One of the most beautiful and majestic sights is found by looking across and down into the Grand Canyon at the spread of the red walls, the patches of green and the glorious Colorado River.  All of this is threatened by an exemption from a federal law banning uranium mining in the watershed that feeds the complex river system.  Uranium mining is allowed on U.S. Forest Service lands where the Pinyon Plains Uranium Mine is located less than ten miles from the Grand Canyon’s south rim.  https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/grand-canyon-uranium  

In December 2023, the Pinyon Plains Uranium Mine, formerly called the Canyon Mine, began mining operations.  The owner of the mine, Energy Fuels Inc., plans to begin transporting extracted uranium 300 miles across the Navajo Nation to the corporation’s White Mesa Uranium Mill in southeast Utah.  https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/white-mesa-uranium-mill and https://www.energyfuels.com/

Tribes and others in this large area know little about the corporation’s plans for transporting the dangerous materials.  The federal and state agencies have done little, or none, of the required consultation with the tribes and communities about the transportation plans.  The corporation has brought the threat of harm while ignoring its responsibilities to consult with those who want to keep their families safe.  See links to the Uranium and the Grand Canyon panel conversation below.

The Navajo Nation passed a law against the transport of uranium across its lands. https://opvp.navajo-nsn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/President-Nygren-signs-uranium-legislation-for-April-30.pdf  It is unknown what the Nation will do when the first load leaves the mine.   It is irresponsible to mine, let alone transport uranium ore through the Grand Canyon Watershed when we have already experienced the harm done to all living beings by decades of uranium mining.

A recent mapping project by Stanford University shows about 23,000 abandoned uranium mines across the country.  One must question beginning a new round of uranium mining when closure and cleanup of previous mining efforts have not been done.  As a result, water continues to be contaminated.

New groundwater scientific studies reveal what Peoples living in and around the Grand Canyon know:  that the high interconnectivity of the groundwater systems makes uranium mining not only risky, but extremely risky.  https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/blog/uranium-mining-near-grand-canyon-too-risky-research-shows and https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/blog/flooding-uranium-mine-near-grand-canyon-tops-66-million-gallons

To learn more, watch the June 27, 2024 Uranium and the Grand Canyon  panel conversation with a tribal leader, a health professional, an activist, and a former uranium miner.  https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iba-3&ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-3&hspart=iba&p=kjzz+news&type=teff_10019_FFW_ZZ#id=3&vid=9775763ef083421924a855a8b7311be1&action=view

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren provided an opening message. https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iba-3&ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-3&hspart=iba&p=kjzz+news&type=teff_10019_FFW_ZZ#id=2&vid=9d88817057e55e3bb6c9803bc3b59c88&action=click

Gabriel Pietrorazio, of KJZZ News, hosted the event.  He is a national award-winning tribal natural resources reporter.  Pietrorazio’s most recent article about these issues:  https://www.kjzz.org/news/2024-06-27/inside-pinyon-plain-mine-the-grand-canyon-uranium-dispute-from-two-points-of-view

Take action by going to the Grand Canyon Trust website to sign the petition to close and clean up the Canyon Mine, which was recently renamed the Pinyon Plains Uranium Mine.  https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/take-action

1. Friday, June 28th at noon – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others.

2. Monday, July 1, 2024 from 10 am to 11:30 am Mountain Time – Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction webinar, Understanding the New Nuclear Arms Race: Views from Washington, Moscow and Beijing.  The webinar delves into the multifaceted dimensions of the contemporary nuclear arms race, offering in-depth analyses from three of the world’s nuclear powers, their motivations, defense policies and diplomatic postures providing the audience with a comprehensive understanding of each nation’s policies and perspective.  Speakers include:  Sharon Weiner, Associate Professor, American University; Dr. Timur Kadyshev, Senior Researcher, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy; Dr. Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Dr. Zia Mian (moderator), Princeton Program on Science and Global Security.

Registration:  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tTNNZNszTdeq0VU_NRVzgQ?emci=724d8fdb-e42c-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&emdi=c6795da1-e52c-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&ceid=9313915#/registration

3. Saturday, July 13^th from 7 am to 4 pm Red Water Pond Road Community – Church Rock Uranium Spill Commemoration – 12 miles north of Red Rock State Park on Highway 566 from Church Rock, NM. Bring your own chairs and tents/umbrellas.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided.  All day:  silent auction, kid’s corner, and educational booths.  Free t-shirt for first 150 people at event.  24 Commemoration flier

4. Sunday, July 14^th at 2 pm –Interfaith Vigil Marking the Anniversary of the Trinity Nuclear Detonation – Impacted Communities and Religious Leaders Call for Nuclear Abolition at St. John XXIII Catholic Church, 4831 Tramway Ridge Drive NE, Albuquerque. It is a free event featuring music, speakers, exhibitions and moments of reflection and prayer.  Pre-registration is encouraged at jotform.com/241400030658141.  The event will be livestreamed.  For more information, call the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s Office of Social Justice at 505 831-8205.  https://files.ecatholic.com/17613/documents/2024/6/240612_PR_TrinityCommemoration.pdf?t=1718216433000

5. Thursday, July 18th 5 to 7 pm – KAFB Bulk Fuels Facility Project – KAFB Groundwater Treatment System facility open house and site tours of the facility.   For additional information on this event, please contact 377th Air Base Wing/Public Affairs at (505) 846-5991 or by email – pa@us.af.mil.

Also, community members may review Air Force Environmental Restoration Program documents by visiting the Kirtland AFB website at https://www.kirtland.af.mil/Home/Environment/ or the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center Administrative Record website at http://afcec.publicadmin-record.us.afmil/Search.aspx.

6. Save the Date! Monday, July 22^nd  – DOE HQ event with Candice Robertson, Environmental Management (EM-1), and Jill Hruby, NNSA Administrator, similar to April 4^th, 2023 event at Santa Fe Community Convention Center.  We’ll post information as we receive it.

7. Monday, August 5^th through Friday, August 9^th – NM Water Quality Control Commission public hearing about reuse of fracking “produced water” waste continues. https://www.defendnmwater.org/

Nuclear weapons programs divert public funds from health care, education, disaster relief and other vital humanitarian services.  The nuclear-armed countries spent over $91.4 billion on their arsenals in 2023.  At the same time, the corporations fabricating these weapons of mass destruction and their investors made billions in profit annually.

On Monday, June 17^th, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) released its fifth annual report on global nuclear weapons spending.  The report, entitled “Surge:  2023 Global nuclear weapons spending,” shows that $10.7 billion more was spent on nuclear weapons in 2023 than in 2022.  The report covers how the nuclear weapons industry buys influence by financing think tanks, hiring lobbyists, and holding high-level meetings with government officials.  https://www.icanw.org/global_nuclear_weapons_spending_surges_to_91_4_billion

An international campaign with one clear message:  “No Money for Nuclear Weapons” will launch on Monday, September 16^th through Sunday, September 22^nd.  Please plan to join in the activities or create your own local event.  Visit the ICAN website week of action page and be sure to sign up to receive updates.  https://www.icanw.org/global_week_of_action_on_nuclear_spending

As mentioned above, in 2023, the nine nuclear-armed states spent a combined total of $91.4 billion on their arsenals, which is equivalent to $174,000 per minute.  The nine nuclear-armed states are:  China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The U.S share of total spending, at $51.5 billion, is more than all the other nuclear-armed countries put together.  The next biggest spender in 2023 was China at $11.8 billion, followed by Russia at $8.3 billion.  The United Kingdom’s spending was up significantly for the second year in a row with a 17 percent increase to $8.1 billion.  In the last five years, $387 billion has been spent on nuclear weapons globally.

In the last five years, the budget for nuclear weapons fabrication at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has nearly doubled from over $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2020 to $4 billion in fiscal year 2024 – an increase of over $1.7 billion.  At the same time, New Mexico ranks 50^th in child well-being and 50^th in education.  https://nukewatch.org/resources-and-information/economic-information/

Alicia Sanders-Zakre, a report co-author, noted: “The acceleration of spending on these inhumane and destructive weapons over the past five years is not improving global security but posing a global threat.”

1. Friday, June 21st at noon – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi and others.

2. Monday, May 20^th – PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED TO THURSDAY, JUNE 20^th, 2024 – to EPA about its proposed rule allowing open burning / open detonation of hazardous wastes.  Use Earthjustice’s Action Alert to Ban the Practice of Open Burning and Open Detonation of Hazardous Wastes at:  https://earthjustice.org/action/ban-the-practice-of-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-hazardous-wastes

 See the May 2^nd Update for more information:  http://nuclearactive.org/public-comments-needed-to-ban-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-pfas-toxic-and-carcinogenic-explosive-materials/

3. Saturday and Sunday, June 22 – 23 – Third Annual Virtual 24-Hour Long PEACE WAVE. At a time when RIMPAC war rehearsals will be going on in the Pacific and just prior to protests of NATO’s meeting in Washington, DC in July, the International Peace Bureau and World BEYOND WAR will produce the 24-hour long PEACE WAVE.  It will include live video from activities around the globe – and recently recorded video with the participants on zoom for Q&A during the last ten minutes of each hour.  You will be able to view rallies, concerts, production of artworks, blood drives, installation of peace poles, dances, speeches, banner drops, and public demonstrations of all varieties.  https://worldbeyondwar.org/wave/

4. Monday, July 1, 2024 from 10 am to 11:30 am Mountain Time – Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction webinar, Understanding the New Nuclear Arms Race: Views from Washington, Moscow and Beijing.  The webinar delves into the multifaceted dimensions of the contemporary nuclear arms race, offering in-depth analyses from three of the world’s nuclear powers, their motivations, defense policies and diplomatic postures providing the audience with a comprehensive understanding of each nation’s policies and perspective.  Speakers include:  Sharon Weiner, Associate Professor, American University; Dr. Timur Kadyshev, Senior Researcher, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy; Dr. Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Dr. Zia Mian (moderator), Princeton Program on Science and Global Security.

Registration:  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tTNNZNszTdeq0VU_NRVzgQ?emci=724d8fdb-e42c-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&emdi=c6795da1-e52c-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&ceid=9313915#/registration

5. Saturday, July 13^th from 7 am to 4 pm Red Water Pond Road Community – Church Rock Uranium Spill Commemoration – 12 miles north of Red Rock State Park on Highway 566 from Church Rock, NM. Bring your own chairs and tents/umbrellas.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided.  All day:  silent auction, kid’s corner, and educational booths.  Free t-shirt for first 150 people at event.  24 Commemoration flier 

6. Sunday, July 14^th at 2 pm –Interfaith Vigil Marking the Anniversary of the Trinity Nuclear Detonation – Impacted Communities and Religious Leaders Call for Nuclear Abolition at St. John XXIII Catholic Church, 4831 Tramway Ridge Drive NE, Albuquerque. It is a free event featuring music, speakers, exhibitions and moments of reflection and prayer.  Pre-registration is encouraged at jotform.com/241400030658141.  The event will be livestreamed.  For more information, call the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s Office of Social Justice at 505 831-8205.  https://files.ecatholic.com/17613/documents/2024/6/240612_PR_TrinityCommemoration.pdf?t=1718216433000

7. Monday, August 5^th through Friday, August 9^th – NM Water Quality Control Commission public hearing about reuse of fracking “produced water” waste continues. https://www.defendnmwater.org/

Daniel Ellsberg was a nuclear war planner – his plans are still in use today in the United States.  He has provided a stark warning about the dangers of nuclear weapons and above all the intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs and his work is being acknowledged this week.  Join in virtual and live activities.

In 1971, Ellsberg became a whistleblower by giving the 7,000-page Pentagon Papers to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the New York Times, the Washington Post and 17 other newspapers.  Ellsberg’s subsequent trial on twelve felony counts, posing a possible sentence of 115 years, was dismissed in 1973 on grounds of governmental misconduct against him, leading to the convictions of several White House aides and figuring in the impeachment proceedings against President Richard M. Nixon.

Ellsberg was a lecturer, scholar, writer and activist on the dangers of the nuclear era, wrongful U.S. interventions and the urgent need for principled whistleblowing until his death on June 16, 2023.  Today, many people around the world are carrying on his legacy as a voice of reason in a nuclear weapons-armed world by working to end the threat of nuclear weapons and redirecting those funds to human needs. 

All this week, live and virtual events are taking place, including webinars about the danger and cost of ICBMs; actions to divest Philadelphia from nuclear weapons; celebrations of Ellsberg’s legacy with Veterans for Peace in Seattle; and of his work to stop the doomsday machine.  Monthly live events are scheduled to protest the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Ellsberg worked to educate that ICBMs are the single greatest nuclear weapons threat in our world today. The U.S. is in the process of replacing its ICBMs.  The program is already nearly 40 percent over budget.

He said, “When I say that there is a step that could reduce the risk of nuclear war significantly that has not been taken but could easily be taken, that is the elimination of American ICBMs.”

Join with RootsAction Education Fund https://rootsaction.org/education-fund and The Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy https://www.eipad.org/ to get the word out about Ellsberg’s work and the threat of ICBMs.

More information and social media posts you can use are available on the Defuse Nuclear War website.  https://defusenuclearwar.org/ellsberg/ There you will find six podcasts with Ellsberg, directed by Oscar-nominee Judith Ehrlich.  The series explores the dangers of nuclear weapons and the politics that drive their existence by a former nuclear war planner.

1. Friday, June 14^th at noon –Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi and others.

2. Wednesday, June 19^th at 6 pm – Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice – A talk by Koohan Paik-Mander about The inherent fascism of algorithms … & the militarization of society. https://www.abqpeaceandjustice.org/events  

3. Monday, May 20^th – PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED TO THURSDAY, JUNE 20^th, 2024 – to EPA about its proposed rule allowing open burning / open detonation of hazardous wastes.  Use Earthjustice’s Action Alert to Ban the Practice of Open Burning and Open Detonation of Hazardous Wastes at:  https://earthjustice.org/action/ban-the-practice-of-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-hazardous-wastes

 See the May 2^nd Update for more information:  http://nuclearactive.org/public-comments-needed-to-ban-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-pfas-toxic-and-carcinogenic-explosive-materials/

4. Saturday and Sunday, June 22 – 23 – Third Annual Virtual 24-Hour Long PEACE WAVE. At a time when RIMPAC war rehearsals will be going on in the Pacific and just prior to protests of NATO’s meeting in Washington, DC in July, the International Peace Bureau and World BEYOND WAR will produce the 24-hour long PEACE WAVE.  It will include live video from activities around the globe – and recently recorded video with the participants on zoom for Q&A during the last ten minutes of each hour.  You will be able to view rallies, concerts, production of artworks, blood drives, installation of peace poles, dances, speeches, banner drops, and public demonstrations of all varieties.  https://worldbeyondwar.org/wave/

5. Monday, July 1^st – Friday, July 5^th (no hearing on Th. July 4^th) RESCHEDULED TO AUGUST 5^th – 9^th– NM Water Quality Control Commission public hearing about reuse of fracking waste continues.  https://www.defendnmwater.org/post/hearing-extended-into-july-so-far-fracking-waste-reuse-looks-as-risky-as-we-thought

6. June 17^th to 24th – MOVED TO SEPTEMBER 16^th to 22^nd – Global Week of Action – No Money for Nuclear Weapons, by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Join the efforts to push back against the unacceptable squandering of vast sums of money on weapons of mass destruction ($82.9 billion in 2022).  https://www.icanw.org/global_week_of_action_on_nuclear_spending

It was announced at the June 5^th Los Alamos County Board of Public Utilities meeting that there are two proposals to bring approximately 50 or more megawatts of solar electricity to the County and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a federal Department of Energy (DOE) facility.  One of the County’s goals is to develop and strengthen partnerships with Jemez Pueblo and Pueblo de San Ildefonso in their efforts to develop solar farms.  https://losalamos.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx , Agenda Packet No. 18773-24 “Presentation and Review of Distributed Generation Impacts.”

Last year, LANL proposed to construct a second 14-mile long, 115-kilovolt electrical line to mirror the existing line across the Caja del Rio in Santa Fe County, the Rio Grande and the Pajarito Plateau to bring 173 megawatts of electricity to LANL for its supercomputers.  LANL also proposed upgrades to substations and infrastructure across the Plateau.  A public review and comment period was provided on a draft environmental assessment as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  Many of the thousands of comments asked for a full environmental impact statement.  LANL has not announced any decision as of yet.  http://nuclearactive.org/february-15th-public-meeting-about-the-proposed-lanl-electrical-line-across-the-caja-del-rio/

Importantly, since 1985, Los Alamos County and LANL have pooled their power resources through an Electric Energy and Coordination Agreement, also known as the Los Alamos Power Pool, or LAPP.  Generally LANL consumes about 80 percent of the total energy produced or purchased by the LAPP.  https://www.losalamosnm.us/News-articles/New-Solar-and-Battery-Contracts-Set-to-Double-Clean-Electricity-Supply

One of the County’s future energy goals is to upgrade the electric supply and distribution system.  To meet these goals, the County now is proposing to conduct an Electric System Power Study to determine future system requirements.  https://losalamos.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx , Agenda Packet No. 18773-24 “Presentation and Review of Distributed Generation Impacts.”

NOW, through the Power Pool, there is a need for a study.  This was not the case during the NEPA process for the proposed electrical line across the Caja del Rio.  LANL did not describe the need for the 173 megawatts.

During the environmental assessment public process, the Power Pool obtained 170 megawatts from a project in San Juan County, called the Foxtail Flats Solar and Battery Energy Storage System.  http://nuclearactive.org/los-alamos-county-moves-forward-with-solar-power-through-proposed-electrical-line-across-the-caja-del-rio/

Another County goal is “to develop and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders.”  The objective is “to continue to coordinate infrastructure construction projects as early as possible between DOE, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Department of Public Utilities and Public Works, especially for communications infrastructure.”  The action is to “cooperate with DOE on a third transmission line and Partner with the Jemez Pueblo to develop a new power source into Los Alamos.”  https://losalamos.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx , Agenda Packet No. 18773-24 “Presentation and Review of Distributed Generation Impacts.”

There was discussion during the June 5^th meeting, which can be viewed soon on the County’s website.  https://losalamos.granicus.com/ViewSearchResults.php?view_id=2&keywords=Board%20of%20Public%20Utilities

1. Friday, June 7^th at noon –Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi and others.

2. Wednesday, June 19^th at 6 pm – Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice – A talk by Koohan Paik-Mander about The inherent fascism of algorithms … & the militarization of society. https://www.abqpeaceandjustice.org/events  

3. Monday, May 20^th – PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED TO THURSDAY, JUNE 20^th, 2024 – to EPA about its proposed rule allowing open burning / open detonation of hazardous wastes.  Use Earthjustice’s Action Alert to Ban the Practice of Open Burning and Open Detonation of Hazardous Wastes at:  https://earthjustice.org/action/ban-the-practice-of-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-hazardous-wastes

 See the May 2^nd Update for more information:  http://nuclearactive.org/public-comments-needed-to-ban-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-pfas-toxic-and-carcinogenic-explosive-materials/

4. Monday, July 1^st – Friday, July 5^th (no hearing on Th. July 4^th) RESCHEDULED TO AUGUST 5^th – 9^th– NM Water Quality Control Commission public hearing about reuse of fracking waste continues.  https://www.defendnmwater.org/post/hearing-extended-into-july-so-far-fracking-waste-reuse-looks-as-risky-as-we-thought

5. June 17^th to 24th – MOVED TO SEPTEMBER 16^th to 22^nd – Global Week of Action – No Money for Nuclear Weapons, by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Join the efforts to push back against the unacceptable squandering of vast sums of money on weapons of mass destruction ($82.9 billion in 2022).  https://www.icanw.org/global_week_of_action_on_nuclear_spending

This week’s Update was written by CCNS Board Member Basia Miller

The Austin newspaper, the Texas Observer, chose Searchlight reporter Alicia Inez Guzmán, to receive its 2024 MOLLY Prize on May 30th. Guzmán holds a Ph.D. in Visual and Cultural Studies from the University of Rochester in New York. Her article, “Buried Secrets, Poisoned Bodies,” is exemplary investigative journalism. https://searchlightnm.org/buried-secrets-poisoned-bodies/ The prize, awarded to only one journalist a year, honors Molly Ivins, the Observer editor for six years in the 70’s.

Alicia, newly given the nuclear affairs beat at Searchlight, had been immediately intrigued on learning that a woman from Truchas was found at her death to have 60 times as much plutonium in her body as the average New Mexican. Alicia knew Truchas well. She’d grown up in the mountain village, elevation 8,000 feet and her grandfather and uncles had worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) as had Alicia, who interned there one summer.

The reporter’s challenge was two-fold, both to identify the unknown woman and probe the origin of the very high plutonium readings. To that end, Truchas village offered the possibility of a deeply personal connection and at the same time could serve as a point of leverage to investigate, measure, and publicize the threat of nuclear contamination to New Mexico’s residents.

Guzmán first explored Trinity Site statistics, since places as far away as Rochester, NY—2500 miles away—saw their nuclear readings rise from the drift after the 1945 test explosion there, just before the U.S. dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This takes Guzmán to the LAHDRA report (the Los Alamos Historical Document Retrieval and Assessment, a project of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)) containing statistics on nuclear fallout. It includes autopsies–critical information in this case of questionable legality–for understanding how radiation affects the human body. Here Guzmán finds the very high readings for the Trucheña, still nameless. She says,

The only fact is the plutonium itself. Somewhere, somehow it          

entered her body in the form of barely visible specks of alpha

radiation. And once there, those particles began a long migration,

from her bloodstream to her kidneys and, ultimately, to her liver. The

question is how?

Ultimately, Guzmán is almost sure of the name of the autopsied woman: Epifania S. Trujillo, born in 1881 in Cordova and relocated to Truchas in 1907.

In 1955, Epifania moved in with her daughter, son-in-law and seven grandchildren. Guzmán phoned two of those grand-daughters, the Romeros, now in their 70’s and 80’s, to give them the highly-likely information about their grandmother. She learns that the son-in-law had worked at LANL’s Technical Area 8. She verifies Epifania’s identity. And she learns of events that Epifania’s family had been ignorant of. She writes,

. . .the Romeros get all the wrenching news at once: Their father might have brought home toxic plutonium on his work clothes; their grandmother was unlawfully autopsied; the family was left out of the settlement altogether; and Los Alamos had a hand in all of it. Epifania, emblematic of so much, fell through the cracks in every way possible.

Alicia Guzmán and the Romeros discover overlaps between their lives—among them, that Guzmán’s heirloom quilt was made by the Romeros and the family has a polaroid of Guzmán’s grandmother. Finally there is a 1950’s photo of a beaming Epifania and her daughter and granddaughters. Guzmán points out that she is the sum of an entire life:

She is loved. She is surrounded by family. She is much more than the unspeakable acts committed against her.

Alicia Guzmán’s article comes full circle, as she has been able to give the unknown Trucheña a solid identity for the record, and bring a kind of justice to a small corner of the world by discovering many truths for the family.

1. Friday, May 31^st at noon –Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi and others.

2. Monday, May 20^th – PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED TO THURSDAY, JUNE 20^th, 2024 – to EPA about its proposed rule allowing open burning / open detonation of hazardous wastes.  Use Earthjustice’s Action Alert to Ban the Practice of Open Burning and Open Detonation of Hazardous Wastes at:  https://earthjustice.org/action/ban-the-practice-of-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-hazardous-wastes

 See the May 2^nd Update for more information:  http://nuclearactive.org/public-comments-needed-to-ban-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-pfas-toxic-and-carcinogenic-explosive-materials/

3. Monday, July 1^st – Friday, July 5^th (no hearing on Th. July 4^th) NM Water Quality Control Commission public hearing about reuse of fracking waste continues. https://www.defendnmwater.org/post/hearing-extended-into-july-so-far-fracking-waste-reuse-looks-as-risky-as-we-thought

4. June 17^th to 24th – MOVED TO SEPTEMBER 16^th to 22^nd – Global Week of Action – No Money for Nuclear Weapons, by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Join the efforts to push back against the unacceptable squandering of vast sums of money on weapons of mass destruction ($82.9 billion in 2022).  https://www.icanw.org/global_week_of_action_on_nuclear_spending

Just as there were problems encountered with air monitoring during the February 14, 2014 explosion and release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a nuclear bomb waste dump, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board continues to raise questions about that issue.

In a May 15^th, 2024 report, the independent Board discussed the inadequacies of the final design of the continuous air monitor, or CAM, system located in the WIPP underground mine located in a salt formation 2,150 feet below the surface.  https://www.dnfsb.gov/sites/default/files/document/30566/WIPP%20SSCVS%20Cam%20Design.pdf The CAM’s safety function is to detect a radiological release in an environment possibly filled with airborne combustion products from fire and salt particles from mining activities.

In a perfect world, the CAM system would detect the release and convey that information to the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS).  The ventilation’s dampers would be closed so that the air would be diverted into the high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters within 60 seconds of when the CAM system detected the release – ultimately avoiding a radiation and toxic materials release to the environment.

But that is not what happened during the February 14, 2014 explosion and release.  The HEPA filtration system kicked in.  Nevertheless, plutonium and americium, main components of the waste disposed of at WIPP, was found in an air monitoring station more than a half mile northwest of the WIPP exhaust shaft where filtered air is released.  This means that the radioactivity traveled more than a mile and a half from the site of the underground explosion.

In 2019, the Board expressed its safety concerns that included the need for a complete final design of the CAM system.  In its recent review of the final design, the Board found that the WIPP contractor, the Salado Isolation Mining Contractors, LLC, or SIMCO, “has not demonstrated that the CAM system will perform its safety function in this environment.”  https://www.dnfsb.gov/sites/default/files/document/30566/WIPP%20SSCVS%20Cam%20Design.pdf    

In order to protect public health and the environment, the CAM system and the nearly $500 million ventilation system are supposed to work together seamlessly.  However, the Board says in the current state, the systems will not work together and more needs to be done before the ventilation system comes on line to ensure operations are in sync.

The ventilation system is undergoing testing right now to bring it into service. The Board has identified multiple quality assurance program issues found in facility walkdowns.  Now is the time for WIPP to fully address the Board’s concerns.

Did You Know? about A Special Announcement from the New Mexico PeaceFest: 

This Friday, May 24th, there will be an anti-nuke demonstration and march in Santa Fe. A group of Veterans for Peace and others have been holding an anti-nuke vigil every Friday at noon on the corners of Sandoval and W Alameda. This Friday they will be joined by a larger group of demonstrators, including the Raging Grannies, followed by a march. Everyone is invited to participate and to bring friends. And signs. This being Memorial Day weekend, there will be plenty of people in town – a good opportunity to make a visible statement in the streets of Santa Fe.

We will gather on the four corners of Sandoval St. and W Alameda at 12 noon. The Raging Grannies will lead a half hour sing-along of anti-nuke songs from noon until 12:30 (perhaps on just one of the corners, or perhaps moving from corner to corner to give everyone a chance to sing along).

At 12:30pm the march will begin, carrying signs and banners. We will walk north on Sandoval, then east on W San Francisco past the Plaza, then south on Shelby and Old Santa Fe Tr to the state Capitol building. Then we’ll return to our starting point by way of S Capitol St, E DeVargas, Don Gaspar, and Alameda. While walking we will sing Peace Salaam Shalom (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V00_Wg_7Yxs).  If you happen to park along the route, you can peel off before the end.

The march will be a slow, calm procession, sticking together. The point is not to get somewhere; the point is to be seen in the streets. The slowest walkers will be asked to lead, and everyone else will be asked to follow, to ensure that fast walkers don’t sprint ahead and split up the procession.  The route is a total of 1.2 miles round trip. It would take an average walker a half hour, but this march will probably take 45 minutes, maybe even a bit longer. It will be finished about 1:15 or 1:30 at the latest. If you happen to park along the route of the march, you can peel off before the end.

Anyone who doesn’t feel up to walking 1.2 miles may choose to skip the march. Some of the VFP folks will choose to remain standing on the corner until 1pm, as they usually do every Friday, so if you’re not marching you may wish to stand in solidarity with them.

Let’s show Santa Fe and the tourists that there is major opposition to the endless production of weapons of mass destruction.  SEE YOU FRIDAY!

1. Wednesday, May 29^th at 6 pm MT – A Conversation with Annie Jacobsen, Author of NYT Bestseller, Nuclear War: A Scenario.  Hosted by Back from the Brink:  Bringing Communities Together to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.  CCNS is a co-sponsor.  Register:   https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VSNspz8jSsGBiA6f0gRu_w#/registration

2. Monday, May 20^th – PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED TO THURSDAY, JUNE 20^th, 2024 – to EPA about its proposed rule allowing open burning / open detonation of hazardous wastes.  Use Earthjustice’s Action Alert to Ban the Practice of Open Burning and Open Detonation of Hazardous Wastes at:  https://earthjustice.org/action/ban-the-practice-of-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-hazardous-wastes

 See the May 2^nd Update for more information: http://nuclearactive.org/public-comments-needed-to-ban-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-pfas-toxic-and-carcinogenic-explosive-materials/

3. Monday, July 1^st – Friday, July 5^th (no hearing on Th. July 4^th) NM Water Quality Control Commission public hearing about reuse of fracking waste continues. https://www.defendnmwater.org/post/hearing-extended-into-july-so-far-fracking-waste-reuse-looks-as-risky-as-we-thought

4. June 17^th to 24th – MOVED TO SEPTEMBER 16^th to 22^nd – Global Week of Action – No Money for Nuclear Weapons, by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Join the efforts to push back against the unacceptable squandering of vast sums of money on weapons of mass destruction ($82.9 billion in 2022).  https://www.icanw.org/global_week_of_action_on_nuclear_spending

On March 12^th, the Department of Energy (DOE) submitted its Planned Change Request (PCR) to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to use new Panels 11 and 12 in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) underground nuclear waste facility. The Planned Change Request also outlines the plans for seven additional panels for waste from expanded plutonium pit production at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the disposition of 34 metric tons of surplus plutonium from that site.  https://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp-news#WIPP-PCR

The WIPP plan that EPA approved in 1998 provided that all waste would be disposed in the existing eight panels by no later than 2033.  EPA needs to fully understand DOE’s new plans for a much larger underground area, for large amounts of waste not included in the original approval, and for the facility to operate for many more decades.

So far EPA has sent three sets of questions.  They ask about the geologic setting for all nine of the additional panels.  EPA also asked about the solubility of plutonium in the underground, the chemical changes that can result in the underground where waste drums may come in contact with brine, etc.  EPA also detailed DOE’s omissions of key reports and data.  It is anticipated that EPA will have further questions as its review moves forward.  https://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp-news#WIPP-PCR , scroll down to “Update:  [EPA] Comments/Questions for DOE on the PCR.”

DOE states that Panels 11 and 12 are “replacement” panels for the underground disposal space that is no longer available due to the February 14, 2014 explosion of one or more LANL drums.  The drums were packaged with the wrong kind of kitty litter that is used to absorb small amounts of liquids in the waste.  WIPP was closed for three years at a cost of at least one billion dollars.

The proposed panels are all part of DOE’s plan to keep WIPP open forever, or until 2083 at the earliest.

DOE’s cover letter to EPA states: “The timing for the need of additional panels, beyond replacement Panels 11 and 12, will require further analyses. The DOE will submit a separate [Planned Change Request] for additional panels, when further analyses are completed and a future request is finalized.”  https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-03/24-0168-wipp-pcr-panels-letter-enclosures.pdf, p. 3 of the pdf.

To learn more about the magnitude of these issues, please visit EPA’s WIPP News at https://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp-news

EPA plans to hold public meetings in New Mexico in late summer to discuss DOE’s request.  To learn more and to sign up to receive information from the Stop Forever WIPP Coalition, go to https://stopforeverwipp.org/

1. Thursday, May 16 and Friday, May 17^th – Message from Defend New Mexico Water:

 We have two more days left of the Water Quality Control Commission Wastewater Reuse hearing and we are asking folks to comment if you have yet to share your voice! You have four more opportunities, either in person (NM STATE CAPITAL, 411 South Capitol St., Room 317) or online via WebEx, at 9 am and 1 pm Thursday and Friday this week.

We are also asking folks to sign and share our petition about the rule! 

We need more voices, as we see oil and gas organize for greater numbers for public comment. We hope you all continue the united front to protect our water and share this information with your organizational networks!

HEARING OVERVIEW

THE PUBLIC CAN PARTICIPATE IN-PERSON OR ONLINE
IN-PERSON LOCATION: NM STATE CAPITAL, (411 South Capitol St.), Room 317
VIRTUAL HEARING LINK on Webex: Bit.ly/WQCC23-84-Hearing

• • The public comment sessions for Thursday and Friday will be 9AM and 1PM; please email Pamela Jones at jones@env.nm.gov
  • Public comment is 3 minutes per person
  • Folks can submit as many written comments as they’d like before the end of the hearing but may only give one oral testimony.

Talking Point Links: 

• • Defend NM Water Talking Points
  • FAQ for more details.
  • Defend NM Water Website 

2. Friday, May 17^th through Sunday, May 19^th – Free screenings of the documentary, First We Bombed New Mexico.

To receive access, visit watch.showandtell.film/watch/firstwebombednm.

For more information:  firstwebombednewmexico.com.

3. Friday, May 17^th, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi and others.

4. Monday, May 20^th – PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED TO THURSDAY, JUNE 20^th, 2024 – to EPA about its proposed rule allowing open burning / open detonation of hazardous wastes.  Use Earthjustice’s Action Alert to Ban the Practice of Open Burning and Open Detonation of Hazardous Wastes at:  https://earthjustice.org/action/ban-the-practice-of-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-hazardous-wastes

 See the May 2^nd Update for more information:  http://nuclearactive.org/public-comments-needed-to-ban-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-pfas-toxic-and-carcinogenic-explosive-materials/

5. Wednesday, May 22^nd at 1 pm MDT webinar – Join DOE’s Consent-Based Siting Consortia for a Public Roundtable on Successes in Siting one or more federal consolidated interim storage facilities for commercial spent nuclear fuel. To register:  https://pnnl.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_yP30QO6WTLqHjSJw-Kifqw?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#/registration

Submit your questions prior to the meeting:  consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov

From DOE’s May 1, 2024 post:   DOE Releases Interactive Tool for Audiences Wishing to Learn More About DOE’s Plans to Manage Spent Nuclear Fuel StoryMap to help communities evaluate interest and suitability in being considered as a potential host for a federal consolidated interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released an interactive StoryMap for audiences wishing to learn more about federal consolidated interim storage of commercial spent nuclear fuel.

The “Integrated Waste Management (IWM) StoryMap: Consent-Based Siting for Consolidated Interim Storage,” is a free, easy-to-access tool on DOE’s approach to identifying one or more locations for siting facilities to store spent nuclear fuel on an interim basis. It details DOE’s concept for an integrated waste management system, federal consolidated interim storage design and operations, potential benefits and impacts, among other topics.

Submit your questions prior to the meeting:  consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov

From DOE’s May 1, 2024 post:   DOE Releases Interactive Tool for Audiences Wishing to Learn More About DOE’s Plans to Manage Spent Nuclear Fuel StoryMap to help communities evaluate interest and suitability in being considered as a potential host for a federal consolidated interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released an interactive StoryMap for audiences wishing to learn more about federal consolidated interim storage of commercial spent nuclear fuel.

The “Integrated Waste Management (IWM) StoryMap: Consent-Based Siting for Consolidated Interim Storage,” is a free, easy-to-access tool on DOE’s approach to identifying one or more locations for siting facilities to store spent nuclear fuel on an interim basis. It details DOE’s concept for an integrated waste management system, federal consolidated interim storage design and operations, potential benefits and impacts, among other topics.

6. Sunday, May 26^th – The Vow from Hiroshima documentary will air on PBS across the United States and on The World Channel nationwide. The film highlights the life and legacy of Setsuko Thurlow, a hibakusha from the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima on August 6^th, 1945.  https://www.thevowfromhiroshima.com/   

7. June 17^th to 24th – Global Week of Action – No Money for Nuclear Weapons, by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Join the efforts to push back against the unacceptable squandering of vast sums of money on weapons of mass destruction ($82.9 billion in 2022).  https://www.icanw.org/global_week_of_action_on_nuclear_spending

Beginning on Monday, May 13^th, at an in-person and virtual public hearing in Santa Fe, the New Mexico Environment Department will present its proposal to vastly expand the reuse of produced water from the production of oil and gas to the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission.  The proposed regulation, called the Wastewater Reuse Rule, would expand the use of fracking waste called “produced water” outside of the oilfield by enabling the development of large-scale demonstration projects and industrial applications throughout the state, with the a prohibition that there be no discharge to surface water or ground water as part of the project.  https://www.env.nm.gov/opf/docketed-matters/, scroll down to green bar for the Water Quality Control Commission and click there, go to first entry “WQCC 23-84:  In the Matter of Proposed Rule 20.6.8 NMAC – Ground and Surface Water Protection – Supplemental Requirements for Water Reuse.”  To review filings in the case, click on the WQCC 23-84 bar.

You can submit your written comments at the last link at “Submit Comments Here.”

In 2022 over 38,700 spills took place in the Permian Basin.  In New Mexico, the statewide average is four spills per day.  State agencies do not have the staff to investigate; thus the majority of those spills do not result in penalties and fines.  Such spills pose significant additional threats to New Mexico’s waterways, land, air and human health. 

There is only one restriction in the Environment Department’s proposed rule: there be no discharge to surface waters or groundwater.  Are spills considered a discharge?

There are no minimum standards required for applying to use produced water within the oilfield other than describing the plan for research, handling, treatment, transportation, disposal, risk abatement, cleanup when a spill occurs, and financial assurance that the project has the financial resources for cleanup after operations cease.  The Environment Department has no discretion to weigh the risks and possible benefits of the plan.  It must approve the plan.

Destiny Ray, an organizer with the New Mexico No False Solutions Campaign, expressed her concern about the proposed rule.  She explained, “As young people who envision a better future for ourselves and generations to come, it’s abundantly clear that the reuse of toxic waste containing hazardous chemicals that cause life-threatening and life-altering disease off the oil field is utterly irresponsible.  We cannot allow state agencies, pressured by industry interests, to gamble with the health of New Mexicans and our collective future.”

The broad Coalition of Indigenous, frontline, youth and climate justice advocates are calling for safe and scientifically sound measures to address New Mexico’s water shortage concerns.  They state:  “Unless and until the effective treatment of the toxic radioactive waste is proven possible and scientific standards for treatment, specific reuse applications, and disposal are established, toxic fracking waste ‘water’ has no place in our communities.”

For instructions about how to give public comment and to learn more:  https://www.nofalsesolutions.com/

1. Friday, May 10^th, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, New Mexico Peace Fests, and others. Code Pink Taos will be joining us with the giant puppets Sadako and Amy Goodman.

2. Monday, May 13^th through Friday, May 17^th and beyond? – Public Hearing before the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) about the proposed New Mexico Environment Department’s Wastewater Reuse Rule 23-84 (R) at the NM Capitol. NMED proposes to “solve” the oil and gas industry’s enormous waste problem by reusing toxic fracking waste, aka produced water, for “agriculture, irrigation, potable water supplies, aquifer recharge, industrial processes or environmental restoration.  https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D172190191 – links to the public notices and links to participate virtually.

To review the filings in the case:  https://www.env.nm.gov/opf/docketed-matters/ , scroll down to the Water Quality Control Commission green tab, click on WQCC 23-84:  In the Matter of Proposed Rule 20.6.8 NMAC – Ground and Surface Water Protection – Supplemental Requirements for Water Reuse. 

For more information:  https://www.nofalsesolutions.com/

3. From Wednesday, March 6 to May 15 (Bi- Weekly) from noon to 1 pm Mountain Time – UNM Climate Change and Human Health ECHO Program: Global Nuclear and Environmental Threats Critical to Climate Change and Human Health. https://iecho.org/echo-institute-programs/climate-change-and-human-health

May 15th – Environmental Justice and Environmental Toxicities Panel –  a 90-minute session.  The panel speakers are: 

• • Yohanna Barth-Rogers, MD, Chief Medical Officer, UMMA Community Clinic, Los Angeles, CA
  • Dino Chavarria, Tribal Superfund Working Group, Santa Clara Pueblo, NM
  • Jackie Medcalf, Texas Health & Environment Alliance (THEA) Founder and Executive Director, Houston, TX
  • Sterling Stokes, Campaign Manager for the Portland Harbor Community Coalition, OR

4. Thursday, May 16 from 5 pm to 8:30 pm – Nuclear Communities in the Southwest, presentation by Myrriah Gómez, PhD at the Albuquerque Museum, 2000 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque, NM.   https://www.cabq.gov/artsculture/albuquerque-museum/events/third-thursday-nuclear-communities-of-the-southwest   

Hear a presentation by Myrriah Gómez author of the book, Nuclear Nuevo México Colonialism and the Effects of the Nuclear Industrial Complex on Nuevomexicanos. Gómez tells a new story of New Mexico, one in which the nuclear history is not separate from the collective colonial history of Nuevo México.

Enjoy the first outdoor concert of the year, with Son Como Son – Salsa Cuban Style.  Make art related to the exhibitions, or do yoga in the galleries.

5. Monday, May 20^th – public comments due to EPA about its proposed rule allowing open burning / open detonation of hazardous wastes.  Use Earthjustice’s Action Alert to Ban the Practice of Open Burning and Open Detonation of Hazardous Wastes at:  https://earthjustice.org/action/ban-the-practice-of-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-hazardous-wastes

 See last week’s Update for more information:  http://nuclearactive.org/public-comments-needed-to-ban-open-burning-and-open-detonation-of-pfas-toxic-and-carcinogenic-explosive-materials/

6. Wednesday, May 22^nd at 1 pm MDT webinar – Join DOE’s Consent-Based Siting Consortia for a Public Roundtable on Successes in Siting one or more federal consolidated interim storage facilities for commercial spent nuclear fuel. To register:  https://pnnl.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_yP30QO6WTLqHjSJw-Kifqw?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#/registration  Submit your questions prior to the meeting:  consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov

From DOE’s May 1, 2024 post:   DOE Releases Interactive Tool for Audiences Wishing to Learn More About DOE’s Plans to Manage Spent Nuclear Fuel StoryMap to help communities evaluate interest and suitability in being considered as a potential host for a federal consolidated interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released an interactive StoryMap for audiences wishing to learn more about federal consolidated interim storage of commercial spent nuclear fuel.

The “Integrated Waste Management (IWM) StoryMap: Consent-Based Siting for Consolidated Interim Storage,” is a free, easy-to-access tool on DOE’s approach to identifying one or more locations for siting facilities to store spent nuclear fuel on an interim basis. It details DOE’s concept for an integrated waste management system, federal consolidated interim storage design and operations, potential benefits and impacts, among other topics.

7. New Book – The Scientists Who Alerted Us to Radiation’s Dangers – by Ian Fairlie, PhD and Beyond Nuclear’s Cindy Folkers, MS about the systemic cover-up of radiation risks and scientists. https://ethicspress.com/products/the-scientists-who-alerted-us-to-the-dangers-of-radiation

See Tell EPA to BAN Open Burning of PFAS, Toxic Munitions! CEASE FIRE CAMPAIGN Action Alert at the end of the Update

Did you know the federal Departments of Defense and Energy, NASA and the private industry sector currently operate more than 60 open burn pits across the U.S. and its territories – causing the uncontrolled release of PFAS and other toxic chemicals to the environment?  Open detonation and open burning of these dangerous energetic hazardous wastes result in environmental contamination and places the health of soldiers, workers and neighbors at risk.

In New Mexico, opening burning and open detonation are permitted by the New Mexico Environment Department at Holloman Air Force Base, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory.

For nearly 50 years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has exempted open burning and open detonation activities at federal and private sector sites from regulation.  A proposed EPA rule would allow these uncontrolled releases to continue.  Communities that live in the shadows of these sites say the proposed rule does not go far enough to protect public health and the environment and urge the complete ban.

Now is the time to raise your voice with the members of the national CEASE FIRE Campaign to require EPA to ban open burning and open detonation of these wastes and clean up the sites.  The CEASE FIRE Campaign seeks to protect human health and the environment by calling for the immediate implementation of safer alternatives to open air burning, detonation and incineration/combustion of military munitions.  The Campaign states, “A complete ban is the only way to provide fair and equitable treatment to communities by protecting ALL communities.”  https://cswab.org/cease-fire-campaign/about-the-campaign/#:~:text=The%20CEASE%20FIRE%20Campaign%20seeks%20to%20protect%20human,air%20burning%2C%20detonation%20and%20incineration%2Fcombustion%20of%20military%20munitions.

The Campaign emphasizes that only a ban will protect communities, incentivize the development of safer treatment technologies and secure federal funding for the deployment of alternative technologies.

Four New Mexico non-governmental organizations are involved in the Cease Fire Campaign.  They are:  Citizen Action New Mexico https://www.radfreenm.org/index.php , CCNS http://nuclearactive.org/ , Tewa Women United https://tewawomenunited.org/ , and the Tribal Environmental Watch Alliance.

Jane Williams, of the California Communities Against Toxics, said, “The taxpayers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to cleanup contaminated soils and groundwater from past releases at burn pits across the country; we don’t need to add more pollution to that burden.  EPA needs to enact a ban on the open burning of these dangerous chemicals which pollute our air, water, and soils if we are to protect the environmental justice communities hosting these facilities.”

Public comments are due on or before Monday, May 20^th, 2024.  Even if you signed a petition in the past, we need EVERYONE to submit comments via the Federal Register today.   Numbers matter.  Share this Update with friends and family.  For talking points and instructions to submit comments, see below.

CEASE FIRE CAMPAIGN ACTION ALERT

Tell EPA to BAN Open Burning of PFAS, Toxic Munitions!

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting public comment on proposed regulations that will allow for the open burning and detonation (OB/OD) of waste explosives. In communities across America, open burning and detonation of energetic hazardous waste results in the uncontrolled release of toxic heavy metals, PFAS, energetic compounds, perchlorate, nitrogen oxides, dioxins and other carcinogens to the environment, placing the health of our soldiers, workers and neighbors at risk.

How and Where to Submit a Comment:

The DEADLINE for public comment is Monday May 20, 2024.

Comments can be submitted through the online form on the Federal Register website OR use this full link:  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/20/2024-05088/revisions-to-standards-for-the-open-burningopen-detonation-of-waste-explosives

Click on the green Submit A Formal Comment button on the right side of the page.

Instructions:  Include the Docket ID Number EPA–HQ–OLEM–2021–0397 in your comments.

Comments received may be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/​, including any personal information provided.

Alternative ways to submit comments: 

Mail to:  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA Docket Center, OLEM Docket, Mail Code 28221T

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20460

Hand Delivery or Courier to:    EPA Docket Center

WJC West Building, Room 3334

1301 Constitution Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20004

The Docket Center’s hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday–Friday (except Federal Holidays).

Suggested CEASE FIRE CAMPAIGN Talking Points:

Only a BAN on OB/OD will:

• Prevent the uncontrolled release of PFAS and other toxic and carcinogenic emissions to the environment.
• Incentivize the development of newer safer treatment technologies.
• Readily secure federal funding for the deployment of alternative technologies.
• Encourage the development and transition to “green” munitions.
• Protect the integrity and sustainability of natural systems including soil, water, air and biodiversity.
• Prevent the uncontrolled release of emerging unregulated toxic chemicals like RDX and PFAS.
• Close de facto exemptions to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other environmental standards and laws.
• Only a BAN will provide fair and equitable treatment for all communities by protecting ALL communities.

p.s. Even if you signed a petition in the past, we still need EVERYONE to submit a comment via the federal register today!

Tips for How to Submit a Public Comment:

• Be respectful and polite in your comments.
• Get personal, share your experiences, and why you care. Personal messages carry more sentiment and weight which are more meaningful and can have a bigger impact on policymakers.
• Avoid pre-written copy-and-paste templates. New practices have passed that make it so pre-written templates only get counted once. Meaning if multiple people submit the same exact comment, it will only be recorded once. Make it personal and unique to make sure it is counted.
• Cite relevant data that supports your comment.

1. Friday, May 3^rd, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, New Mexico Peace Fests, and others. Join us!

2. Monday, May 13^th – Friday, May 17^th – Public Hearing before the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC) about the proposed New Mexico Environment Department’s Wastewater Reuse Rule at the NM Capitol. Case No. WQCC 23-84 (R).  NMED proposes to “solve” the oil and gas industry’s enormous waste problem by reusing toxic fracking waste, aka produced water, for “agriculture, irrigation, potable water supplies, aquifer recharge, industrial processes or environmental restoration.  https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D172190191 – links to the public notices and links to participate virtually.

To review the filings in the case:  https://www.env.nm.gov/opf/docketed-matters/ , scroll down to the Water Quality Control Commission green tab, click on WQCC 23-84:  In the Matter of Proposed Rule 20.6.8 NMAC – Ground and Surface Water Protection – Supplemental Requirements for Water Reuse. 

Sign the New Energy Economy petition to NMED to withdraw its produced water reuse rule.  https://newenergyeconomy.salsalabs.org/nmed-withdraw-produced-water-reuse-rule/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=4d528081-2d60-4940-b04c-c75c3d84fbfe

For more information:  https://www.newenergyeconomy.org/

3. From Wednesday, March 6 to May 15 (Bi- Weekly) from noon to 1 pm Mountain Time – UNM Climate Change and Human Health ECHO Program: Global Nuclear and Environmental Threats Critical to Climate Change and Human Health. https://iecho.org/echo-institute-programs/climate-change-and-human-health

May 15th – Environmental Justice and Environmental Toxicities Panel –  a 90-minute session.  The panel speakers are: 

• • Yohanna Barth-Rogers, MD, Chief Medical Officer, UMMA Community Clinic, Los Angeles, CA
  • Dino Chavarria, Tribal Superfund Working Group, Santa Clara Pueblo, NM
  • Jackie Medcalf, Texas Health & Environment Alliance (THEA) Founder and Executive Director, Houston, TX
  • Sterling Stokes, Campaign Manager for the Portland Harbor Community Coalition, OR

4. Wednesday, May 22^nd at 1 pm MDT webinar – Join DOE’s Consent-Based Siting Consortia for a Public Roundtable on Successes in Siting one or more federal consolidated interim storage facilities for commercial spent nuclear fuel. To register:  https://pnnl.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_yP30QO6WTLqHjSJw-Kifqw?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#/registration

 Submit your questions prior to the meeting:  consentbasedsiting@hq.doe.gov

From DOE’s May 1, 2024 post:   DOE Releases Interactive Tool for Audiences Wishing to Learn More About DOE’s Plans to Manage Spent Nuclear Fuel StoryMap to help communities evaluate interest and suitability in being considered as a potential host for a federal consolidated interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released an interactive StoryMap for audiences wishing to learn more about federal consolidated interim storage of commercial spent nuclear fuel.

The “Integrated Waste Management (IWM) StoryMap: Consent-Based Siting for Consolidated Interim Storage,” is a free, easy-to-access tool on DOE’s approach to identifying one or more locations for siting facilities to store spent nuclear fuel on an interim basis. It details DOE’s concept for an integrated waste management system, federal consolidated interim storage design and operations, potential benefits and impacts, among other topics.

This week, CCNS highlights portions of a recent press release by Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (Tri-Valley CARES), and the Savannah River Site Watch about the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).  Their piece suggests NNSA does not have its priorities straight in neither producing up-to-date information on the way plutonium appears to age nor providing this information in a timely manner to the public.  The entire press release is here: 240417 NWNM SRSW TVC Plutonium-Aging-PR

The press release reads:  “Nearly three years after filing a Freedom of Information Act request, the public interest group Savannah River Site Watch has finally received [] the congressionally required Research Program Plan for Plutonium and Pit Aging.  However, the document is 40% blacked out, including references and acronyms.  Plutonium ‘pits’ are the radioactive cores of all U.S. nuclear weapons.  The NNSA claims that potential aging effects are justification for a ~$60 billion program to expand production.  However, the Plan fails to show that aging is a current problem.  To the contrary, it demonstrates that NNSA is delaying urgently needed updated plutonium pit aging research.

“In 2006 independent scientific experts known as the JASONs concluded that plutonium pits last at least 85 years without specifying an end date.  The average pit age is now around 40 years.  A 2012 follow-on study by the Lawrence Livermore nuclear weapons lab concluded:

“’This continuing work shows that no unexpected aging issues are appearing in plutonium that has been accelerated to an equivalent of [approximately] 150 years of age.  The results of this work are consistent with, and further reinforce, the Department of Energy Record of Decision to pursue a limited pit manufacturing capability in existing and planned facilities at Los Alamos instead of constructing a new, very large pit manufacturing facility…’

“Since then NNSA has reversed itself.  In 2018 the agency decided to pursue the simultaneous production of at least 30 pits per year at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in northern New Mexico and at least 50 pits per year at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina.  Upgrades to plutonium facilities at LANL are slated to cost $8 billion over the next five years.  The redundant Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility in South Carolina will cost up to $25 billion, making it the second most expensive building in human history.

“Hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ dollars and future international nuclear weapons policies are at stake.  …

1. Friday, April 26, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the four corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, New Mexico Peace Fests, and others. Join us!

2. Thursday, April 25^th at 6 pm MT – Nuclear Energy Information Service will host historian and author, Jacob Hamlin, for its monthly “Night with the Experts.” Registration for the Zoom is required. Hamlin will explore promotion of atomic energy “solutions” around the world, the role of “the peaceful atom” in propaganda, and connections between nuclear energy and environmental crises.  He will also comment about the reception of his 2021 book The Wretched Atom.  Hamlin is principal investigator on the Oregon State University OSU Downwinders Project for the Hanford Nuclear Site Downwinders.  The Project develops archival collections, conducts oral histories, and researches the history of radiation and dose reconstruction related to cancer victims and nuclear sites. Last year, he co-edited Making the Unseen Visible: Science and the Contested Histories of Radiation Exposure.

3. From Wednesday, March 6 to May 15 (Bi- Weekly) from noon to 1 pm Mountain Time – UNM Climate Change and Human Health ECHO Program: Global Nuclear and Environmental Threats Critical to Climate Change and Human Health.  https://iecho.org/echo-institute-programs/climate-change-and-human-health

May 1st – Identifying the Source of Chemical Solvents and Their Health-Related Impacts and Microplastics are Here.  Speakers are: 

• Michelle Hunter, MS – Deputy Director, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, The Office of the State Engineer
• Matthew J. Campen, PhD – Regents Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Director, UNM Environmental Health Signature Program