Together, a growing community effort and global pandemic have stopped the proposed venting of four containers of radioactive tritium stored at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)’s Technical Area 54 Area G dump for now.  http://nuclearactive.org/lanl-plans-to-release-twice-the-amount-of-tritium-allowed/

On Wednesday, April 1st, the Department of Energy (DOE) notified the New Mexico Environment Department by email that it will postpone its plans to vent the four containers.  It wrote:  “Venting of the [Flanged Tritium Waste Containers] (FTWCs) is postponed indefinitely due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Upon resumption of normal operations, we will coordinate with [the Environment Department] and [the Environmental Protection Agency] to ensure the necessary regulatory authorizations are received.  At a future date, we will be venting each drum in a carefully controlled process to limit its release.”

Importantly, DOE stated, “Presently, the FTWCs are stored in a safe and compliant manner at TA-54 and do not represent a risk to the public or the environment. We will continue to keep [the Environment Department] apprised of the schedule[d] planning activities and will work with you on a path forward for the temporary authorization request ….”

On March 30th, a press release from the All Pueblo Council of Governors stated that LANL did not provide a prior notice of opportunity for tribal consultation about the venting.  Jemez Pueblo Governor David Toledo, said,“April is one the most active times of the year for our Pueblo communities practicing traditional and cultural responsibilities outside, and it’s also one of the windiest.  On top of that, because of school closures more of our younger generations are outside.  Releasing even small amounts of radioactive materials is unacceptable as many Pueblo borders are located within 5-miles of LANL and the prevailing winds are directed toward the Pueblos. For LANL to continue with their undertaking is a painful reminder our Pueblos’ history of health impacts associated with the radioactive exposure by the labs, during a time when our communities deserve to feel safe and focus on their health.”  https://www.apcg.org/uncategorized/pueblos-concerned-about-los-alamos-national-laboratories-planned-release-of-radioactive-vapors/?fbclid=IwAR0h-aoTtDGSk9a2QSEuPFG1qfihzhc5JuITswVBFk0Ku66xh8aG7-J9ygs

Earlier, on March 28th, Tewa Women United launched a Change.org petition titled, “Protect Vulnerable New Mexico Communities:  Halt Radioactive Tritium Release from LANL.”  https://www.change.org/p/protect-vulnerable-nm-communities-halt-radioactive-tritium-release-from-lanl  The effort garnered 1,200 signatures within its first 48 hours.  The petition, currently with 2,175 signatures, remains open until Saturday, April 4th.

On March 30th, Tewa Women United and Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE) sent a letter to the members of Congress for their district, the EPA, and the Environment Department’s Hazardous Waste Bureau, with information and a link to the Change.org petition.

CCNS and Citizen Action prepared a technical sign-on letter to the Environment Department and EPA.  Twenty-three individuals and ten non-governmental organizations signed on.  Taosenos for Peaceful and Sustainable Futures encouraged petition signatures and sign-ons to the technical letter.  LANL Tritium Venting wo Sign-on info 4-2-20

Beata Tsosie, of Tewa Women United, said, “We still want these releases halted completely, a public process, government to government consultation with Pueblos, and no increase in future LANL production.”

1. CCNS appreciates the individuals and non-governmental organizations that stepped forward to oppose the proposed LANL trititum release(s).  We’ll have more work to do, but together we are making a difference!
2. We hope everyone is safe and staying home. CCNS continues to work to expose the proposals the nuclear industry is trying to push during this time of distraction during the pandemic.  Please support CCNS financially as we continue our oversight.  Thank you.  http://nuclearactive.org/    
3. August 5 – 9 – The Veterans for Peace Annual Convention has transformed from an in-person meeting in Albuquerque to an on-line event with programs and workshops. https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.veteransforpeace.org%2F2020-annual-convention&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cfbc208f03b5a48fcfaa908d7d80568b5%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637215390069666845&sdata=SIXlSE%2BLmkM45bo2VJdK9Wu%2Bvfm9heH3CBmz%2B4l8Q58%3D&reserved=0

The Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractor at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) plan to vent radioactive tritium into the air in an amount twice the federal standard of 10 millirems a year.  LANL estimates a possible offsite dose to the public of 20.2 millirems a year based on a release of over 100,000 curies of radiation.  LANL claims there is hydrogen, oxygen, and tritium gases in four 35-gallon stainless steel containers, called Flanged Tritium Waste Containers, that require venting to prevent a possible explosion.   The containers are stored in a prefabricated steel shed located at the Area G dump. The containers were filled in 2007 and have been safely stored there ever since.

In 2019, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a 2018 LANL plan under the Clean Air Act.  This month, the New Mexico Environment Department approved the plan under the state’s Hazardous Waste Act because there are lead tools present in the containers.  But there are inconsistencies between the two plans.

For instance, the earlier Clean Air Act plan proposed using “getters” to capture a portion of the vented tritium before it is released through an open door in the prefabricated shed.  The later plan deleted the use of a “getter bed” and replaced it with an unnamed air emissions control system.  Nevertheless, the Hazardous Waste Act plan states the gases will pass through a molecular sieve bed and through a metering value before release.  https://permalink.lanl.gov/object/tr?what=info:lanl-repo/eprr/ESHID-603412

New Mexicans are concerned about the proposed venting.  Tritium is radioactive hydrogen and is highly mobile moving from air to water and back.  It can cross the placenta and affect a developing fetus.  The 10 millirem standard is based on a 154-pound, five feet 6 inch, Anglo “reference man,” between the ages of 20 to 30, who consumes a European diet.

Beata Tsosie, a Community Doula and Gardener, from Santa Clara Pueblo, said, “As a Pueblo woman living downwind and downstream from Los Alamos nuclear weapons production, I am very concerned about the lab’s intentions to go forward with releasing radioactive tritium vapor into our air, land, waters, and ecosystems.  During mid April is when our land-based community is outdoors for longer periods of time preparing their fields and gardens for planting.  What will it mean to also have cumulative exposure when we consume these crops?  There are also increased exposures due to active foraging of wild plants, gathering of clays, fishing, hunting, and ceremony.

“Our children are also outdoors for longer periods of time due to the school shutdown for COVID-19, which is scheduled to go on indefinitely.  I watch my son playing in his backyard, making his own gardens, running, getting out of breath and breathing deeply the air that I need to know is safe for him to be exposed to.  We live 20 minutes away from these planned releases, and now in addition to an already stressful self-quarantine I need to worry about my family being outside enjoying their birthright.

Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal

“It is my understanding that in the documents submitted to the EPA and NMED in 2018, there is no inclusion of alternatives to these releases.  There should not be a rush to put our communities in harms way when all solutions have not even been discussed.  I know that the federal standards for tritium exposure are not protective of land-based people of color, or pregnant families and infants who are more vulnerable to radioactive toxicity.  Tritium can cross placental boundaries.  These standards of exposure are still based on an obsolete model of an adult, white male of European descent and custom.

“There must be an informed public process that prioritizes protecting those most vulnerable.  I do not consent to these toxic releases in my ancestral homelands; it is the continuation of nuclear colonialism and violence on Indigenous lands and bodies and a sorrowful history of environmental racism in our sacred Jemez Plateau.  I call on all of our Congressional delegation, EPA and NMED directors to put an immediate halt and suspension to these planned tritium releases and increase in LANL production.  Our communities deserve reprieve, health, calm, and wellness in these challenging times.”

Given the cumulative health consequences from the proposed venting, organizations and individuals are requesting the Environment Department hold a  public comment period and a public hearing.

1. We hope everyone is safe and staying home.  CCNS continues to work to expose the proposals the nuclear industry is trying to push during this time of distraction during the pandemic.  Please support CCNS financially as we continue our oversight.  Thank you.  http://nuclearactive.org/  
2. The Trinity Site Open House is canceled for Saturday, April 4^th. https://www.wsmr.army.mil/Trinity/Pages/Home.aspx

Citizen Action New Mexico obtained a January 2020 Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority technical memo that questions the conclusions in a Kirtland Air Force Base report that there is “significant reduction” of jet fuel contamination between the ground surface and groundwater in the vadose zone.  Among the Water Authority conclusions are that “[f]uel-related compounds such as xylenes, ethylene dibromide (EDB), and ethylbenzene were detected above the reporting limit at [a Kirtland monitoring well], indicating a much broader presence of fuel-related contamination than what is concluded in the [Kirtland Air Force Base] Report.” WUA.Tech.Memo.1.14.2020.core.drlng  (this is a large file, 8MB)

The Water Authority memo identifies serious problems with the collection of sampling data by Kirtland. The Water Authority states there are “likely biases … towards lower/reduced concentrations of fuel contaminants at the site.” Estimates of the Kirtland jet fuel spill range from 6 to 24 million gallons.

Kirtland reported its findings in a source area characterization report that was supposed to resolve the outstanding data gaps about the extent and concentration levels of fuel contamination.  The source area where the jet fuel spill occurred is particularly problematic because without cleanup it would continue releasing highly toxic chemicals such as benzene, toluene and EDB to Albuquerque’s drinking water aquifer.  No approved plan for the cleanup of the source area exists.

The report, which was submitted to the New Mexico Environment Department, was necessary to develop a conceptual computer model to guide future remediation work.   The information was to come from soil corings drilled at various locations and depths within the source area.  https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/kafb/ see the 3,740 page, October 25, 2019 KAFB Source Zone Characterization Report for the Bulk Fuels Facility Solid Waste Management Units ST-106/SS-111, Appendices

Kirtland, however, did not follow the Environment Department’s approved work plan for the investigation.  For example, they used unapproved methods for taking samples in the field and then did not submit the samples to the analytical laboratory in a timely manner.  When using a drill to collect soil cores, they drilled too fast, thus vibrating the soil.  Both the heat and vibrations allowed some contaminants to volatilize into the air, resulting in lower sampling results.

The Water Authority memo concludes with the following concerns:  “Failure to delineate the extent of the remaining fuel contamination could result in a persistent source to groundwater and increase the amount of time it will take to clean-up the impacted groundwater source.”

Dave McCoy, of Citizen Action, said, “After thirty years since discovery of massive jet fuel contamination in Albuquerque’s aquifer, there is no remediation plan, no approved cleanup plan schedule and no independent scientific overview.  Stakeholders are shut out about technical problems.  Biased data is presented to claim that successful cleanup is occurring.”

For more information, contact Citizen Action New Mexico at www.radfreenm.org/

1.  Correction to last week’s Update, entitled:  700 Petition Signatures Demanding Two EISs Delivered to Congressional Offices

We reported a “proposed $20 billion dollar increase in the Department of Energy (DOE) 2021 Federal Budget.”  DOE’s budget as a whole went down $3.15 billion to $35.61 billion (8%).  The cuts included cleanup and renewable energies.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) budget went up $3 billion to $20 billion (actually 19.77 billion).  The nuclear weapons budget went up $3.14 billion from $12.47 to $15.6 billion.

Thank you to Nuclear Watch New Mexico for pointing out the need for a correction. 

2.  CCNS is working from home; taking care, yet keeping up on what the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, federal and state regulators, and others are doing. There has not been much news about what is going on at Los Alamos National Laboratory right now.  Are they closed?

3.  The Environmental Protection Agency extended the comment period for both National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for LANL – the industrial waste water and outfall draft permit and the individual stormwater permit – from March 31, 2020 to May 31, 2020. We are digging more deeply into LANL’s application, the EPA’s fact sheet and draft permit. 

4.  Check out the Nuclear Watch New Mexico press release about LANL Plans to Release Up To – 100,000 Curies of Radioactive Gas (Tritium) at https://nukewatch.org/

photo: Kay Matthews, La Jicarita On-line Magazine

In response to the proposed $20 billion dollar increase in the Department of Energy (DOE) 2021 Federal Budget, over 700 activists and interested parties signed petitions that were delivered to staff members of Senators Udall and Heinrich, Representative Lujan, and Governor Lujan Grisham on Tuesday, March 10^th.  The petitions ask them to demand that DOE conduct a programmatic environmental impact statement (programmatic EIS) followed by a new site-wide environmental impact statement (site-wide EIS) for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) before any proposed expanded plutonium pit production and associated infrastructure projects begin. 

The petitions represent organizations ranging from the Taosenos for Peaceful and Sustainable Futures, CCNS, La Jicarita On-line Magazine https://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2020/03/11/over-750-lanl-petition-signatures-delivered-to-nm-congressional-delegation/ , Veterans for Peace http://www.vfp-santafe.org/home.html , Earth Care https://www.earthcarenm.org/ , Youth United for Climate Crisis Action (YUCCA) https://www.youthunited4climatecrisisaction.org/ , New Energy Economy https://www.newenergyeconomy.org/ , to the Nuclear Issues Study Group https://www.facebook.com/NuclearIssuesStudyGroup/ .

Arguments in favor of demanding a programmatic EIS before the site-wide EIS include:  in 1998, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decided the specific conditions under which DOE must conduct a programmatic EIS.  One is required before DOE commits its resources “to detailed engineering design,

testing, procurement, or installment of pit production capability for a capacity in excess of the level that has been analyzed in the [Stockpile Stewardship & Management Program] [programmatic] EIS.”  The analyzed capacity is 50 plutonium pits per year at LANL under routine conditions, and 80 pits per year under multiple shift operations.  Natural Resources Defense Council v. Pena, 20 F. Supp. 2d 45 (D.D.C. 1998) at https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/20/45/2423390/

At present, DOE is planning to commit its resources at LANL and the Savannah River Site before conducting a programmatic EIS.

The 1998 decision requires DOE to analyze via a programmatic EIS “the reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts of and alternatives to operating such an enhanced capacity.”  But DOE, putting the cart before the horse, wants to commit taxpayer dollars to expanding pit production before conducting the programmatic EIS.

New Mexicans want to see what DOE’s big plans are.  Perhaps DOE will discover that the unfinished Savannah River Site Mixed Oxide Facility cannot be converted to a plutonium pit facility for 50 pits per year.  [The backsliding has begun – https://www.exchangemonitor.com/lanl-pit-plant-make-much-less-transuranic-waste-s-c-pit-plant-nnsa-estimates/ ]  Then what?  Because LANL is the only DOE facility with the capacity to fabricate pits, DOE most likely will say that LANL must fabricate 80 pits per year.  Therefore, the requirements of the court decision must be fulfilled before a site-wide EIS is prepared for LANL.  New Mexicans deserve no less.

Joni Arends, of CCNS, said, “We will continue to gather signatures asking for both environmental impact statements.  It is essential for the public to learn about the extent of DOE’s plans for both the Savannah River Site and LANL.  Please join the effort!”  Petition PEIS before LANL SWEIS 2-26-20

1.         There are many upcoming events – all subject to change due to the virus pandemic.  If you are at home, consider writing a letter to the editor about your concerns.  Please take care of yourself – you know the drill – wash your hands with good old soap and water; get enough rest; and take the opportunity to be with yourself.

2.         Sunday, March 15^th from 1 to 5 pm.  You are cordially invited to attend the Third Annual Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium Benefit at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, in Albuquerque.  There will be music, dancing, door prizes, a silent auction, food and drinks, and lots of fun!  For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit https://www.trinitydownwinders.com/ EVENT POSTPONED

3.         Our detailed 2020 calendar is available at 2020 Events 3-5-20 

(Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal)

URENCO is a uranium enrichment facility that uses centrifuges to separate uranium for fuel in nuclear power plants.  The “waste” is stored on-site in uranium by-product cylinders, or UBCs.  The facility is located 4.5 miles east of Eunice, New Mexico, near the Texas border.  https://www.urenco.com/global-operations/uusa  The New Mexico Environment Department plans to renew the groundwater discharge permit, known as DP-1481, for another five years.  https://www.env.nm.gov/gwqb/dp-1481/ Public comments are needed.  CCNS has prepared a short fact sheet and sample public comment letter you can use to submit your comments to the Environment Department by Wednesday, March 11th.   Comment letter available HERE: URENCO sample public comment ltr 3-10-20

Activists have noted with satisfaction the Environment Department’s efforts to improve how the public is notified about the availability of the draft permit, and feel encouraged, but they remain concerned about the permit itself. The documents are more detailed and they explain the public process for English and Spanish speakers to equally and fully participate.

The permit allows for the “discharge” of stormwaters and industrial waters into two ponds – one is lined with high-density polyethylene, but the other is unlined, which provides a direct route to groundwater.  Through use of the ponds, the waters are evaporated into the air.  The permit allows the discharge of approximately 20 million gallons a day to the ponds.

The storage capacity for both ponds is based on a 100-year return frequency storm resulting in 6.45 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.  A question remains about the impacts of climate change:  Is the 100-year return storm the most accurate storm to determine storage capacity?

Pond 1 is unlined and has a capacity of 32.6 million gallons, with a surface area of approximately 17 acres.  It collects waters drained from about 96 acres.

Pond 2 is lined and contains two cells.  Together the cells have a storage capacity of 10.4 million gallons and a surface area of about 5 acres.  It drains an area of approximately 23 acres.

The permit requires monitoring of the shallow groundwater, as well as the deeper groundwater found 90 to 240 feet below ground surface, by sampling twelve monitoring wells and reporting the results semi-annually.  There are no provisions for treatment of the water before it enters the ponds.  If contaminants from the large UBC storage pad, roads, parking lots, and building rooftops are in the stormwater, those contaminants will end up in the ponds.  Ultimately they could be volatilized and end up in the air or soak into the shallow and deep groundwater.

Please consider using the fact sheet and sample public comment letter to develop your comments and get them in to the Environment Department on or before Wednesday, March 11^th. Comment letter above, fact sheet HERE: URENCO groundwater discharge permit fact sheet 3-10-20

1. There are many upcoming events, including dates for the NRC public meetings for the Holtec draft environmental impact statement, which are detailed in the March 2020 calendar, which is available HERE: 2020 Events 3-5-20    Here is a listing of this week’s events:

2. Tuesday, March 10^th at 2 pm, you are invited to join CCNS, Taosenos for Peaceful and Sustainable Futures, and others at the St. Francis statute at Santa Fe City Hall at the corner of Lincoln and Marcy as we prepare to deliver signed petitions to Senators Udall and Heinrich and Representative Lujan about plans to expand plutonium pit production at LANL. The petition ask them to demand DOE conduct a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) followed by a new site-wide environmental impact statement (SWEIS) for LANL before any proposed expanded plutonium pit production and associated infrastructure projects begin. 

~At 2 pm, after short introductions, we’ll walk two blocks to Senator Heinrich’s office at 123 East Marcy Street.  Staff members from Senators Udall and Heinrich and Representative Lujan’s offices will be there to accept the petition signatures.  We will then walk over to the Roundhouse and deliver the petition signatures to the Governor’s office on the fourth floor.

~People can park at the PERA parking lot, east of the Roundhouse, if that would be convenient, and walk to City Hall.  There are no parking fees in that parking lot.

~Download the PEIS before SWEIS petition HERE: Petition PEIS before LANL SWEIS 2-26-20  Modify as needed.  Replace CCNS with your group’s name.

3. Sunday, March 15^th from 1 to 5 pm. You are cordially invited to attend the Third Annual Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium Benefit at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, in Albuquerque.  There will be music, dancing, door prizes, a silent auction, food and drinks, and lots of fun!  For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit https://www.trinitydownwinders.com/

~For those in the Santa Fe area interested in donating gift cards and silent auction items for the benefit, please contact Joni Arends at CCNS at 505 986-1973.  Thank you!

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is set to receive a 32.5% increase in funding for the Department of Energy (DOE) in the proposed fiscal year 2021 federal budget.  Nearly half of the new $1.5 billion would be spent on “plutonium modernization” so that LANL could manufacture up to 30 plutonium pits, or triggers for nuclear weapons, per year. An additional $618.5 million is slated for LANL’s contribution to plutonium modernization at the Savannah River Site.  DOE wants to “repurpose” the failed MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility into the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility for the production of 50 pits per year.  https://srswatch.org/boom-goes-the-budget-as-doe-plans-for-nuclear-war-4-6-billion-target-for-unjustified-plutonium-bomb-plant-pbp-at-r/

DOE is asking for $19.8 billion for modernization, a number that some officials are calling “the right number.”

At the same time, the fiscal year 2021 budget proposal cuts funding for environmental cleanup at LANL from $220 million to $120 million. LANL’s legacy waste, from before 1999, dates back to the Manhattan Project and the Cold War.

Few details are available about how the two labs might gear up for plutonium pit production. However, the increasing funds for pit production and the reduction of funds for cleanup points dramatically towards a significant shift of focus for the national labs. The emphasis on building plutonium pits for nuclear weapons and providing an infrastructure to support them diminishes the funds available for protecting drinking water supplies, restoring the Pajarito Plateau to the place it was before LANL began in 1943 – where people lived and built community.

For more information, visit Nuclear Watch New Mexico https://nukewatch.org/ and Los Alamos Study Group https://www.lasg.org/

All of the proposed plans require National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, public processes.  The current administration is working to destroy the law that went into effect on January 1, 1970, the same year as the first Earth Day 50 years ago.  NEPA requires analysis of the environmental impacts before any major federal action begins, with full public review and comment.

Because two national laboratories are involved in the proposed plans, NEPA requires a nationwide, or programmatic, environmental impact statement process before any major federal action begins, followed by a new site-wide environmental impact statement for LANL.

DOE decided that no analysis is necessary for LANL.  Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich as well as Congressman Ben Ray Lujan concurred.  See, Sunday, February 16, 2020, Albuquerque Journal North Editorial Board, “Delegation should support strong review of pit production,” https://www.abqjournal.com/1420949/delegation-should-support-strong-review-of-pit-production-ex-doing-the-best-job-possible-to-ensure-making-pits-is-environmentally-safe-should-be-the-goal-of-everyone-involved.html

By contrast, at the Savannah River Site, DOE determined that they would follow NEPA.

It is important to make our voices heard.  We are locals and are the stewards of our environment.  We must let our Senators and Congressman know our opinions about the proposed increase in weapons-related funding as well as about the reduction in funds for environmental cleanup.  CCNS has prepared a petition requesting them to demand that the required environmental impact statements be prepared before any major federal action, including commitment of funding, takes place.

To get involved, please download the petition, gather signatures, and join us on Tuesday, March 10^th in downtown Santa Fe to deliver the petition signatures to the offices of the Senators and Congressman.  Next week, we’ll have more details about time and place.  Together we are making a difference!  Petition-EIS for LANL Pit Production 2-20-20

1. Your financial support makes a difference!  Monthly sustaining donations are needed now as we continue to keep you informed.  Use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/  Your contribution will support the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!
2. Check out the “Going Viral: Los Alamos National Lab scientist discuss coronavirus modeling, data and prevention,” by Julia Goldberg in this week’s Santa Fe Reporter.  https://www.sfreporter.com/news/theinterface/2020/02/26/going-viral/

The scientists recommend: “people staying home sick from work or school.  In the US we tend to be workaholics, but if people can stay home and avoid exposing others, we can significantly reduce disease spread.”  Jeanne Fair, LANL Deputy Group Leader for Biosecurity & Public Health. “Just really wash your hands throughout the day.”  Sara Del Valle, deputy group leader for LANL’s Information Systems and Modeling Group

3. Mark your calendar! You are cordially invited to attend the Third Annual Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium Benefit on Sunday, March 15th from 1 to 5 pm at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, in Albuquerque.  There will be music, dancing, door prizes, a silent auction, food and drinks, and lots of fun!  For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit https://www.trinitydownwinders.com/

For those in the Santa Fe area interested in donating gift cards and silent auction items for the benefit, please contact Joni Arends at CCNS at 505 986-1973.  Thank you!

4. Other upcoming events – mark your calendar:

a.Tuesday, March 10th, deliver petitions to congressional offices in Santa Fe

b.Wednesday, March 11th, comments due to NM Environment Department about the groundwater discharge permit for URENCO – a uranium enrichment facility located in Eunice, NM – near the NM/TX border.  Stay tuned for next week’s Update for a fact sheet and sample public comment letter you can use.

c.Comments now due to EPA about the LANL industrial “waste” water discharge permit and individual stormwater permit on Tuesday, March 31st.  Stay tuned for sample fact sheets and public comment letters you can use.

Recently, the Department of Energy (DOE) and its semi-autonomous agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), determined that a new nationwide, or programmatic, environmental impact statement is not needed to increase the number of nuclear weapons triggers manufactured at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Savannah River Site.  The federal agencies have also determined that a new site-wide environmental impact statement is not needed for LANL.  DOE and NNSA have determined that they are not required to follow the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, along with Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, concur.  In response, Taosenos for Peaceful and Sustainable Futures created a petition to the Senators and the Congressman to demand that DOE and NNSA conduct a nationwide, or programmatic, environmental impact statement, followed by a site-wide environmental impact statement for LANL as required by NEPA.

The petition is available for download here:  Petition-EIS for LANL Pit Production 2-20-20 Please gather signatures and join us on Tuesday, March 10^th when the organizations will present the petition signatures to the offices of the Senators and Congressman in Santa Fe.

Since 1997, DOE limited production of plutonium pits, or the triggers for nuclear weapons, at LANL to 20 per year.  Nevertheless, since that time, LANL has not produced anything near 20 pits per year – the most in one year was six.  Safety and seismic issues shut down production for years.  Even so, LANL is the only location in the U.S. for such work.  Critics oppose the DOE’s plans to expand the number of plutonium triggers manufactured each year from 20 to 30 – an increase of 50 percent – and argue for the environmental impact statements.

At the same time, the federal agencies want to convert the failed Savannah River Site Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility to manufacture up to 50 pits per year.  The agencies have determined that they would follow NEPA and issue a full environmental impact statement for public review and comment for the proposed operations at the Savannah River Site.

The federal agencies have refused to conduct a programmatic environmental impact statement for proposed connected operations at both facilities.

NEPA is required for major federal actions, including those that involve a “group of concerted actions to implement a specific policy or plan.”  Expanding pit production at two major DOE sites is a major federal action requiring a programmatic environment impact statement.

To get involved, please download the petition, Petition-EIS for LANL Pit Production 2-20-20 gather signatures, and join us on Tuesday, March 10^th to deliver the petition signatures to the offices of the Senators and Congressman.  Together we are making a difference!

1. Your financial support makes a difference!  Please help CCNS with a monthly sustaining donation.  Use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/  Your contribution will support the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!
2. Mark your calendar! You are cordially invited to attend the Third Annual Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium Benefit on Sunday, March 15^th from 1 to 5 pm at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, in Albuquerque.  There will be music, dancing, door prizes, a silent auction, food and drinks, and lots of fun!  For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit https://www.trinitydownwinders.com/

For those in the Santa Fe area interested in donating gift cards and silent auction items, please contact Joni Arends at CCNS at 505 986-1973.  Thank you!

In response to complaints by CCNS and Deborah Reade that the pre-submittal permit renewal application was not easily accessible on its website, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) has agreed to extend the public comment period to Thursday, February 20^th.  Senator Tom Udall’s staff also requested the extension of time.  f WIPP Comment Ltr 2-13-20

WIPP is required to hold a public meeting to discuss its draft application prior to submitting its final application to the New Mexico Environment Department at the end of March.  During the Santa Fe public meeting on January 23rd, CCNS pointed to the confusion about the location of the draft application on the WIPP website and requested that it be placed on the homepage.  Despite assurances from WIPP that a link would be added to the home page, that did not occur until after written complaints were filed and the comment period expired.  https://www.wipp.energy.gov/

Now that we have some additional time, here are some of the major, unresolved issues at WIPP:

First, the federal Department of Energy (DOE), owner of WIPP, has provided almost no information in Spanish about this permit renewal making it impossible for many Spanish speakers to be fully informed about the proposed changes for WIPP.  At a time when DOE is proposing major expansions, it should not skirt its responsibilities to provide information about its plans in Spanish.

Second, DOE wants the Environment Department to allow the site to receive plutonium-contaminated, or transuranic, waste until 2052, or 2080, or … essentially forever.  The current permit states disposal operations will end in 2024.  DOE promised the People of New Mexico that WIPP would dispose of waste for 25 years and then close the facility.

Third, the federal Land Withdrawal Act of 1992 limits WIPP to up to 6.2 million cubic feet of transuranic waste and prohibits any high-level waste or commercial waste, because Congress and New Mexico have always agreed, and DOE used to agree, that WIPP has a limited capacity, a limited operating lifetime, and that additional waste repositories would be built elsewhere.  https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/senate-bill/1671

Fourth, DOE has submitted a request to the Environment Department for temporary authorization to mine a new shaft into the waste disposal area, which is 2,150 feet below ground surface.  The proposed shaft would allow new underground rooms that could more than double the disposal area because the existing permitted panels will be filled in a few years.  https://wipp.energy.gov/2020-information-repository-documents.asp under “Temporary Authorization Requests.”

Fifth, DOE and its contractor, Nuclear Waste Partnership, have clearly demonstrated that they cannot operate WIPPin the “start clean, stay clean” manner as stated in the Permit, as the site was closed to waste disposal for three years following the February 2014 fire and radiation release.

Sixth, the renewal application does not include adequate human exposure information as required by the regulations.  Only air releases are described.  Despite the fact that the transportation phase accounts for almost all of the negative health effects during normal operations, effects from the increased shipping in this proposed renewal application are not mentioned.

1. Your financial support makes a difference!  Please help CCNS with a monthly sustaining donation.  Use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/  Your contribution will support the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!
2. Wednesday, February 19^th, from 5:30 to 7:15 pm, LANL will host an “Environmental Management Cleanup Forum about Legacy Waste at LANL,” at the Cottonwood on the Greens (golf course), at 4244 Diamond Drive. https://www.cottonwoodonthegreens.com/ Topics include Cleanup:  Big Picture and Near-Term Decisions with a Community Discussion and Q&A, along with a Poster Session from 6:45 to 7:15 pm.
3. Mark your calendar for you are cordially invited to attend the Third Annual Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium Benefit on Sunday, March 15^th from 1 to 5 pm at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, in Albuquerque. There will be music, dancing, door prizes, a silent auction, food and drinks, and lots of fun!  For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit https://www.trinitydownwinders.com/   Click here to view:  Event Flyer

CCNS provides the following information about upcoming events in New Mexico to commemorate the 75 years since the U.S. atomic bombings at the Trinity Site in July 1945, and over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.  Additional events, including the Stop the New Nuclear Arms Race conference, in Maryville, Tennessee, May 22^nd through May 25^th, are opportunities to meet and learn from campaigners from around the world.  Download the current events calendar: 2020 Events 1-27-20

Seventy-five years after the U.S. atomic bombings, the hands of the Doomsday Clock are now set at 100 seconds before midnight https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/ , and the nuclear powers are engaged in a new nuclear arms race.  The abolition movement is reviving, with new energy, new tools, and renewed commitment.

The Stop the New Nuclear Arms Race international conference will begin with dinner on Friday, May 22^nd and end on Monday, May 25^th with a trip to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for a nonviolent demonstration against the nuclear weapons work at the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex.  Y-12 is an active nuclear weapons manufacturing facility that makes highly enriched uranium cores for the W76-2 warhead and is currently building a new bomb plant, the Uranium Processing Facility, to continue production for decades.

Workshop topics include, The Ban Treaty, Don’t Bank on the Bomb, Campus Connections to the Bomb, and Mayors for Peace.

The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Nukewatch, and the Nuclear Resister are hosting the conference.  For more information, go to http://nukewatchinfo.org/stop_new_nuclear_arms_race/

In New Mexico, three national gatherings focused on commemorating the U.S. bombings will take place.  The Veterans for Peace National Convention runs from August 5^th through the 9^th in Albuquerque.  https://www.veteransforpeace.org/  The Upaya Zen Center holds its “Bearing Witness Memorial Sesshin:  Marking the 75^th Year Since the Nuclear Bombings” from August 5^th through the 10^th in Santa Fe.  https://www.upaya.org/  The Campaign Nonviolence National Conference runs from August 6^th through the 9^th in Albuquerque.  https://paceebene.org/cnvconference2020

Additionally, the public is invited to join the attendees for two commemoration events at Ashley Pond in Los Alamos.

First, on Thursday, August 6^th, the day the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the public and conference participants will gather from 4 pm to 8 pm.  Beginning at 5 pm, a rally is planned at the Main Stage with speakers, poets, and musicians.

Then, on Sunday, August 9^th, the day the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, the public and conference participants will gather from 11 am to 3 pm.  From 1 to 3 pm there will be a rally at the Main Stage with speakers, poets, and musicians.

1. Your financial support makes a difference!  Please help CCNS with a monthly sustaining donation.  Use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/  Your contribution will support the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!

2. Sunday, February 9^th at 11 am at Journey Santa Fe at Collected Works Bookstore, 202 Galisteo Street, Santa Fe – Joni Arends, CCNS Co-founder and Executive Director, will present “The Department of Energy’s Plans to Expand LANL and WIPP and What You Can Do.”  We’ll have petitions & postcards you can sign.  We’ll reference the 2020 Calendar of Events that are available here: 2020 Events 1-27-20 The event is free and open to the public.

3. Monday, February 10^th, release of federal budget, including for the Department of Energy (DOE). To learn what to look for in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2021 Nuclear Weapons and Cleanup Budget Request, check out the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability’s Media Advisory. http://www.ananuclear.org/ and scroll down the home page.

4. Tuesday, February 11^th beginning at 11 am, we’ll deliver the signed petitions to the congressional offices in Santa Fe.

5. Wednesday, February 19^th, from 5:30 to 7:15 pm, LANL will host an “Environmental Management Cleanup Forum about Legacy Waste at LANL,” at the Cottonwood on the Greens (golf course), at 4244 Diamond Drive. https://www.cottonwoodonthegreens.com/ 

CCNS has requested several times that LANL not hold public meetings at this location during winter as the parking lots is sloped and can be icy – thus creating a hazard and preventing public participation.  CCNS has suggested that LANL winter meeting take place in Pojoaque – a centrally located area.

Topics include Cleanup:  Big Picture and Near-Term Decisions with a Community Discussion and Q&A, along with a Poster Session from 6:45 to 7:15 pm.  Download the event flyer: EM Cleanup Forum February 19, 2020_Agenda_V3

In November 2011, the U.S. Senate designated January 27^th as a National Day of Remembrance for the Nevada Test Site Downwinders.  The Senate recognized the harm caused to Americans from radioactive fallout from the aboveground atomic tests in Nevada, which began on January 27, 1951 and ended on July 17, 1962.  At that time, the testing went underground.

The Downwinders of the first aboveground atomic test on July 16, 1945, at the Trinity Site in south central New Mexico, question why they were not included in the Day of Remembrance.  In a recent press release, the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium wrote, “While it is an honorable and just thing to commemorate the Nevada Test Site Downwinders, there are other Downwinders in the United States who have not received this acknowledgement or recognition.  The New Mexico residents who lived downwind of the Trinity Test at the White Sands Missile Range [], were the first people anywhere in the world to be exposed to radiation as a result of the testing of the atomic bomb.”  Seventy-five years later, these Downwinders have yet to be acknowledged.  They have not received the compensation and health care provided to the Nevada Downwinders under the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which was passed by Congress in 1990.

The Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium continues, “The compensation and health care the Nevada Test Site Downwinders receive is justifiable, but to omit New Mexicans is not.  Historical documents and maps indicate that the entire state of New Mexico also received radiation fallout from the Nevada Test Site; thus, New Mexicans have received a cumulative dose of radiation starting with the Trinity test and continuing through the [above-ground] testing at the Nevada test site.

Tina Cordova, a co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, has been advocating for equal compensation for New Mexicans that Nevada Test Site Downwinders began to receive thirty years ago.

Cordova said, “It’s time to recognize the Unsung Patriots who were unknowing, unwilling, uncompensated, innocent participants in the world’s largest science experiment.  People in New Mexico have been suffering in silence ever since the bomb was detonated in July 1945.  It’s time we reveal the rest of the story and people are made aware of the complete legacy of Trinity.”

To learn more about the work of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, you are cordially invited to attend their Third Annual Trinity Downwinders Benefit on Sunday, March 15^th from 1 to 5 pm at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, in Albuquerque.  There will be music, dancing, door prizes, a silent auction, food and drinks, and lots of fun.  For more information, please visit https://www.trinitydownwinders.com/

1.    Your financial support makes a difference!  Please help CCNS with an end-of-the-year tax-deductible contribution or a monthly sustaining donation.  Mail your check to CCNS, P. O.Box 31147, Santa Fe, NM  87594-1147, or use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/  We need your contribution to continue keeping you informed.  Stay informed with the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!

2.     Friday, January 31st at noon- 11^th Annual “Witness for the People” in the rotunda of State Capitol in Santa Fe.  This event is organized by Interfaith Worker Justice- NM as the People of Faith State of the State address and will kick off the 2020 events, conferences, conventions, community organizing involving Trinity, Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemorations.  Music will be provided by Paul and The Tone Daddies.

Confirmed speakers include:
*  Lt. Governor Howie Morales;
*  Representative Angelica Rubio (sponsor of House Memorial 5, entitled “Individuals Exposed to Radiation Support,” which urges the New Mexico Congressional delegation to pass the proposed amendments to the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)).  HM5 passed unanimously out of the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Th. January 30th.  Next stop:  House Floor.  ;
*  Marian Naranjo, of Honor Our Pueblo Existence;
*  Tina Cordova, of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, also known as the Trinity Downwinders;
*  Ken Mayers with Veterans for Peace; and
*  Archbishop John C. Wester..

For more information, please contact The Reverend Holly Beaumont at hbeaumont@iwj.organd http://nuclearactive.org/trinity-hiroshima-nagasaki-commemoration-events-in-nm/

3.    IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE ACTION:  Saturday, February 1 around noon at the NM Legislature:  House Memorial 21 Transport and Storage of Radioactive Waste, sponsored by Representative Matthew McQueen will be held in the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee.  It addresses proposed transport to and storage at the proposed Holtec Site.  https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=H&legType=M&legNo=21&year=20 and https://www.nmlegis.gov/Committee/Standing_Committee?CommitteeCode=HENRC

Dates, times, and place change at the legislature.  Before venturing out, double check the above links to make sure HM21 remains on the agenda, check its placement on the agenda, etc.

4.    February 4th, State of the Union Address.

5.    February 10th, release of federal budget, including for the Department of Energy (DOE).