipped to step forward with the medical / health voice on social decisions like whether to make new nuclear weapons… whether to resume testing…

For more information, and to register on or before Friday, October 31st with sliding scale and scholarship option at

https://psr.org/radiation-and-nuclear-weapons-health-risks-and-advocacy-training/

4. Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 9 am MT – Open Seminar with the authors of “What is ‘Restorative Justice’ after the Church Rock Uranium Spill?” The article was recently published in the Journal of Disaster Studies (JDS). Event hosted by JDS and University of California EcoGovLab. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/article/971161

 The article’s authors are: Teracita Keyanna (Red Water Pond Community Association, Navajo Nation) | Thomas De Pree & Cheryl Jim (Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute) | Chris Shuey  & Kirena E. Y. Tsosie (Southwest Research and Information Center) | Mallery Quetawki (University of New Mexico). Zoom registration at https://uci.zoom.us/meeting/register/C6-uxA-bTXmKuN6E_stf8w#/registration

5. Thursday, November 6, 2025 at 10:30 am MT – Experts React: Netflix’s ‘A House of Dynamite,’ hosted by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Hear from the experts about the film, the questions it raises and how the film can spark more conversation about arms control and deterrence. Registration at https://pages.thebulletin.org/ahod

6. Subject to rescheduling due to federal government shutdown – Thursday, November 6 from 4 to 6 pm – HYBRID WIPP Community Forum at Southwest New Mexico College, Room 103, Main Building, 1500 University Drive, Carlsbad, NM, hosted by U.S. Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office and Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO). There will be a short update about the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) with a question and answer period to follow.  Bring your questions about getting the Waste Off the Hill.  To register:  https://wipp.energy.gov/wipp_news_20251001.asp   

7. Subject to rescheduling due to federal government shutdown – Wednesday, November 12 from 3 to 5 pm – LANL Public Training Session for the Electronic Public Reading Room and IntellusNM public environmental data portal on MS Teams. IntellusNM is the data portal that provides continuous public access to the environmental data collect on and around LANL.  It is jointly managed by the New Mexico Environment Department DOE Oversight Bureau (NMED-OB) and LANL contractors, N3B and Triad.  For more information:  envoutreach@lanl.gov or call 505-551-4514.

8. Thursday, November 13^th and Friday, November 14^th – International Uranium Film Festival at the Navajo National Museum in Window Rock, Arizona. The IUFF showcases an array of compelling films and explores the detrimental impacts of the uranium fuel chain on communities around the world. Organizers believe the films are a necessary part of the ongoing resistance to nuclear, specifically for public health and harm reduction efforts. For more information, visit: https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/

The Communities for Clean Water (CCW) coalition is calling on the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) to immediately release all data, monitoring results, and analytical records from the recent tritium venting operation at LANL.  https://www.ccwnewmexico.org

CCW is also calling for the release of the final report and supporting air monitoring data be made public at least two weeks prior to any announced public meeting, to allow Tribes, local governments, independent experts, and community members adequate time for review.

The coalition’s call follows LANL’s recent press statement claiming “successful depressurization” of the four flanged tritium waste containers (FTWCs), “no health or environmental consequences,” and a total tritium release of “less than 123 curies.”

“LANL is congratulating itself for cleaning up its own negligence,” said Chenoa Scippio, Project Coordinator with Tewa Women United. “This operation wasn’t a success story — it was the outcome of 20 years of mismanagement that NMED itself acknowledged. Despite years of preparing to vent radioactive tritium into the environment, LANL has yet to provide real data or independent verification of that data.”  https://tewawomenunited.org/

Contradictory Statements and Misleading Assurances

LANL’s official updates [ https://www.lanl.gov/engage/environment/ftwc ] and press release [ https://losalamosreporter.com/2025/10/14/lanl-flanged-tritium-waste-containers-successfully-depressurized/ ] following the conclusion of the operations contain multiple inconsistencies and omissions that raise serious concerns.  CCW provides the following examples:

• No Pressure, Yet “Depressurization”:
  LANL’s daily reports showed no internal pressure in all four containers. This implies no measurable buildup of gas or explosion risk. Yet the lab continues to describe the operation as “depressurization,” contradicting its own data and the emergency justification used to obtain NMED’s expedited temporary authorization. No internal pressure indicates that LANL’s calculations on which it based the urgency of venting were wrong. It also implies that the FTWCs could have been transported without depressurization. In that case the emission of any tritium would violate DOE Order 458.1 – to keep radiation exposure As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA).
• Ambiguous “Background” Claims:
  LANL’s statement that offsite impacts were “indistinguishable from background” offers reassurance without real information. LANL has not disclosed the detection limits of its instruments or the raw data necessary for independent verification.
• Compliance Is Not Safety:
  The reported offsite dose of “0.0123 millirem” is calculated for a hypothetical “maximally exposed individual (MEI)”— a 30-year-old, 150 lb white male with a Western diet — not infants, pregnant people, or Pueblo communities who rely on land-based practices. Compliance with outdated federal models does not guarantee protection for vulnerable populations.
• Unverified “Independent” Review:
  The so-called independent technical review was led by [the] DOE NNSA’s own Office of Environment, Safety, and Health, with only one outside reviewer.

“LANL’s claim that offsite impacts were ‘indistinguishable from background’ is meaningless without knowing the detection limits,” said Dr. Arjun Makhijani, President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER). “Despite requests, LANL has failed to disclose key details, including why any tritium was released if there was no pressure in the FTWCs.”  https://ieer.org/

Outstanding Technical Questions

CCW continues to seek clear, verifiable answers to the following:

• What was the measured pressure in the headspace of each FTWC prior to venting? How does the measured pressure in each FTWC compare to the 5 psi per year increase that LANL modeled?
• What was the full chemical composition of the gases in each FTWC?
• Did any container exhibit an explosive gas mixture, and if so, what were the measured concentrations of hydrogen, tritium, and other gases?
• How was the venting compatible with ALARA for the FTWCs that did not have explosive gas mixtures in the headspace??
• Where and how was atmospheric tritium monitored for each FTWC, given LANL’s claim that levels were “consistent with background”?
• Were stack emissions measured in real time as previously stated? If so, what instruments were used and where were they located?
• If emissions were estimated, what was the method of estimation?
• Was tritium captured in molecular sieves for each FTWC? If not, why not? If so, what quantities were retained, and where will the captured material be managed?
• What were the minimum detectable limits (MDL) of tritium for the atmospheric and stack air sampling instruments?
• What specific instruments, calibration records, and Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) documentation were used for real-time detection?
• What is the local background concentration of tritium at and near Technical Area 54 (TA-54) and the Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility (WETF) prior to venting?
• How and when will all raw monitoring data and corresponding meteorological data be disclosed to the public and affected Tribal governments?

Key Concerns and Coalition Positions

• LANL did not meet NMED’s prerequisites for authorization.
  The required public meeting and “independent” technical review were both deficient and failed to meet standards for public participation or scientific integrity.
• There was no true emergency.
  LANL has previously stated that venting could wait until 2028. Its own data now confirm that all containers were unpressurized, disproving the claimed urgency.
• Alternatives remain obscured.
  LANL has acknowledged identifying 53 alternatives to venting in communications with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6, yet it has never released the technical analysis explaining why they were rejected.
• Dose modeling excluded vulnerable populations.
  Independent experts (Dr. Arjun Makhijani, IEER; Dr. Bernd Franke, ifeu – Institut für Energie und Umweltforschung, Heidelberg gGmbH – https://www.ifeu.de/en/ ) found that LANL’s modeling ignored infants, pregnant people, and cumulative community exposures. LANL admitted that infant doses could be three times higher than adult doses, exceeding regulatory limits.
• ALARA compliance has not been demonstrated.
  LANL failed to meet DOE Order 458.1 requirements to keep radiation exposure as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), and did not account for cultural or land-based exposure pathways critical to Pueblo communities. The fact that there was no internal pressure also indicates ALARA non-compliance, since the lowest emission indicated would appear to be zero.

Demands for Transparency and Accountability

CCW calls on DOE, NNSA, LANL, and NMED to:

1. Release the full final report and all supporting data for the September and October venting operations at least two weeks before the public meeting.
2. Disclose raw, time-stamped emission data and meteorological readings correlated with each venting event.
3. Make public the headspace modeling and alternatives analysis that justified venting.
4. Commit to independent third-party verification of air monitoring results by EPA Region 6 or the New Mexico Department of Health.
5. Engage in government-to-government consultation with affected Pueblos and include public health agencies in post-operation evaluation.

Conclusion

LANL and NNSA’s “successful completion” narrative does not substitute for transparency, accountability, or truth. Communities deserve verified data — not public relations spin. Until LANL provides full disclosure and independent review, its assurances of safety remain unsubstantiated and unacceptable.

1. Friday, October 24^th from noon to 1 pm – Join the nuclear disarmament community at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval for the weekly one-hour peaceful protest in support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners.

2. Friday, October 24 through Saturday, October 25 – Ways of Knowing: A Navajo Nuclear History film showing at the Institute of American Indian Arts (campus), 83 Avan Nu Po Road, Santa Fe, NM. Limited to 18 seats per screening in the FullDome Theater.  For more information and FREE tickets:   https://www.waysofknowing.us/

3. Monday, October 27 at 5 pm – Ways of Knowing: A Navajo Nuclear History film showing at UNM Sub Theatre at UNM – Albuquerque. FREE admission.  https://www.waysofknowing.us/

4. Monday, October 27^th from 6 to 8 pm – Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament – at Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Community, 11 College Avenue, Santa Fe, NM. Join Archbishop John C. Wester for a special HYBRID evening where he will share reflections from his pastoral letter, Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace, and speak about the importance of dialogue and hope in working toward nuclear disarmament.  Livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@SMDLP/streams  For more information, contact the Santa Fe Ecumenical Conversations Toward Nuclear Disarmament Committee at

5. Tuesday, October 28^th – Public comment period ends for the draft NM Environment Department amendments to the NM Standards for Ground and Surface Water Protection at 20.6.2 NMAC and the new NM draft regulations known as the New Mexico Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NMPDES) at 20.6.5 NMAC.

 For more information:  https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D189342697

This month, the International Uranium Film Festival in Berlin honored uranium weapons expert and activist Damacio A. Lopez with the festival’s Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award. For over thirty years, the US Air Force veteran from Socorro, New Mexico has campaigned for an international ban on depleted uranium munitions and weapons.  https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/

His community in central New Mexico was an open air testing ground for DU weapons from 1972 to 1993.  Lopez has dedicated his life to educating people about the harmful effects. Many people in the Socorro area have suffered health effects similar to those who served in the Persian Gulf War and in Yugoslavia.  DU is a highly toxic heavy metal with a radioactive half-life of 4.5 billion years.  Despite its name, DU has more than half the radioactivity of natural uranium.

The Film Festival’s general director, Norbert Suchanek, said of Lopez, “The 82-year-old is probably the world-wide most experienced and most interviewed scholar and activist on uranium weapons. His recently published dossier `My Last Battle: Ban Uranium Weapons´ is after all a profound investigation of the military use of depleted uranium. The serious consequences of the use of uranium ammunition on battlefields and military firing ranges should be known to everyone.”  https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/files/2025_iuff_window_rock_program_folder_us_long_kopie.pdf

Lopez declared, “We must move quickly to stop this senseless tragedy by supporting a global call to action to ban the use of uranium munitions.“

Founded in Rio de Janeiro in 2010, the International Uranium Film Festival was named one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” last year by MovieMaker Magazine in Hollywood. https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/en/coolest-film-festival-in-the-world-2024

The festival founders, Márcia Gomes de Oliveira and Norbert Suchanek, also received the prestigious Nuclear-Free Future Award this year.  https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/en/about-us

The Film Festival’s trophy was presented to French director and investigative TV journalist Cédric Picaud for his 2024 documentary “The Polygon (Le Polygone, Un Secret D’État).” The documentary exposes radioactive contamination during the Cold War in the region of Pontfaverger-Moronvilliers in northeastern France. Scientists there tested the detonators of French atomic bombs with radioactive elements for decades. To this day, these elements contaminate the region’s subsoil and threaten the drinking water resources.  For more information about this film, see pages 14 and 15 of the preliminary program at: https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/files/2025_iuff_las_vegas_program_proposal_1.pdf

The next two scheduled showings of the 2025 International Uranium Film Festival will be in Window Rock, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Window Rock showings are from Thursday, November 13^th through Friday, November 14^th at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona.  The preliminary schedule is available here:  https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/files/2025_iuff_window_rock_program_folder_us_long_kopie.pdf

The Las Vegas showings are from Friday, November 21^st through Sunday, November 23^rd in Las Vegas, Nevada, this time in cooperation with Principal Man Ian Zabarte, Secretary of State Western Shoshone National Council of the of the Western Bands of the Shoshone Nation of Indians.  The preliminary schedule is available here:  https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/files/2025_iuff_las_vegas_program_proposal_1.pdf

The Fall Meeting of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) will also take place at the International Uranium Film Festival in Las Vegas.  To learn more and to register, go to: https://ananuclear.org/ana-fall-meeting-registration/

1. Friday, October 17^7h from noon to 1 pm – Join us at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval for the weekly one-hour peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament and against expanded plutonium pit production at LANL. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners in support of nuclear weapons disarmament and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

2. Saturday, October 18^th from 8 am to 2 pm with the gate closing and the event ending at 3:30 pm – Trinity Site Open House. Entry only through the Stallion Gate located off U.S. Highway 380.  https://home.army.mil/wsmr/contact/public-affairs-office/trinity-site-open-house

3. Saturday, October 18^th – No Kings Day – the next nationwide day of protest and resistance. At 10 am a march will begin at the USPS on South Federal Place in Santa Fe to the Plaza and onto the State Capitol (Roundhouse).  https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/843563/  

4. Thursday, October 23^rd – Public comment period ends for the draft Decommissioning Plan Thermo-Eberline Facility on Airport Road, Santa Fe. For more information, scroll down to the bottom of this page:  https://www.env.nm.gov/rcb/public-notices-of-radioactive-materials-licensing-actions-and-rulemakings/  

5. Tuesday, October 28^th –Public comment period ends for the draft NM Environment Department amendments to the NM Standards for Ground and Surface Water Protection at 20.6.2 NMAC and the new NM draft regulations known as the New Mexico Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NMPDES) at 20.6.5 NMAC. For more information:

https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D189342697

6. New 11-Week ONLINE Course from Monday, November 3, 2025 to Monday, February 2, 2026 about Nuclear Weapons & Radiation – Health Risks & Advocacy Training by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and Generational Radiation Impact Project (GRIP) to prepare you to testify in the hearings next spring about the proposed plutonium pit production for new nuclear weapons.  We need a massive turnout by people to oppose this escalation of a new nuclear arms race. PSR and GRIP are looking to enlist a new generation of health professionals and activists who are equipped to step forward with the medical / health voice on social decisions like whether to make new nuclear weapons… whether to resume testing…

For more information, and to register

https://psr.org/radiation-and-nuclear-weapons-health-risks-and-advocacy-training/

Program Updates are coming–Registration closes at the end of this month–sliding scale and scholarship option.

7. Thursday, November 6 from 4 to 6 pm – HYBRID WIPP Community Forum at Southwest New Mexico College, Room 103, Main Building, 1500 University Drive, Carlsbad, NM, hosted by U.S. Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office and Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO). There will be a short update about the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) with a question and answer period to follow.  Bring your questions about getting the Waste Off the Hill.  To register:  https://wipp.energy.gov/wipp_news_20251001.asp   

8. Wednesday, November 12 from 3 to 5 pm – LANL Public Training Session for the Electronic Public Reading Room and IntellusNM public environmental data portal on MS Teams. IntellusNM is the data portal that provides continuous public access to the environmental data collect on and around LANL.  It is jointly managed by the New Mexico Environment Department DOE Oversight Bureau (NMED-OB) and LANL contractors, N3B and Triad.  For more information:  envoutreach@lanl.gov or call 505-551-4514.

In an essay for NYU’s Democracy Project, David F. Levi, a former federal judge and director emeritus of the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law, reflected on the negotiations he facilitated in New Mexico about the renewal of the hazardous waste permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a deep geologic repository for plutonium-contaminated waste generated in the fabrication of nuclear weapons.  Judge Levi’s essay is entitled “Participatory Democracy in Action.”  He wrote:

“A couple of years ago, I was asked to mediate a dispute between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) concerning the renewal of a required state permit for DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the nation’s only deep underground nuclear waste storage facility, located outside of Carlsbad, New Mexico. I thought I could help the two government entities but quickly came to realize that under the mediation procedures followed by New Mexico, the mediation would also involve citizen groups whose ultimate concurrence was essential to any complete resolution. This was entirely new to me.

“In this case, there were seven such citizen groups entitled to participate and representing a variety of points of view. There was one group representing some of the government and business leaders of the town of Carlsbad who favored permit renewal on terms ensuring the continued long-term operation of WIPP. There were six groups expressing a variety of concerns about nuclear waste coming to New Mexico. They sought a more restrictive permit.

“To my astonishment, over the course of four full days, we worked through the multitude of issues and came to complete agreement. Something magical had happened. Thanks to the goodwill of the DOE and its contractor, the remarkable daily attendance and attentiveness of the NMED Secretary and the measured and well-informed way in which the various citizen groups made their points, we were able to find consensus and craft permit language that was acceptable to everyone.

“For me, as a former judge and mediator, the experience was thrilling. It was an experience of participatory democracy in action that made me proud of our fellow citizens and our government.  Three aspects of the experience stand out. First, everyone in the room had taken responsibility for the way in which our nation’s only deep underground nuclear storage facility would be operated for the next 10 years. The citizen participants were not just making suggestions; they were assuming many of the attributes of decision makers. Second, all participants were advocating, compromising, and collaborating on behalf of what they saw as the public interest. These are the essential skills of democracy—the civic virtues so central to the Founders’ vision of what would make democracy work in America—and they require practice. Finally, over four days around a table, the citizens were able to take the measure of the DOE and NMED representatives. They came to realize, as I did, that these public servants, as well as the DOE contractor, were very well-informed, experienced, and intentioned. The government representatives had a similar experience of coming to appreciate the citizen questions and points of view. A government that relies on trust needs this kind of interaction to maintain that trust.

“It seems our democracy would be strengthened if we could extend the benefits of this kind of participatory structure to other areas of our legal and regulatory systems.”

“In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville made some of these points in reference to the jury trial in civil cases. He emphasized the importance of the civil jury trial as a free “public school” [https://contextus.org/Tocqueville,_Democracy_in_America_(1835),_Book_I,_Chapter_XVI_Causes_Mitigating_Tyranny_In_The_United_States_(Part_II).13?ven=Gutenberg&lang=en] educating jurors in the democratic virtues and skills and teaching them to assume responsibility. In the same vein, every trial judge I know would attest to the importance of the jury experience for building confidence in the courts. After a trial, judges often hear words of gratitude from jurors who are deeply impressed by the legal process and are honored to have participated despite their initial dismay at being called to jury service. Sadly, the number of jury trials has diminished, particularly in federal court. Reversing that trend is a worthy goal, particularly for a branch of government that depends so heavily on public confidence.

“As a final reflection:  any persons involved as litigants will have an experience of the legal system. The experience can advance their sense of agency and participation, their ability to disagree civilly, and their trust in the courts. But how can these objectives be obtained when so many Americans cannot afford a lawyer? We can do so much better to provide understanding of and access to our justice system.”

The six New Mexico based non-governmental organizations were Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping (CARD), Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety (CCNS), Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM), Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Southwest Alliance for a Safe Future (SAFE), and Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC).  The individual was Steve Zappe, a grandfather and former NMED WIPP Program Manager.

1. Friday, October 10^th from noon to 1 pm – Join us at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval for the weekly one-hour peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament and against expanded plutonium pit production at LANL. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners in support of nuclear weapons disarmament and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

2. Tuesday, October 14^th – Public comment period ends for the NMED’s draft amendments to the NM Standards for Interstate and Intrastate Surface Waters, 20.6.4 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC), which is also named the “2026 Triennial Review,” an administrative process run by the NMED Surface Water Quality Bureau (SWQB),

 In accordance with Section 303(c)(1) of the CWA and 20.6.4.10 NMAC, States are required to hold public hearings at least once every three years to review, amend, and adopt water quality standards, as applicable. This is referred to as a “Triennial Review.” Pursuant to Section 74-6-4(F) of the WQA, the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) delegated NMED the responsibility for organizing and proposing amendments to the state’s surface water quality standards. NMED is initiating the 2026 Triennial Review process by providing NMED’s draft amendments to the public for comment.  For more information:  https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality/2026-triennial-review/ You may also sign up for the Surface Water Quality Bureau’s email list at: https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality and click on the “Subscribe to SWQB News” button on the bottom of the home page.

3. Tuesday, October 14^th from 7 to 9 pm in Pajarito Room at Fuller Lodge – Los Alamos Historical Society hosts Dr. James Nolan, Washington Gladden 1859 Professor of Sociology at Williams College, about his latest book, Atomic Doctors: Conscience and Complicity at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age. Nolan’s grandfather, Dr. James F. Nolan, was an ob-gyn radiologist in Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project. He “cared for scientists in Los Alamos, organized safety and evacuation plans for the Trinity test, escorted the ‘Little Boy’ bomb to the Pacific, and was among the first Americans to enter Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombings.”  Nolan, Jr. learned about his grandfather’s involvement when his mother brought him a box of documents….

 Three days after the presentation, a YouTube video will be posted on the Los Alamos Historical Society webpage at https://www.youtube.com/@LosAlamosHistoricalSociety/videos

4. Wednesday, October 15^th (new meeting date) at 9 am – New Mexico Radioactive & Hazardous Materials Committee hybrid meeting at the Barbara Hubbard Room of the Pan American Center at 1810 East University Avenue in Las Cruces. The agenda will be posted when available at:  https://www.nmlegis.gov/Committee/Interim_Committee?CommitteeCode=RHMC

5. Saturday, October 18^th – No Kings Day – the next nationwide day of protest and resistance.

6. Saturday, October 18^th from 8 am to 2 pm with the gate closing and the event ending at 3:30 pm – Trinity Site Open House. Entry only through the Stallion Gate located off U.S. Highway 380.  https://home.army.mil/wsmr/contact/public-affairs-office/trinity-site-open-house

7. Thursday, October 23^rd – Public comment period ends for the draft Decommissioning Plan Thermo-Eberline Facility on Airport Road, Santa Fe. For more information, scroll down to the bottom of this page:  https://www.env.nm.gov/rcb/public-notices-of-radioactive-materials-licensing-actions-and-rulemakings/  

8. Tuesday, October 28^th – Public comment period ends for the draft NM Environment Department amendments to the NM Standards for Ground and Surface Water Protection at 20.6.2 NMAC and the new NM draft regulations known as the New Mexico Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NMPDES) at 20.6.5 NMAC. For more information: https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D189342697

9. Thursday, November 13^th and Friday, November 14^th – International Uranium Film Festival at the Navajo National Museum in Window Rock. For more information, visit: https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/

On September 26^th, 2025, during the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, the Republic of Ghana ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and the Country of Kyrgyzstan signed on.  With these actions, a global majority of countries have signed onto the United Nations nuclear weapons ban treaty.  A total of 99 out of the 197 eligible states have taken legal action – 74 have ratified and 25 have signed.  Such action sends a strong message to the nuclear-armed states and their allies that they are now the minority and irresponsible actors threatening global security.  https://www.icanw.org/global_majority_now_signed_onto_nuclear_ban_treaty

The United Nations adopted the treaty eight years ago.  It came into force on January 22, 2021 and its influence grows every day as people recognize the threat of nuclear weapons. The treaty prohibits the development, testing, production, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, transferring, stationing, and use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

The TPNW also provides that states parties assist individuals and communities that have been affected by the testing or use of nuclear weapons and engage in environmental remediation in areas where the testing or use of nuclear weapons has resulted in contamination.  https://www.icanw.org/the_treaty

CCNS is grateful for the leadership, perseverance and global coordination of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN.

Many others acknowledge its work.  On December 10, 2017, ICAN was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its work “to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons” and the “ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.”  https://www.icanw.org/nobel_prize

In response to the news that a global majority of states have joined the treaty, ICAN’s Executive Director, Melissa Parke, welcomed the news.  She said, “I warmly congratulate Kyrgyzstan and Ghana on their actions today. The TPNW is the best way to ensure real security from the existential threat nuclear weapons pose to the future of humanity, because as long as they exist, nuclear weapons are bound to be used, intentionally or by accident.”

She continued, “The nuclear-armed countries and their allies that endorse the use of nuclear weapons are a distinct minority and they have no right to continue to threaten the future of the rest of the world.  The TPNW is the pathway under international law to the fair and verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons so these nine countries have no excuse to continue to defy the majority here at the [United Nations].”

1. Friday, October 3^rd from noon to 1 pm – Join us at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval for the weekly one-hour peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament and against expanded plutonium pit production at LANL. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners in support of nuclear weapons disarmament and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

2. Friday, October 3^rd – New Mexico Radioactive & Hazardous Materials Committee hybrid meeting from Las Cruces. The agenda will be posted when available:  https://www.nmlegis.gov/Committee/Interim_Committee?CommitteeCode=RHMC

3. Saturday, October 4 to Saturday, October 11 – Keep Space for Peace Week – Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. This year could be one of the most important times ever since the 1992 founding of the Global Network, especially with Trump’s recent declaration for the “Golden Dome” over North America.  It is time to resist this boondoggle scheme.  Projected Congressional costs:  $550 billion to trillions over 20 years.  https://space4peace.org/keep-space-for-peace-week/   

4. Tuesday, October 14^th – Public comment period ends for the NMED’s draft amendments to the NM Standards for Interstate and Intrastate Surface Waters, 20.6.4 New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC), which is also named the “2026 Triennial Review,” an administrative process run by the NMED Surface Water Quality Bureau (SWQB),

 In accordance with Section 303(c)(1) of the CWA and 20.6.4.10 NMAC, States are required to hold public hearings at least once every three years to review, amend, and adopt water quality standards, as applicable. This is referred to as a “Triennial Review.” Pursuant to Section 74-6-4(F) of the WQA, the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) delegated NMED the responsibility for organizing and proposing amendments to the state’s surface water quality standards. NMED is initiating the 2026 Triennial Review process by providing NMED’s draft amendments to the public for comment.  For more information:  https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality/2026-triennial-review/   You may also sign up for the Surface Water Quality Bureau’s email list at: https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality and click on the “Subscribe to SWQB News” button on the bottom of the home page.

5. Saturday, October 18^th – No Kings Day – the next nationwide day of protest and resistance.

6. Saturday, October 18^th from 8 am to 2 pm – with the gate closing and the event ending at 3:30 pm – Trinity Site Open House. Entry only through the Stallion Gate located off U.S. Highway 380.  https://home.army.mil/wsmr/contact/public-affairs-office/trinity-site-open-house

7. Thursday, October 23^rd – Public comment period ends for the draft Decommissioning Plan Thermo-Eberline Facility on Airport Road, Santa Fe. For more information, scroll down to the bottom of this page:https://www.env.nm.gov/rcb/public-notices-of-radioactive-materials-licensing-actions-and-rulemakings/  

8. Tuesday, October 28^th – Public comment period ends for the draft NM Environment Department amendments to the NM Standards for Ground and Surface Water Protection at 20.6.2 NMAC and the new NM draft regulations known as the New Mexico Pollutant Discharge Elimination System(NMPDES) at 20.6.5 NMAC.

For more information:  https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D189342697

9. Thursday, November 13^th and Friday, November 14^th – International Uranium Film Festival at the Navajo National Museum in Window Rock. For more information, visit: https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is a small, independent federal agency that serves as a watchdog for the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons complex. It is supposed to have five members, but it currently has only two.  And one member’s term expires on October 18^th.  If one or more board positions aren’t filled on or before October 18^th, the Safety Board will no longer have a quorum to operate. The public needs the Board to continue its vital nuclear safety mission at the DOE nuclear weapons facilities.  https://www.dnfsb.gov/ , Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board:  Opportunities Exist to Further Improve Management and Planning, GAO-25-107948, https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-107948

Please contact your U.S. Senators and tell them to support a provision in the Continuing Resolution to fund the government for fiscal year 2026.  The provision should preserve the Safety Board’s ability to function even if its membership drops and allow the President additional time to nominate new board members.

Nuclear Watch New Mexico prepared an organizational statement for sign-ons, available here:  https://forms.gle/TK33FCeYXQX9fuaY9  TO BE INCLUDED, SIGN-ON BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS TODAY (Sorry for late notice).

The sign-on letter will be sent to the Senate and House Congressional Leaders on Friday morning, September 26^th.

Action is needed now to urge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Senators to protect the Safety Board so it can continue its vital missions at DOE defense nuclear facilities. Call Chuck Schumer in Washington, DC at (202) 224-6542.

In New Mexico, the Safety Board’s work is essential at the three Department of Energy sites. They are Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratories and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) – all three tasked with expanded missions, including national security, fabrication of plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons and disposing of the plutonium-contaminated waste.

In the August 2025 Safety Board’s monthly report for WIPP, a deep underground disposal site for plutonium-contaminated waste, the public learned about how a waste hoist, which was transporting facility personnel to the surface, tripped. Fortunately the safety device initiated a stop. Instead of taking the hoist out of service to investigate the problem as required, facility personnel continued to transport personnel to the surface.  https://www.dnfsb.gov/sites/default/files/2025-09/WIPP%20Monthly%20Ending%20August%202025.pdf

and

In the August 2025 weekly reports about worker contamination at LANL’s Plutonium Facility, the public learned that a worker received a puncture wound through the protective glove he was wearing while working in a glovebox.

https://www.dnfsb.gov/sites/default/files/2025-08/Los%20Alamos%20Week%20Ending%20August%201%202025.pdf , https://www.dnfsb.gov/sites/default/files/2025-08/Los%20Alamos%20Week%20Ending%20July%204%202025.pdf

The next week, the Safety Board reported that contamination was leaking out of two window gaskets and another port gasket in a glovebox. In addition, unapproved chemical processing operations had been done in the glovebox, which is now out-of-service.   https://www.dnfsb.gov/sites/default/files/2025-08/Los%20Alamos%20Week%20Ending%20August%208%202025.pdf

The incidents at LANL and WIPP may have harmed workers.  The public would not necessarily know about them but for the Safety Board’s reports.  These are but a few of the many reasons why the Safety Board must retain its quorum.

1. Friday, September 26^th from noon to 1 pm – Join us at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval for the weekly one-hour peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament and against expanded plutonium pit production at LANL. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners in support of nuclear weapons disarmament.

2. Friday, September 26^th at 10 am MDT – Final opportunity to discuss the draft NM Environment Department amendments to the NM Standards for Ground and Surface Water Protection at 20.6.2 NMAC and the new NM draft regulations known as the New Mexico Pollutant Discharge Elimination System at 20.6.5 NMAC.

For more information:  https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D189342697

The public comment period begins August 29^th and closes October 28, 2025.

3. Friday, September 26^th – International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (Nuclear Abolition Day). https://www.nuclearabolitionday.org/

4. Friday, September 26^th from 8 am – 10 am MDT – Ministerial level conference at the United Nations Headquarters to promote the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Treaty is designed to prohibit all nuclear weapon test explosion for all time.  The event will be streamed live on UN Web TV.  ctbto.org

5. Saturday, October 4 to Saturday, October 11 – Keep Space for Peace Week – Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. This year could be one of the most important times ever since the 1992 founding of the Global Network, especially with Trump’s recent declaration for the “Golden Dome” over North America.  It is time to resist this boondoggle scheme.  Projected Congressional costs:  $550 billion to trillions over 20 years.  https://space4peace.org/keep-space-for-peace-week/   

6. Saturday, October 18^th – No Kings Day – the next nationwide day of protest and resistance.

7. Thursday, November 13^th and Friday, November 14^th – International Uranium Film Festival at the Navajo National Museum in Window Rock. For more information, visit: https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/

The independent Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has been dwindling from a five-member board to one member and may disappear if we, the People, do not raise our voices to support its essential nuclear safety work. The Safety Board needs at least two new members. And that needs to get done by Saturday, October 18th. https://www.dnfsb.gov/about

New Mexico U.S. Senators Heinrich and Lujan have key roles to play to ensure the Safety Board’s work continues unimpeded. https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/ and https://www.lujan.senate.gov/ Our voices of support are essential to ensure communities continue to receive the essential services of the Safety Board and its staff.

Right now members of the Safety Board’s staff are monitoring the venting of radioactive tritium from Area G at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  Their expertise in the field of nuclear safety and their demonstrated competence and knowledge relevant to their independent investigative and oversight functions are an essential part of the process.  They will be part of the follow-up once the venting of the four flanged tritium waste containers is completed. https://tewawomenunited.org/?s=tritium, https://www.ccwnewmexico.org/tritium, https://nuclearactive.org/

Not only does the Safety Board have staff at LANL, but also at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque and at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the burial site for plutonium contaminated nuclear weapons waste, near Carlsbad. https://ananuclear.org/facilities/

Contact Senator Martin Heinrich and Senator Ben Ray Lujan and tell them that the Safety Board is essential to keeping New Mexicans safe, especially in light of the DOE’s plans to expand plutonium pit, or trigger, production at LANL. The Safety Board’s expertise provides the public with the confidence that informed experts are watching and commenting on the nuclear weapons complex in New Mexico.

A little history is relevant here. In the late 1980’s astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn was instrumental in the formation of the Board. DOE’s mismanagement of the Fernald Plant in Ohio, the on-going safety problems at the Rocky Flats Plant near Denver and the 1989 raid of the plant, are but a few examples of why the Board was formed.  https://ananuclear.org/facilities/

The weapons contractors have unsuccessfully tried to dismantle the Safety Board ever since. https://nuclearactive.org/safety-board-holds-nov-28-live-streamed-public-hearing/, https://nuclearactive.org/santa-fe-county-commissioners-call-for-suspension-of-doe-order-140-1/, https://nuclearactive.org/doe-must-hold-hearings-in-new-mexico-about-order-140-1/, https://nuclearactive.org/dnfsb-public-hearing-about-doe-interface-on-august-28th

Two new members must be installed by October 18^th. That means we must put pressure on the New Mexico senators to encourage Senator Lindsay Graham (South Carolina) and Senator Ted Cruz (Texas), both with DOE sites in their states, to nominate qualified candidates to the Safety Board now so that the process may begin.  https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/ and https://www.cruz.senate.gov/

The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) issued a letter about the urgent need for nominations to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which is set to lose its quorum and therefore its ability to issue recommendations to DOE on October 18, 2025. Before then, Republicans on the Senate Armed Services committee must recommend a Presidential nomination of at least one new board member that the Senate approves. Here is the list of key Senators who have received the letter:

List of U.S. Senators to Contact to Submit DNFSB Board Member Nominations, September 18, 2025

Jim Banks (IN) – https://www.banks.senate.gov/

Marsha Blackburn (TN) – https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/

Ted Budd (NC) – https://www.budd.senate.gov/

Susan Collins (ME) – https://www.collins.senate.gov/

Tom Cotton (AR) – https://www.cotton.senate.gov/

Kevin Cramer (ND) – https://www.cramer.senate.gov/

Mike Crapo (ID) – https://www.crapo.senate.gov/

Joni Ernst (IA) – https://www.ernst.senate.gov/

Deb Fischer (NE) – https://www.fischer.senate.gov

Bill Hagerty (TN) – https://www.hagerty.senate.gov/

Josh Hawley (MO) – https://www.hawley.senate.gov/

John Kennedy (LA) – https://www.kennedy.senate.gov

Jerry Moran (KS) – https://www.moran.senate.gov

Markwayne Mullin (OK) – https://www.mullin.senate.gov/

Mike Rounds (SD) – https://www.rounds.senate.gov/

Eric Schmitt (MO) – https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/

Rick Scott (FL) – www.rickscott.senate.gov

Tim Sheehy (MT) – https://www.sheehy.senate.gov/

Dan Sullivan (AK) – https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/

Tommy Tuberville (AL) – https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/

Roger Wicker (MS) – https://www.wicker.senate.gov/

If you are a constituent of any of these Senators please reach out to your community, follow up with them and re-send the letter.

1. Friday, September 19^th from noon to 1 pm – Join your neighbors and friends at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval for the weekly one-hour peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament and against expanded plutonium pit production at LANL. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners in support of nuclear weapons disarmament.

2. Thursday, September 18^th at 6 pm at the SALA Event Center in Los Alamos – Black Hole Museum Initiative meeting, film screenings and discussion panel and Q&A with filmmakers and the Ed Grothus family. THINK PEACEFUL REUSE!  https://blackholemuseum.blogspot.com/2025/08/save-date-thursday-september-18th.html

 Background information is available here –  https://losalamosreporter.com/2025/06/29/black-hole-museum-a-new-idea-for-the-los-alamos-community/

3. Sunday, September 21, 2025 – International Day of Peace: End Racism; Build Peace.  https://internationaldayofpeace.org/

4. Sunday, September 21, 2025 – LIVE STREAM PUBLIC CONVERSATION from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm MT at Northern Arizona University (NAU) about the legacy and future of uranium contamination in the Southwest. The Uranium Science and Community Health Forum will bring together Tribal scientists and leaders, health researchers, and policy advocates to discuss uranium in air, food and water and community-driven efforts to restore health, trust and accountability.

 The event is part of the Flagstaff Festival of Science.  The panel of nine experts is moderated by Dr. Tommy Rock and includes Dr. Karletta Chief, Chris Shuey, Carletta Tilousi, Dr. Carrie Nuva Joseph, Petuuche Gilbert, Wynona Baheshone, Carlene Yellowhair, Johnny Lehi Jr., and Dr. Janl Ingram.

https://beyondnuclear.org/uranium-contamination-restoring-health-trust-and-accountability/

5. Monday, September 22 at 6pm MDT

Wednesday, September 24 at 2 pm MDT

Friday, September 26 at 10 am MDT

Three opportunities to discuss the draft NM Environment Department amendments to the State’s Standards for Ground and Surface Water Protection at 20.6.2 NMAC and the State’s draft NEW regulations known as the New Mexico Pollutant Discharge Elimination System at 20.6.5 NMAC.

For more information:

https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D189342697

The public comment period begins August 29^th and closes October 28, 2025.

6. Friday, September 26 from 8 am-10 am MDT – Ministerial level conference at the United Nations Headquarters to promote the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Treaty is designed to prohibit all nuclear weapon test explosion for all time.  The event will be streamed live on UN Web TV. 

 For more information:  www.ctbto.org

7. Thursday, November 13^th and Friday, November 14^th – International Uranium Film Festival at the Navajo National Museum in Window Rock. For more information, visit: https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/

NO VENTING SHOULD OCCUR THIS WEEKEND BECAUSE THE NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT (NMED) HAS REQUIRED DOE/NNSA/Triad/EMLA/N3B/LANL TO PROVIDE “WITHIN 15 MINUTES” PUBLIC NOTICE OF “ANY PROBLEMS DURING THE TREATMENT PROCESS THAT RESULT IN AN UNANTICIPATED RELEASE OF TRITIUM EXCEEDING THE CONDITIONS OF THIS TEMPORARY AUTHORIZATION.” See p. 4, No. 7.  250904 NMED Approval w_Mods TA to LANL Tritium Venting

Today, September 11, 2025, the Communities for Clean Water (CCW) emailed NNSA LANL Manager Ted Wyka and then forwarded that email to NMED Secretary James Kenney, NMED Senior Management, and others with comments and questions about how the public will be notified “within 15 minutes” of “any problems during the treatment process.”  The email is posted below.  No response has been received as of posting.

Dear JD Nance, Rick Shean, James Kenney, Macie Rouse, Siona Briley and John Rhoderick of NMED,

My name is Kalyn Finnell and I am writing on behalf of Communities for Clean Water, as the coordinator.

I am forwarding an email that I just sent to Ted Wyka with NNSA, and I am wondering if there is a specific protocol in relation to communication methods and geographic area/radius for communication for the requirement that NMED put in the NMED APPROVAL WITH MODIFICATIONS OF TEMPORARY AUTHORIZATION REQUEST dated September 4, 2025 (EPA ID#NM0890010515, HWB-LANL-19-033)? We especially want to know more information about how people will be notified within 15 minutes of any problems and are wondering NMED’s perspective on this matter?

Thank you very much,

Kalyn Finnell, Communities for Clean Water, and Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety

Communities for Clean Water (CCW) is a coalition of organizations whose mission is to ensure that community waters impacted by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are kept safe for drinking, agriculture, sacred ceremonies, and a sustainable future. Our coalition includes Amigos Bravos, Breath of My Heart Birthplace, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Honor Our Pueblo Existence, the New Mexico Acequia Association, Partnership for Earth Spirituality, and Tewa Women United.

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Kalyn Mae Finnell <communitiesforcleanwater@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 11, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Subject: Tritium venting pause 15-minute
To: <theodore.wyka@nnsa.doe.gov>
Cc: Joni Arends <jarends@nuclearactive.org>

Good morning Mr. Wyka,

My name is Kalyn Finnell and I am the coordinator for Communities for Clean Water. I am writing to inquire about communication during the tritium venting. I have also called and left a message with a secretary at your office. Our questions involve the following excerpts from the NMED APPROVAL WITH MODIFICATIONS OF TEMPORARY AUTHORIZATION REQUEST dated September 4, 2025 (EPA ID#NM0890010515, HWB-LANL-19-033):

“The Permittees shall notify NMED, the EPA, tribal communities, and the public of any potential threat to public health within 15 minutes of any problems during the treatment process that result in an unanticipated release of tritium exceeding the conditions of this temporary authorization.”

“The Permittees shall notify the public and tribal communities in writing in English and Spanish no less than three days prior to commencing operations to allow surrounding communities and persons time to adjust their activities in an abundance of caution as they deem necessary.”

We are requesting the following information:

1. What methods of communication will be used in the case of any “problems during the treatment process that result in an unanticipated release of tritium exceeding the conditions of [the] temporary authorization”?
2. What is the geographic area/radius of the public that will be notified in the case of any “problems during the treatment process that result in an unanticipated release of tritium exceeding the conditions of [the] temporary authorization”?
3. What methods of communication were used to notify the public and Tribal communities “three days prior to commencing operations”?
4. What is the geographic area/radius of the public and Tribal communities that were notified “three days prior to commencing operations”?

Thank you very much,

Kalyn Finnell, Communities for Clean Water and Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety

Communities for Clean Water (CCW) is a coalition of organizations whose mission is to ensure that community waters impacted by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are kept safe for drinking, agriculture, sacred ceremonies, and a sustainable future. Our coalition includes Amigos Bravos, Breath of My Heart Birthplace, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Honor Our Pueblo Existence, the New Mexico Acequia Association, Partnership for Earth Spirituality, and Tewa Women United.

Truncated Timeline of Events this past week:

*. Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025 – NMED issued temporary authorization (TA).

*. Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 – NMED TA authorization was posted to LANL’s electronic public reading room, providing the public with the first information about the issuance of the TA.

*. Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 – The LANL Notice of Depressurization Activities for FTWC in English and Spanish was released (see below).

*. Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025 – CCW Press Release “NMED Approves LANL Tritium Venting Plan – Radioactive Releases to Begin Saturday Despite Community Opposition.  https://www.ccwnewmexico.org/general-2

Notification of Depressurization Activities for Flanged Tritium Waste Containers

On Saturday, September 13, 2025, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) will begin depressurization of four Flanged Tritium Waste Containers.

The operation is scheduled to take place over a two-week period and avoids impacting neighboring Pueblo Feast Days.

It also considers weather conditions to ensure activities occur at the best and safest time possible.

NNSA and LANL look forward to the successful completion of this project and are committed to providing the public with information about various aspects of the operation. Those public engagement opportunities will be announced in future communications.

For more information on FTWCs, please go to: Flanged Tritium Waste Containers | Los Alamos National Laboratory

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Notificación de Actividades de Despresurización de Contenedores Bridados con Residuos de Tritio

El sábado 13 de septiembre de 2025, la Administración Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear (NNSA) y el Laboratorio Nacional de Los Álamos (LANL) comenzarán la despresurización de cuatro Contenedores Bridados con Residuos de Tritio.

La operación está programada para llevarse a cabo durante un período de dos semanas y evita afectar las Fiestas de los Pueblos.

También considera las condiciones climáticas para asegurar que las actividades se lleven a cabo en el mejor y más seguro momento posible.

La NNSA y LANL esperan con interes la finalización exitosa de este proyecto y estan comprometidos a proveer al público información sobre varios aspectos de la operación. Dichas oportunidades de participación pública se anunciarán en futuras comunicaciones.

Para obtener más información en inglés sobre los Contenedores Bridados con Residuos de Tritio, visite: Contenedores Bridados con Residuos de Tritio | Laboratorio Nacional de Los Álamos.

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This service is provided to you at no charge by Los Alamos National Laboratory.

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Following the 80^th year since the bombings of Trinity, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, did you know that 2025 is also the 80^th year since the formation of the United Nations?  The General Assembly’s first resolution recognized nuclear disarmament as the principal goal of the United Nations.

On Friday, September 26^th, take time to acknowledge the world coming together for the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations in New York and Geneva.  The General Assembly commemorates the day as a reaffirmation, and priority, for the world community to work for global nuclear disarmament.

The United Nations acknowledges that, “Commemorating this Day at the United Nations is especially important, given its universal membership and its long experience in grappling with nuclear disarmament issues. It is the right place to address one of humanity’s greatest challenges; achieving the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.”

To assist in meeting these goals, a new international platform for civil society actions and events has been created. It is called “Nuclear Abolition Day” and brings together individuals and organizations from around the world to take part in an action or event on that day. It calls on governments to announce concrete plans for the prevention of any use of nuclear weapons and the achievement of a nuclear weapons-free world by 2045 – the 100^th year since the bombings and the creation of the United Nations.  https://www.un.org/en/observances/nuclear-weapons-elimination-day

 To encourage involvement, the Nuclear Abolition Day launched a multi-faceted social media campaign called “Stop Nuclear Weapons: Peace is in our Hands” to encourage individuals and organizations to use their hands in symbolic and cooperative ways to promote nuclear disarmament.  One example is to create a peace sign in the palm of your hand. Additional examples are available on the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament website at https://www.pnnd.org/article/nuclearabolitiondayorg-launched-united-nations-geneva

Another opportunity for involvement is to sign the Appeal to the United Nations that affirms the desire, among others, to cut nuclear weapons budgets and redirect those funds to strengthen the United Nations, accelerate steps to protect the climate and meet human and economic needs.  https://www.pnnd.org/article/nuclearabolitiondayorg-launched-united-nations-geneva

Locally, on Friday, September 26^th at noon in Santa Fe, join with Veterans for Peace and others, including Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, at the corners of East Alameda and Sandoval, to commemorate Nuclear Abolition Day as part of the weekly one-hour peaceful protest to abolish nuclear weapons.

1. Friday, September 12^th from noon to 1 pm – Join your neighbors and friends at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval for the weekly one-hour peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament and against expanded plutonium pit production at LANL. Join with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners in support of nuclear weapons disarmament.

2. Wednesday, September 17^th from 1 to 3:30 MDT – Virtual Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Northern New Mexico. Tentative agenda includes: Elections of Chair and Vice-Chair for Fiscal Chair 2026; Presentation to the Board; and Agency Updates.  For more information, including how to access the meeting, please contact Bridget Maestas, Northern New Mexico Citizens Advisory Board Executive Director two days prior to the meeting at maestas@em.doe.gov or 505 709 7466 or https://www.energy.gov/em/nnmcab/northern-new-mexico-citizens-advisory-board

3. Thursday, September 18^th at 6 pm at the SALA Event Center in Los Alamos – Black Hole Museum Initiative meeting, film screenings and discussion panel and Q&A with filmmakers and the Ed Grothus family. THINK PEACEFUL REUSE!  https://blackholemuseum.blogspot.com/2025/08/save-date-thursday-september-18th.html

 For more background information, see:  https://losalamosreporter.com/2025/06/29/black-hole-museum-a-new-idea-for-the-los-alamos-community/

4. Sunday, September 21, 2025 – International Day of Peace: End Racism; Build Peace.  https://internationaldayofpeace.org/

5. Monday, September 22 at 6pm MDT

Wednesday, September 24 at 2 pm MDT

Friday, September 26 at 10 am MDT

Three opportunities to discuss the draft NM Environment Department amendments to the State’s Standards for Ground and Surface Water Protection at 20.6.2 NMAC and the State’s draft NEW regulations known as the New Mexico Pollutant Discharge Elimination System at 20.6.5 NMAC.

For more information:

https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D189342697

The public comment period begins August 29^th and closes October 28, 2025.

6. Friday, September 26 from 8 am – 10 am MDT – Ministerial level conference at the United Nations Headquarters to promote the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Treaty is designed to prohibit all nuclear weapon test explosion for all time.  The event will be streamed live on UN Web TV. 

 For more information:  www.ctbto.org

7. Thursday, November 13^th and Friday, November 14^th – International Uranium Film Festival at the Navajo National Museum in Window Rock. For more information, visit: https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/