Don't Let New Mexico Go to the Pits!!!

No New Bomb Factory, No Where, No Way

The Bush administration plans to develop the capacity for building new "usable" nuclear weapons. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have proposed a new nuclear bomb factory, called the "Modern Pit Facility." The new factory replaces the Rocky Flats Plant, which was shut down in 1989 because of major health and environmental problems caused by the manufacturing of plutonium "pits," the core of nuclear weapons. The MPF is scheduled to operate from 2018 until 2070 and is designed to produce around 500 pits or more per year, comparable to Cold War rates.

Where will the MPF be located?
The DOE and NNSA have proposed five sites: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), Nevada Test Site, Pantex Plant in Texas and Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. Final selection is scheduled for early 2004.

Why is the MPF being proposed?
The U.S. presently has over 10,000 nuclear weapons as well as an additional 12,000 plutonium pits stored at the Pantex Plant in Texas. The NNSA claims that due to potential aging effects, the U.S. could lose half of its nuclear weapons stockpile overnight. However, in 1996 the DOE formally stated that aging effects had never been observed in pits up to 30 years old. Plutonium-239, the primary isotope used in plutonium pits, has a half life of 24,000 years and thus 50 years is a minute portion of the plutonium-239 lifespan.

What about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
Article VI of the NPT requires the U.S. and more than 180 other nations "to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament." The Moscow Treaty signed by Presidents Bush and Putin in May 2003 requires the U.S. and Russia to reduce their nuclear arsenals to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads by 2013. Nonetheless, Bush administration policy is to keep a substantial nuclear arsenal and to build new nuclear weapons. In fact, present U.S. spending on nuclear weapons exceeds Cold War budgets. Current plans are that the MPF would begin operating in 2018 and be capable of producing 125 to 500 pits each year until 2070.

Additional MPF facts:

• Construction alone of the MPF is expected to cost up to $4.4 billion, excluding eventual decontamination, decommissioning and cleanup.

• Plutonium pit production is inherently dangerous. When inhaled, dust specks of plutonium cause lung cancer. The Rocky Flats Plant was shut down because of major health and environmental problems.

• The MPF will likely be used to produce new types of nuclear weapons. The Pentagon may not be willing to deploy them without testing, thus potentially prompting the U.S. to stop observing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and resume full scale testing.

• If the MPF is not properly managed, the air, water and soil can be contaminated with radioactive and hazardous particles. These particles may travel for many miles, contaminating the biosphere which sustains crops, animals and humans.

• The DOE has a poor cleanup record, leaving dangerous amounts of radioactive and hazardous materials in the soil and groundwater. In addition, DOE does not account for the fact that new waste plants, other than WIPP, will be needed to accommodate waste generated by the MPF.

• Although the MPF will create new jobs, it will be at the expense of potential contamination of important resources, while setting a dangerous precedent by encouraging another nuclear arms race. Instead, funding could be spent on health care, education and creating jobs in other areas, such as safe and renewable energy.

• If the MPF is constructed at LANL and runs at full operation (500 pits per year), DOE will need to purchase additional water rights.

• WIPP, a radioactive waste disposal site, is currently barred from military activity. Congress would have to repeal or amend the 1992 WIPP Land Withdrawal Act.