Current Activities

States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Will Meet at the United Nations to Strengthen the Ban

From Monday, November 27th to Friday, December 1st, the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will meet at the United Nations in New York to review progress on the treaty’s implementation and agree on further action to strengthen it.  https://disarmament.unoda.org/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/

This will be the second meeting of the States Parties.  https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023; https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties; and https://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/disarmament-fora/nuclear-weapon-ban/2msp

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, is encouraged by the 97 States that have already signed, ratified or acceded to the Treaty.  https://www.icanw.org/eu_today_tpnw  It continues its work for more States to join the Treaty.  In 2017, ICAN was awarded Nobel Peace Prize.  CCNS is a member of ICAN.

The Treaty is also commonly known as the Nuclear Ban Treaty.

The States Parties have urged the nuclear-armed states and their allies to engage with the Nuclear Ban Treaty by being observers at the second meeting of the States Parties.  At the first meeting last year, several North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, members did attend.  They included representatives from Belgium, Germany, Norway, and The Netherlands.  Australia also attended as an observer.

Please encourage the Biden Administration to send a delegation of U.S. observers to the second meeting and to initiate negotiations with all the nuclear weapons states for a verifiable, time-bound agreement to eliminate all nuclear weapons.  https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N23/269/26/PDF/N2326926.pdf?OpenElement

During this second meeting, a call will be made for all States to abandon the nuclear deterrence theory as an unacceptable threat to humanity and all life on Planet Earth and to end deployment of nuclear weapons in third states under the so-called nuclear sharing agreements.

ICAN states that deterrence is an unproven gamble, based on the implicit threat to use nuclear weapons.  That theory has brought the world close to nuclear war on a number of occasions.  Nuclear sharing agreements are a dangerous practice that further exacerbates the risks of proliferation and nuclear use.  The Nuclear Ban Treaty prohibits both of these activities.

Alongside the meetings at the United Nations, at least 40 in-person and virtual events will take place during Nuclear Ban Week.  There will be marches, rallies, art exhibits, concerts, debates, and presentations.  A full list of events is available on the ICAN website at https://www.icanw.org/2msp_events

The United Nations Side Event Calendar is available at https://docs-library.unoda.org/Treaty_on_the_Prohibition_of_Nuclear_Weapons_-SecondMeeting_of_States_Parties_(2023)/20231107_TPNW_2MSP_Side_events_calendar.pdf

Twice daily at 9 am and 5 pm Mountain Time from Monday, November 27th until Friday, December 1st, MSP-TV will provide 15-minutes of summaries, highlights and insights from the Nuclear Ban Week events.  To receive a reminder, RSVP here:  https://www.icanw.org/msp_tv?locale=en

The second meeting of the State Parties where the end of nuclear weapons is being designed stands in direct contrast to the beginning of the Manhattan Project in the late 1930s to develop nuclear weapons.


  1. Friday, November 10th from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

 

 

  1. Saturday, November 11th Armistice Day (also known as Veterans’ Day) in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

In Albuquerque:  The Albuquerque Veterans For Peace will celebrate Armistice Day at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial at 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE in Albuquerque, New Mexico, typically from 9:00 to 11:00 AM.

In Santa Fe:  Join VFP, colleagues and allies on the Santa Fe Plaza at 10:45 a.m.  The Archdiocese will ring the Cathedral bells 11 times beginning at 11 a.m.  Other bell ringing is planned along with moments of silence.

For more information:  http://nuclearactive.org/join-veterans-for-peace-to-celebrate-armistice-day-on-saturday-november-11th/

 

  1. Thursday, November 16th from 5:30 – 8 pm – virtual and in-person public meeting about the Kirtland AFB Bulk Fuels Facility Project at New Mexico Veterans Memorial, 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE.

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 AF Administrative Record. If you would like additional information, please contact 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs at (505) 846-5991 or by email, 377ABW.PA@us.af.mil

 

  1. Friday, November 17th – Saturday, November 18th – New Mexico Acequia Association 24th Annual Congreso de las Acequias at the Sagebrush Inn, Taos. https://lasacequias.org/congreso/

 

 

  1. Sunday, November 26th – Global Day of Action Against Nuclear Weapons – Message from the Int’l Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN):

“As governments, experts and campaigners get ready for a week of building on the treaty banning nuclear weapons, join the international day of action to call for an end to nuclear weapons and bring attention to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)! All around the world, people will be taking action to show the delegations in New York that we expect them to be bold, courageous and use the TPNW to dismantle nuclear deterrence, and make sure the rest of the world is paying attention to this crucial opportunity.”

Funding may be available.  Add your action to the international calendar at:  https://www.icanw.org/2msp_global_day_of_action

 

  1. Monday, November 27th to Friday, December 1st Second Meeting of States Parties (MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2MSP) at UN Headquarters in New York City. https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties and https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023   

 Sign-up to watch MSP-TV at https://www.icanw.org/msp_tv  Don’t have time to watch the Nuclear Ban Week events play out minute-by-minute? ICAN’s  “MSP-TV” will provide you a summary, highlights and insights from the Nuclear Ban Week events – at the UN, in New York and those organized by partners around the world- twice a day at 11:00 and 17:00 ET (at 9 am and 5 pm Mountain Time) from Monday 27 November until 1 December 2023.

 

  1. Friday, December 15thHolloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins in Otero County, NM. https://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/working-groups/drones-robots-and-future-weapons-working-group http://www.shutdowndronewarfare.org/   https://www.codepink.org/shutdowndrone
 

Join Veterans For Peace to Celebrate Armistice Day on Saturday, November 11th

Over one hundred years ago, in 1918, the world celebrated peace as a universal principle.  The first World War had just ended and nations mourning their dead collectively called for an end to all wars.  Armistice Day was born and was designated as “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated.”

After World War II, the U.S. Congress decided to rebrand November 11th as Veterans Day.  Honoring the warrior quickly morphed into honoring the military and glorifying war.  Armistice Day was flipped from a day for peace into a day for displays of militarism.

Veterans For Peace has taken the lead to lift up the original intent of November 11th as a day for peace.  Veterans know that a day that celebrates peace, not war, is the best way to honor the sacrifices of veterans.  They want future generations never to encounter the destruction war has wrought on people and the earth.

Veterans For Peace call on everyone to stand up for peace this Armistice Day.  More than ever, the world faces a critical moment.  Tensions are heightened around the world and the United States is engaged militarily in multiple countries, without an end in sight.

Here at home Veterans For Peace have seen the increased militarization of police forces, brutal crackdowns on dissent and uprisings against state power.  They recommend the government end reckless military interventions that endanger the entire world.  They support building a culture of peace.

This Armistice Day, Veterans For Peace call on the public to say “No” to more war and to demand justice and peace at home and abroad.  They know “Peace Is Possible” and call for an end to all oppressive and violent policies and for equality for all people.

Veterans For Peace has suggestions for actions on Saturday, November 11th.   

Locally,  

 

Additional actions to take:

Educate yourself on the history and importance of Armistice Day.  https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/armistice-day

Download and hang the Armistice Day Poster in your front window or anywhere else you feel it would be most visible to others.   https://www.veteransforpeace.org/files/9216/0088/6147/Final_AD_Poster_PDF.pdf

Host a silent vigil.  Invite others to join you to stand in silence for eleven minutes at 11 a.m. at a highly trafficked area in your city.

Ring Bells for Peace.  Ask local churches, community centers and schools to ring their bells at 11 a.m.

Read Poems and Stories.  Host an event and ask speakers to share their favorite poem or story about peace.

Send Letters to the Editor.  Write from the heart and tell them why you think November 11th must be a day for peace.

Contact your local elected officials to create a city or county proclamation in support of Armistice Day.

Share on Social Media.  Share your photos with the hashtag #ReclaimArmisticeDay.

Take action to end forever wars.  Updated calls to action are listed at www.veteransforpeace.org.

Find more suggestions on the Veterans For Peace website.  https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/armistice-day


Below is an extensive list of upcoming events that you may want to participate in or take action during this busy time of the year.  Please mark your calendars!

 

  1. Friday, November 3rd from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

 

 

  1. Monday, November 6th by 5 pm MT – Get your comments in to support the New Mexico Environment Department’s recommendation to excavate the LANL dump, MDA C. For more information and to access sample public comment letters you can use and modify, go to:  http://nuclearactive.org/comments-to-nmed-needed-in-support-of-excavation-of-lanl-dump-c-by-november-6th/ and http://nuclearactive.org/new-mexico-environment-department-recommends-excavation-of-lanls-material-disposal-area-c/

 

 

  1. Wednesday, November 8th virtual conference on Nuclear Weapons and International Law – The Renewed Imperative in Light of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine from 9 am to 6 pm ET. Sponsored by the New York Bar Association, International Section.  https://nysba.org/events/nuclear-weapons-and-international-law-the-renewed-imperative-in-light-of-the-ukraine-war/

 

 

  1. Thursday, November 9th by 5 pm MT – Comments due on the draft Community Relations Plan for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). https://wipp.energy.gov/community-outreach.asp

 

 

  1. Saturday, November 11th Armistice Day (also known as Veterans’ Day) in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

In Albuquerque:  The Albuquerque Veterans For Peace will celebrate Armistice Day at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial at 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE in Albuquerque, New Mexico, typically from 9:00 to 11:00 AM.

In Santa Fe:  Join VFP, colleagues and allies on the Santa Fe Plaza at 10:45 a.m.  The Archdiocese will ring the Cathedral bells 11 times beginning at 11 a.m.  Other bell ringing is planned along with moments of silence.

 

 

  1. Thursday, November 16th from 5:30 – 8 pm – virtual and in-person public meeting about the Kirtland AFB Bulk Fuels Facility Project at New Mexico Veterans Memorial, 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE. 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 AF Administrative Record. If you would like additional information, please contact 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs at (505) 846-5991 or by email, 377ABW.PA@us.af.mil

 

  1. Friday, November 17th – Saturday, November 18th – New Mexico Acequia Association 24th Annual Congreso de las Acequias at the Sagebrush Inn, Taos. https://lasacequias.org/congreso/

 

 

  1. Sunday, November 26th – Global Day of Action Against Nuclear Weapons – Message from the Int’l Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN):

“As governments, experts and campaigners get ready for a week of building on the treaty banning nuclear weapons, join the international day of action to call for an end to nuclear weapons and bring attention to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)! All around the world, people will be taking action to show the delegations in New York that we expect them to be bold, courageous and use the TPNW to dismantle nuclear deterrence, and make sure the rest of the world is paying attention to this crucial opportunity.”

Funding may be available.  Add your action to the international calendar at:  https://www.icanw.org/2msp_global_day_of_action

 

  1. Monday, November 27th to Friday, December 1st Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2MSP) at UN Headquarters in New York City. https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties and https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023   

 

 

  1. Friday, December 15thHolloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins in Otero County, NM. https://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/working-groups/drones-robots-and-future-weapons-working-group http://www.shutdowndronewarfare.org/   https://www.codepink.org/shutdowndrone
 

Comments to NMED Needed in Support of Excavation of LANL Dump C by November 6th

Please join the effort to submit public comments in support of the excavation of a 12-acre unlined dump at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  Public comments are due to the New Mexico Environment Department by Monday, November 6th at 5 pm Mountain Time.   Email your comments to neelam.dhawan@env.nm.gov or use the NMED Public Comment Portal at https://nmed.commentinput.com/comment/search for the NMED Statement of Basis Material Disposal Area C at Los Alamos National Laboratory. 

According to LANL logbooks, the dump called Material Disposal Area C, or MDA C, first received radioactive, toxic and hazardous liquid, gaseous and solid wastes in 1948.  Disposal operations ended in 1974.  There are six disposal pits, one chemical disposal pit, and 108 shafts.  All are unlined, which allows the buried wastes to migrate into water, air, and soil.  For the past 75 years, contaminated waste has been migrating towards regional drinking water supplies.

As required by the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act, in September the Department released a Statement of Basis in support of its decision to excavate MDA C.  230907 HWB_LANL_Statement-of-Basis-MDA-C  Citing examples of excavation of other alphabetically-named MDAs, including B and P, NMED made the case that excavation is the most protective alternative.  Please support the NMED decision by submitting your comments.

For more information go to:  https://nmed.commentinput.com/comment/search and scroll down to Material Disposal Area (MDA) C, SWMU 50-009, Remediation for the Public Notice, Statement of Basis, June 30, 2021 DOE/LANL Corrective Measures Evaluation Rev. 1 for MDA C, and the Index to the Administrative Record for MDA C Statement of Basis.

The Department explained that volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are present directly below the dump at depths of approximately 600 feet below ground surface, demonstrating an estimated travel time of 8 feet per year.  Some VOCs can cause cancer; others react to form air pollutants once they are in the air.

The Department stated, “For maximum protection of public and environmental health and safety, and to ensure that the drinking water resource can be conservatively protected, [the Department] has determined that … excavation, plume monitoring, and institutional controls, along with a passive and active soil-vapor extraction system at MDA C to remove the waste and eliminate the VOC contaminate source detected in soil … is the most appropriate cleanup measure.” 

LANL’s preferred plan included installation of an evapotranspiration, or ET, cover over the dump.  The Department raised concerns that burrowing animals and deep roots have penetrated other ET covers and opened pathways for contaminants to escape.  Even with LANL’s “institutional controls” to monitor groundwater for 100 years, during that time the contamination would migrate 800 feet deeper into the regional drinking water aquifer.

Public comments are due to the Environment Department on Monday, November 6th by 5 pm Mountain.  CCNS has prepared sample public comments you can use to support the Environment Department’s recommendation to protect drinking water through the excavation of the MDA C dump.  231026 MDA C sample comment letter to NMED


  1. Friday, October 27th from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

 

 

  1. Saturday, October 28th from 2 – 5 pm – Halloween Skate Jam! At Valdez Park, 720 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park Road, Española. This free event is open to everyone and is organized by Tewa Women United’s Gender Justice Program and A’Gin Healthy Sexuality & Body Sovereignty Project.  https://tewawomenunited.org/events/halloween-skate-jam

 

 

  1. Monday, October 30th at 8 am MT, 10 am ET – 15th Official Cold War Patriots National Day of Remembrance, a 15-minute virtual ceremony that recognizes those who worked in the nuclear weapons and uranium industries and honors those who are no longer with us. Register at https://app.livestorm.co/cold-war-patriots/2023cwpndr?utm_source=cwp%20website&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ndr%202023&utm_term=ndra

 

 

  1. Wednesday, November 8th virtual conference on Nuclear Weapons and International Law – The Renewed Imperative in Light of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine from 9 am to 6 pm ET. Sponsored by the New York Bar Association, International Section.  https://nysba.org/events/nuclear-weapons-and-international-law-the-renewed-imperative-in-light-of-the-ukraine-war/

 

 

  1. Thursday, November 9th by 5 pm MT – Comments due on the draft Community Relations Plan for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). https://wipp.energy.gov/community-outreach.asp

 

 

  1. Thursday, November 16th from 5:30 – 8 pm – virtual and in-person public meeting about the Kirtland AFB Bulk Fuels Facility Project at New Mexico Veterans Memorial, 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE.

 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 AF Administrative Record. If you would like additional information, please contact 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs at (505) 846-5991 or by email, 377ABW.PA@us.af.mil

 

  1. Friday, November 17th – Saturday, November 18th – New Mexico Acequia Association 24th Annual Congreso de las Acequias at the Sagebrush Inn, Taos. https://lasacequias.org/congreso/

 

 

  1. Monday, November 27th to Friday, December 1st Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2MSP) at UN Headquarters in New York City. https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties and https://meetings.unoda.org/tpnw/tpnw-msp-2023   

 

 

  1. Friday, December 15thHolloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins in Otero County, NM. https://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/working-groups/drones-robots-and-future-weapons-working-group http://www.shutdowndronewarfare.org/   https://www.codepink.org/shutdowndrone
 

Holtec’s Secret Plans Again Reveal Why New Mexicans Cannot Believe What the Corporation Says

Holtec International, a corporation with a license for a consolidated interim storage facility in southeastern New Mexico for 173,600 metric tons of irradiated nuclear fuel from atomic power plants, submitted a secret application to the Department of Energy seeking at least $2 billion dollars to restart Palisades, a closed nuclear reactor in Michigan.  Holtec’s request also includes plans to build small nuclear modular reactors, or SMRs, with electric generation capacity of 160 Megawatts, on site.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) made by Beyond Nuclear the public learned that Holtec also plans to restart the reactors not only at Palisades, but other shutdown nuclear power plants at Oyster Creek in New Jersey; Pilgrim in Massachusetts; Indian Point in New York, and another shutdown reactor in Michigan at Big Rock Point. Holtec acquired the shutdown reactors under the false pretense to decommission them using ratepayer money, while at the same time submitting applications to DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy for taxpayer funding.  https://beyondnuclear.org/5775-2/

Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist at Beyond Nuclear based in Takoma Park, Maryland, and a member of the Don’t Waste Michigan board of directors, filed the FOIA with the State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.  The 967-page response included Holtec’s application to DOE.

The application shows that Holtec never intended to decommission Palisades, despite repeatedly telling the public that was its objective in taking ownership of the atomic power plant.  The introduction to the application makes Holtec’s intent clear:

“Despite the success in decommissioning, we are not loath to admit that we are unabashed promoters of nuclear energy…In fact, one of the principal reasons Holtec has been acquiring aging nuclear plants is because such sites are near-perfect locations for building the SMR-160 reactors that the company has been developing for over a decade.”

In fact, in one application to DOE, entitled the “Palisades Resurrection Grant Request” states, “We believe that with a strong spirit of collaboration this project, with each party performing its role, can well become a shining talisman for the global nuclear industry.”

Holtec holds a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license, issued in 2023, to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility in New Mexico on lands 16 miles north of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.  https://www.nrc.gov/cdn/doc-collection-news/2023/23-031.pdf  and https://www.swalliance.org/

Joni Arends, of CCNS, said, “Given new revelations about Holtec’s clandestine plans and falsehoods, as New Mexicans, it is critical that we remain vigilant in our opposition to Holtec’s plans here and everywhere.”


  1. Friday, October 20th from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

 

 

  1. Saturday, October 21st from 9 am to 12 noon – Community Morning in the Garden at the Española Healing Foods Oasis (EHFO) with Tewa Women United Environmental Justice staff and EHFO garden caretakers! This is the last volunteer work day of the year!  Lend a hand to the caretaking of the Healing Foods Oasis and learn more about the plants and growing practices.  https://tewawomenunited.org/espanola-healing-foods-oasis     All tools will be supplied, as well as light refreshments and water.  For more information and to RSVP, please contact kayleigh@tewawomenunited.org or call (505) 927-4376.

 

 

  1. Thursday, October 26th at 6 pm MT – U.S. Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) semi-annual public meeting virtual joint meeting about their environmental programs. Please see attached flyer for more information and links to join the meeting.  DOE SNL KAFB AGENDA Public Meeting October 2023

 

 

  1. Monday, October 30th at 8 am MT, 10 am ET – 15th Official Cold War Patriots National Day of Remembrance, a 15-minute virtual ceremony that recognizes those who worked in the nuclear weapons and uranium industries and honors those who are no longer with us. Register at https://app.livestorm.co/cold-war-patriots/2023cwpndr?utm_source=cwp%20website&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ndr%202023&utm_term=ndra

 

 

  1. Friday, December 15thHolloman 5 Anti-Drone Trial begins in Otero County, NM. https://www.veteransforpeace.org/our-work/working-groups/drones-robots-and-future-weapons-working-group http://www.shutdowndronewarfare.org/   https://www.codepink.org/shutdowndrone
 

LANL’s Decreasing Priority at WIPP Over the Past Two Years

There are two measurements the Department of Energy (DOE) uses for the waste shipped for disposal in the deep underground repository at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), located 26 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico.  The first measurement is the most important, which is the volume of waste measured in cubic meters.  A cubic meter fits into a cube measuring 39 inches in width, depth and height.  The second measurement is the number of waste shipments.

In fiscal year, or FY, 2022, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) shipped 513 cubic meters of plutonium-contaminated wastes from nuclear weapons production for disposal at WIPP.   In FY 2023, there was a 5 percent increase to 538 cubic meters.

While in FY22 LANL shipped almost 34 percent of the total waste emplaced, in FY23, only 16.5 percent was from LANL.  Every other site had a much larger increase.  Thus, LANL’s priority compared with all the other shipping sites decreased in FY23.

Overall during this two-year period, LANL shipped the second highest amount of waste behind the Idaho National Laboratory, which sent more than 63 percent of all the waste.  Following LANL was the Savannah River Site, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

A fiscal year begins on October 1st of one year and ends on September 30th of the following year.

In addition to expecting LANL waste to be a higher priority in the future because of new provisions in the WIPP Renewal Permit, New Mexicans want to know the type and amount of plutonium-contaminated waste that was shipped to WIPP.  Was it waste generated before 1999, called “legacy waste,” or was it post-1999 waste, called “newly generated waste” from ongoing fabrication of plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons?

These are important questions because WIPP was built to dispose of plutonium-contaminated legacy waste, which LANL defines as waste generated prior to 1999, the year WIPP opened for disposal. Additionally, legacy waste is buried at LANL in unlined pits, trenches and shafts dug into the volcanic geology of the Pajarito Plateau.  Plutonium has been detected in the deep regional drinking water aquifer below unlined LANL legacy waste dumps where it migrates towards the Rio Grande.

Despite numerous requests from CCNS about the breakdown of the LANL waste types and amounts shipped to WIPP, DOE has not been forthcoming.

Please contact your congressional members and ask that DOE make this information publicly available and easily accessible.


  1. Friday, October 23th at 11 am MT – Nuclear-Free Future Award winners announced at Beyond Nuclear online awards ceremony. Awardees are:  Anthony Lyamunda (Tanzania) for Resistance; Libbe HaLevy (USA) for Education; and Malte Göttsche (Germany) for Solution.  Register at:  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nxZDuzIoQj6tT-B7igxKjg#/registration

 

 

  1. Friday, October 13th from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

 

 

  1. Saturday, October 14th from 10 to noon MT – Massachusetts Peace Action Online Forum: Warheads to Windmills – Abolishing Nuclear Weapons and Fossil Fuels:  What will it take?  Register at MassPeaceAction.org: https://masspeaceaction.org/event/abolishing-nuclear-weapons-and-fossil-fuels-what-will-it-take/

 

 

  1. Sunday, October 15th at 6 pm MT – World Premiere of San Onofre Syndrome (SOS) – Nuclear Power’s Legacy. For more information about the film and to purchase tickets:  https://sanonofresyndrome.com/

 

 

  1. Wednesday, October 18th from 4:30 to 6:30 pm – Public Training for LANL’s Electronic Public Reading Room and IntellusNM. For more information:  https://permalink.lanl.gov/object/tr?what=info:lanl-repo/eprr/ESHID-603792  

 

 

  1. Thursday, October 26th at 6 pm MT – U.S. Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) semi-annual public meeting virtual joint meeting about their environmental programs. Please see attached flyer for more information and links to join the meeting.  DOE SNL KAFB AGENDA Public Meeting October 2023
 

More LANL Workers Test Positive for Radiation Exposure

Increasing numbers of workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have tested positive for radiation exposure both at LANL and on foreign soil.   

Six employees and the equipment they used tested positive for exposures to radioactive Iodine-125 following official foreign travel to an unknown location in March.  They traveled on commercial airlines and in personal vehicles.

Iodine-125 is a gamma ray emitter.  The workers did not detect Iodine-125 before returning home because they used a detector for alpha and beta radiation.  One gamma detection was 5,600,000 disintegrations per minute (dpm), which is 11,000 times the Department of Energy’s total reportable limit of 500 dpm.

The six workers all tested positive for Iodine-125 uptake to their thyroids.  A DOE spokesperson said, “As a prudent step to manage risks, experts from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Radiological Assistance Program visited the residences of some of the impacted team members to conduct testing on their belongings and made recommendations to the involved individuals, laboratory management, and the Department.”  She emphasized that DOE is committed to the health and safety of its employees as well as the general public.  https://losalamosreporter.com/2023/09/25/six-lanl-employees-tested-positive-for-iodine-125-in-march-following-foreign-travel-as-part-of-multi-laboratory-team/

Escalation in the number of reports of exposures to different radionuclides at various LANL facilities continues.  Most recently eight electrical workers were exposed to beryllium dust at Technical Area 8 https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/eight-workers-exposed-to-toxic-dust-at-lanl-a-recurring-problem/article_03440f98-5c9c-11ee-b28f-13dfb02871c7.html ; a worker was exposed to heat source plutonium at the Plutonium Facility at Technical Area 55 https://www.dnfsb.gov/sites/default/files/document/29026/Los%20Alamos%20Week%20Ending%20September%208%202023.pdf ; and four Triad employees working in a Technical Area 53 linear accelerator area that was not posted as a High Radiation Area were exposed and ordered to evacuate the area immediately.  https://www.energy.gov/ea/articles/enforcement-letter-triad-national-security-llc-1 [“Issuance of this Enforcement Letter reflects DOE’s decision not to pursue further enforcement activity against Triad at this time.”]

Joni Arends, of CCNS, said, “In its effort to meet the ‘mission’ to fabricate plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons, over 2,000 people have been hired.  Have they been properly trained to work in radiation environments?  The number of exposures indicates that they have not.  As a result, the health and safety of the workers is being sacrificed.  The number of incidents require the shutdown of these operations until safety is Mission Number One.”

In support of her statement, Arends referenced the unprecedented 2005 emergency shutdown of operations by LANL Director Vice Admiral Peter Nanos when a student suffered an eye injury from a laser beam the same week classified computer disks were reported missing.

Nanos wrote in an internal e-mail,  “In no case will I authorize a restart until I’m absolutely convinced that each organization will not risk further compromise of safety, security and environment.”  He continued in an email to LANL employees, ‘”This willful flouting of the rules must stop, and I don’t care how many people I have to fire to make it stop. If you think the rules are silly, if you think compliance is a joke, please resign now and save me the trouble.”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Nanos


  1. Friday, October 6th from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

 

 

  1. Saturday, October 7th at 11 am – White Mesa Ute Community Spiritual Walk & Protest: Protecting Our Communities, Health, Environment & Indigenous Sacred Landscapes.  For more information, call White Mesa Concerned Community at (435) 459-2461.

 

 

  1. Sunday, October 15th at 6 pm MT – World Premiere of San Onfre Syndrome (SOS) – Nuclear Power’s Legacy. For more information and to buy tickets:  https://sanonofresyndrome.com/
 

New Mexico Environment Department Recommends Excavation of LANL’s Material Disposal Area C

The comment period is open for the public to review the New Mexico Environment Department’s recommendation to excavate the 11.8 acre unlined dump, called Material Disposal Area C, or MDA C, at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  Public comments are due Monday, November 6thhttps://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/lanl/ , scroll down to September 7, 2023 entry for MDA C, SWMU 50-009, Remediation entry.

According to LANL logbooks, MDA C first received radioactive, toxic and hazardous liquid, gases and solid wastes in 1948.  Disposal operations ended in 1974.  There are six disposal pits, one chemical disposal pit, and 108 shafts – all unlined allowing the buried wastes to migrate into the water, air, and soil.  Id., September 7, 2023 – NMED Statement of Basis MDA C.

In the ensuing 49 years, the contaminated waste has been migrating towards regional drinking water supplies.  The Department explained that volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are present directly below the dump at depths of approximately 600 feet below ground surface.  Some VOCs can cause cancer; others can react with other gases and form air pollutants once they are in the air.

As required by the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act and its regulations, the Department prepared a Statement of Basis to show how excavation will protect human health and the environment.

The Department stated, “For maximum protection of public and environmental health and safety, and to ensure that the drinking water resource can be conservatively protected, [the Department] has determined that … excavation, plume monitoring, and institutional controls, along with a passive and active soil-vapor extraction system at MDA C to remove the waste and eliminate the VOC contaminate source detected in soil [], is the most appropriate cleanup measure.”  Id., p. 15.

LANL successfully excavated its oldest radioactive waste dump that operated from 1944 to 1948 on DP Road in Los Alamos, called MDA B.  It was excavated when LANL received $110 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  A large moveable tent under negative air pressure and with HEPA filtration was installed over the dump.  Earthmovers and other large equipment operated inside to carefully remove the waste from the deep trenches.  It was sorted, characterized and properly disposed.

One cleanup report described the extensive planning that was done.  The report concluded, “The one area where planning did not fail to meet reality was safety.  There were no serious worker injuries and the minor injuries recorded were those common to construction type activities.”  Oppenheimer’s Box of Chocolates:  Remediation of the Manhattan Project Landfill at Los Alamos National Laboratory.  https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:45115088

Public comments are due to the Environment Department on Monday, November 6th by 5 pm Mountain.  CCNS has prepared sample public comments you can use in support of excavation of MDA C.  230928 MDA C sample comment letter to NMED


  1. Friday, September 29th from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

 Come and visit with us about the Back from the Brink campaign. https://preventnuclearwar.org/   

 

  1. Tuesday, September 26thUnited Nations International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons Day. Achieving global nuclear disarmament is the highest disarmament priority of the United Nations.  It was the subject of the General Assembly’s first resolution in 1946, which established the Atomic Energy Commission (dissolved in 1952), with a mandate to make specific proposals for the control of nuclear energy and the elimination of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction.  To learn more:  https://www.un.org/en/observances/nuclear-weapons-elimination-day

 

 

  1. Help reach 2,500 petition signatures! Sign the Tewa Women United petition to Protect Vulnerable NM Communities:  Halt Radioactive Tritium Release from LANL.  LANL is proposing to vent four flanged tritium waste containers (FTWCs) by September 30, 2023 (the end of the fiscal year).  https://tewawomenunited.org/2023/08/its-happening-again-petition-to-halt-lanls-planned-tritium-release

 

 

  1. Tuesday, October 3rd from 5:30 to 7:30 pm – WIPP in-person and virtual Community Forum and Open House at the Skeen-Whitlock Building, 4021 National Parks Hwy, Carlsbad, NM.

REGISTRATION:

In-Person Registration:  https://form.jotform.com/222836798629172

Virtual Registration:  https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsceqhpzMqHN3FQG2bhS8ac3_agjLmLjEE#/registration

QUESTIONS:  For questions regarding this meeting and open house please contact the WIPP Information Center at infocntr@wipp.ws or by calling 1-800-336-9477.

 

United Nations Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Continues to Gather Strength

On Wednesday, September 19th, the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons had been signed by almost half of all countries in the world after a ceremony at the United Nations General Assembly in New York where Sri Lanka acceded to the Treaty and the Bahamas signed it. 

This means 93 states have now signed, ratified or acceded to the Treaty that outlaws nuclear weapons and all nuclear weapons-related activity.

The Treaty was negotiated in 2017 and entered into force in 2021.  It is the first multilateral agreement to ban nuclear weapons in a comprehensive manner and establish a framework for their elimination.

Melissa Parke, the Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, said, “The growing support for the [Treaty] brings added authority to what is already the strongest international norm against the worst weapons of mass destruction.  This is sorely needed at this moment when the war in Ukraine and escalating tensions in the Korean peninsula have brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any time since the height of the Cold War.”

Speaking of Sri Lanka and the Bahamas, Ms Parke added, “Any use of nuclear weapons would be an unparalleled humanitarian and environmental catastrophe and these two countries are to be praised for doing their part to prevent these horrific weapons from ever being used in conflict again.”

With the Bahamas’ signature, adherence to the Treaty by Caribbean states is now almost universal.  Sri Lanka’s accession sends an important disarmament message to its nuclear-armed neighbors in South Asia, India and Pakistan.

The Treaty bans countries from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, transferring, possessing, stockpiling, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons, or allowing nuclear weapons to be stationed on their territory.  It also prohibits countries from assisting, encouraging or inducing anyone to engage in these activities.  https://www.icanw.org/the_treaty

In November, the second meeting of state parties to the Treaty will be held at the United Nations.  https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_second_meeting_of_states_parties  Key areas of the Treaty will be discussed, which include disarmament, increasing risks, the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and related issues.

Also up for discussion are the two verification pathways for a nuclear-armed state, like the United States of America, to join the Treaty.  The two pathways are:  elimination of a state’s arsenal and then joining the Treaty; or join the Treaty first and then eliminate the state’s arsenal.

For more information, please visit the ICAN website at https://www.icanw.org/.  CCNS is an ICAN Partner Organization.

 


  1. Friday, September 22nd from noon to 1 pm MT – ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

 Come and visit with us about planning Defuse Nuclear War events (Sept. 24 – 30 Week of Action) and the Back from the Brink campaign.   Pick up Back from the Brink materials to prevent nuclear war.  https://preventnuclearwar.org/   

 

  1. Friday, September 22, 2023 from 5 to 7 pm MT – NM Environment Department hybrid public meeting to present the changes made to the draft hazardous waste permit as represented in the proposed 10-year final permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The public is invited to ask questions to NMED and WIPP representatives and make public comments.  

 For more information, see the August 15, 2023 public notice.  https://hwbdocuments.env.nm.gov/Waste%20Isolation%20Pilot%20Plant/230818.pdf and Stop Forever WIPP at https://stopforeverwipp.org/

Three ways to attend the public meeting:

Carlsbad in-person location:  Skeen-Whitlock Bldg., 4021 National Parks Hwy.

Santa Fe in person location:  Larrazolo Auditorium, NMED Harold Runnels Bldg., 1190 St. Francis Drive (between Cordova and Alta Vista).

Link to WebEx Public Meeting found here: WebEx Renewal Public Meeting.

Three ways to submit public comments:  

NMED Public Comment Portal: https://nmed.commentinput.com/?id=G5E7C

Email to Megan.McLean@env.nm.gov

Postal Mail:         Megan McLean, Acting WIPP Group Program Manager

                              Hazardous Waste Bureau – NM Environment Department

                              2905 Rodeo Park Drive East, Bldg. 1

                              Santa Fe, NM  87505-6303

For more information and because of the long-standing problems NMED is having with its website, go to the Permittees (DOE and SIMCO) websites at:  https://wipp.energy.gov/2023-information-repository-documents.asp and

https://simco-llc.us/ (where no notice is posted).

 

  1. Tuesday, September 26th United Nations International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons Day. Achieving global nuclear disarmament is the highest disarmament priority of the United Nations.  It was the subject of the General Assembly’s first resolution in 1946, which established the Atomic Energy Commission (dissolved in 1952), with a mandate to make specific proposals for the control of nuclear energy and the elimination of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction.  To learn more:  https://www.un.org/en/observances/nuclear-weapons-elimination-day

 

 

  1. Tuesday, September 26th from 2 to 3:30 pm – LANL In-Person and Virtual (link not posted yet) Public Meeting and 45-day Public Comment Period about proposed Copper Water Quality Criteria for the Pajarito Plateau at the Cities of Gold Hotel, Pojoaque, NM. LANL is proposing new water quality criteria for copper for surface waters in accordance with U.S. EPA nationally recommended criteria for protection of aquatic life.  A draft report and additional information is available at https://n3b-la.com/public-meeting-copper-water-quality-criteria-for-pajarito-plateau/  Comments are due by Thursday, November 9, 2023 to N3BOutreach@em-la.doe.gov .

 

 

  1. Thursday, September 28th from 10 am MDT – Speak out in person or virtually to protect water from Boeing’s chemicals from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory at the public hearing before the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board about Boeing’s proposed NPDES Permit. For more information:  https://parentsagainstssfl.com/events   

 

 

  1. Tuesday, October 3rd from 5:30 to 7:30 pm – WIPP in-person and virtual Community Forum and Open House at the Skeen-Whitlock Building, 4021 National Parks Hwy, Carlsbad, NM. As of September 21st, no information about the meeting is available on at wipp.energy.gov and the phone number listed in the newspaper ads are to a medical services company.  To register one must use a QR code.

 

 

  1. Help reach 2,500 petition signatures! Sign the Tewa Women United petition to Protect Vulnerable NM Communities:  Halt Radioactive Tritium Release from LANL.  LANL is proposing to vent four flanged tritium waste containers (FTWCs) by September 30, 2023 (the end of the fiscal year).  https://tewawomenunited.org/2023/08/its-happening-again-petition-to-halt-lanls-planned-tritium-release
 

NMED Hybrid Public Meeting on Friday, September 22nd about Changes to WIPP Operating Permit

Friday, September 22nd will be the last opportunity to make your public comments about the changes to the operating permit for the nuclear waste dump, called the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP.  WIPP is a deep geologic repository for plutonium-contaminated radioactive waste from the production of nuclear weapons, located 26 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico.  See below for specific information about how to make public comment.

The New Mexico Environment Department is hosting a virtual public meeting from 5 to 7 pm to give a presentation and receive your comments about the changes that have been made to the permit after a week of negotiations between the Environment Department https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/wipp/ ; the Department of Energy (DOE), the federal agency that owns WIPP https://wipp.energy.gov/ ; and members of non-governmental organizations and an individual.

CCNS was a party to the negotiations, along with Southwest Research and Information Center http://sric.org/ , Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping https://www.cardnm.org/ , Nuclear Watch New Mexico https://nukewatch.org/ , Southwest Alliance for a Safe Environment https://www.swalliance.org/ , and Conservation Voters New Mexico https://cvnm.org/ .  Although the non-governmental organizations and the individual did not get everything they desired, they obtained a good number of positive changes in the renewal permit.  These include:    

  • DOE must annually document its progress to site another waste repository outside of New Mexico.
  • Legacy waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory is now prioritized for disposal.
  • DOE must finally provide an inventory of all of its legacy waste. The inventory will be developed with significant public involvement within a year.  That waste will be prioritized for disposal.
  • Expansion of WIPP is limited to two waste disposal panels, numbered 11 and 12. Any proposed future expansion by DOE can only occur through a vigorous public process in an administrative permit renewal.
  • The Environment Department reiterated its authority to revoke the current permit and stop shipments if Congress increases the disposal capacity or expands the types of waste allowed at WIPP.
  • The Environment Department explicitly restated its authority to stop waste shipments to WIPP if there is evidence of a threat to human health or the environment or noncompliance with permit provisions.
  • And finally, the public will be kept up-to-date through quarterly public forums.

Please join your voice with hundreds of New Mexicans to insist that both New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Environment Department enforce the provisions in the renewal permit that keep New Mexico from becoming the nation’s nuclear dumping ground.  Check out the latest videos to the Governor about New Mexicans’ concerns at Messages for the Governor at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AcFJZ4VaSo (short version) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vM50BSjYO4 (longer version).

Sign the Open Letter to the Governor and Environment Department at https://stopforeverwipp.org/ on the homepage.  The Open Letter will be presented at the September 22nd meeting.


How to Make Public Comments on or before September 22, 2023

For more information, see the August 15, 2023 public notice.  https://hwbdocuments.env.nm.gov/Waste%20Isolation%20Pilot%20Plant/230818.pdf  

Three ways to attend the public meeting and make comments:

Carlsbad in-person location:  Skeen-Whitlock Bldg., 4021 National Parks Hwy.

Santa Fe in person location:  Larrazolo Auditorium, NMED Harold Runnels Bldg., 1190 St. Francis Drive (between Cordova and Alta Vista).

Remote Access on WebEx:  https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D167732347

NMED Public Comment Portal: https://nmed.commentinput.com/?id=G5E7C

Email to Megan.McLean@env.nm.gov

Postal Mail:         Megan McLean, Acting WIPP Group Program Manager

Hazardous Waste Bureau – NM Environment Department

2905 Rodeo Park Drive East, Bldg. 1

Santa Fe, NM  87505-6303


  1. Friday, September 15th from noon to 1 pm MT – ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

Come and visit with us about planning Defuse Nuclear War events (Sept. 24 – 30 Week of Action) and the Back from the Brink campaign.   Pick up Back from the Brink materials to prevent nuclear war.  https://preventnuclearwar.org/   

 

  1. Saturday, September 16th from 2 to 5 pm at Taos Public Library – screening of The Forgotten Bomb and Q&A with filmmaker Bud Ryan following the screening. The screening is hosted by Jean E Stevens, Taos Environmental Film Festival.  This event is to raise awareness for the United Nations International Day of Peace on September 21st and the United Nations Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on September 26th.    Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L08vj69ZL7M          Poster: 1190 x 1600 The Forgotten Bomb

“I Believe in Peace” was created in tribute and in remembrance of Lawrence Ferlinghetti whom passed away on February 22, 2021. The Beat Poets and the poetic traditions of Taos, New Mexico, inspire it. The video is a song written, composed, edited, and directed by Jean E Stevens. She is also a screenwriter.

 

  1. Thursday, September 21stUnited Nations International Day of Peace. The 2023 Theme is Actions for Peace:  Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals.  It is a call to action that recognizes our individual and collective responsibility to foster peace.  Fostering peace contributes to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will create a culture of peace for all.  https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-peace

 

 

  1. Friday, September 22, 2023 from 5 to 7 pm MT – NM Environment Department hybrid public meeting to present the changes made to the draft hazardous waste permit as represented in the proposed 10-year final permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The public is invited to ask questions to NMED and WIPP representatives and make public comments.   For more information, see the August 15, 2023 public notice.  https://hwbdocuments.env.nm.gov/Waste%20Isolation%20Pilot%20Plant/230818.pdf  

Three ways to attend the public meeting:

Carlsbad in-person location:  Skeen-Whitlock Bldg., 4021 National Parks Hwy.

Santa Fe in person location:  Larrazolo Auditorium, NMED Harold Runnels Bldg., 1190 St. Francis Drive (between Cordova and Alta Vista).

Remote Access on WebEx:  https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D167732347

Three ways to submit public comments:  

NMED Public Comment Portal: https://nmed.commentinput.com/?id=G5E7C

Email to Megan.McLean@env.nm.gov

Postal Mail:         Megan McLean, Acting WIPP Group Program Manager

                              Hazardous Waste Bureau – NM Environment Department

                              2905 Rodeo Park Drive East, Bldg. 1

                              Santa Fe, NM  87505-6303

 

  1. Tuesday, September 26thUnited Nations International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons Day. Achieving global nuclear disarmament is the highest disarmament priority of the United Nations.  It was the subject of the General Assembly’s first resolution in 1946, which established the Atomic Energy Commission (dissolved in 1952), with a mandate to make specific proposals for the control of nuclear energy and the elimination of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction.  To learn more:  https://www.un.org/en/observances/nuclear-weapons-elimination-day

 

 

  1. Help reach 2,500 petition signatures! Sign the Tewa Women United petition to Protect Vulnerable NM Communities:  Halt Radioactive Tritium Release from LANL.  LANL is proposing to vent four flanged tritium waste containers (FTWCs) by September 30, 2023 (the end of the fiscal year).  https://tewawomenunited.org/2023/08/its-happening-again-petition-to-halt-lanls-planned-tritium-release

 

 

  1. Trinity: Legacies of Nuclear Testing – A People’s Perspective Art Exhibit at the Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main Street, Las Cruces, NM.  The exhibit will be up until September 23, 2023.  https://www.lascruces.gov/1528/Branigan-Cultural-Center
 

For LANL Cleanup, GAO Recommends a Facilitator to Improve Relationship between New Mexico Environment Department and DOE

In a July 2023 report the federal Government Accountability Office recommended that a third-party facilitator be brought in to improve the relationship and build trust between the New Mexico Environment Department and the Department of Energy (DOE) as they try to resolve outstanding cleanup issues at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105665  Nuclear Waste Cleanup:  DOE Needs to Address Weaknesses in Program and Contractor Management at Los Alamos, July 2023.

That recommendation was echoed by members of the New Mexico legislature at the August 21st meeting of the Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee in Los Alamos.  https://www.nmlegis.gov/committee/Interim_Committee?CommitteeCode=RHMC

One outstanding cleanup issue, of several GAO highlighted, is whether the toxic hexavalent chromium plume located below LANL is moving deeper into the regional drinking water aquifer, as the Environment Department argues.  Or whether, as DOE argues, the plume is ready for a permanent pump and treat system in which aquifer water is pumped to the surface, run through filtration to remove the chromium, and then injected back into the plume.  https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105665 , pp. 11-12, 17-21, 33-34 (GAO’s six recommendations), 37-38.

The stakes in this disagreement are high.  The Environment Department says that the treated waters can no longer be injected into the plume as that pushes the toxic contamination deeper into the aquifer.  Its solution is to find other locations for injection of the treated water.  DOE says the treated water has to go back into the plume.  DOE does not want to truck the waters to other locations across the 36-square mile LANL site.

CCNS supports the recommendation for a third party facilitator.

We detailed our concerns in a Sunday, September 3rd Santa Fe New Mexican My View.  https://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/my_view/to-eradicate-the-plume-use-the-same-models/article_b93f3b86-4849-11ee-b322-63fe35d4d7db.html  You can read the full article below.

CCNS proposed that before the state and federal agencies meet with the facilitator, a comparison of the two differing groundwater models be done using data from the plume since 2016 when the Environment Department first issued a groundwater discharge permit.  http://nuclearactive.org/lanls-toxic-hexavalent-chromium-plume-must-remain-a-priority/

Commenters to the My View responded positively.

Greg Corning, President of the Veterans for Peace Santa Fe Chapter, wrote, “Comparing the output of two groundwater modeling systems (with identical data entered) is an excellent idea. (“Measure twice,” as the old adage begins.)”  He continued, “I can’t imagine why we would avoid doing this unless one or the other party is hoping to avoid unpleasant findings.”

Mike Johnson wrote, “This is certainly plausible and doable, and much better than negotiating with a mediator involved. But, in my experience, computer models are prone to GIGO, [or ‘garbage in, garbage out’], and an expert third party science and engineering entity should be used.”

 


My View: Joni Arends

To eradicate the plume, use the same models

By Joni Arends Sep 2, 2023

 

In response to the editorial (“Stop Stalling: Clean up chromium plume,” Our View, Aug. 24): The plume does need immediate attention and does need to be analyzed with a computer model that everyone can use. The consequences of getting the cleanup of the toxic hexavalent chromium plume wrong would be disastrous.

Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety urges that before the proposed negotiations between the Department of Energy and the New Mexico Environment Department take place, a comparison is made of the differing groundwater models they use.

Los Alamos National Laboratory does not use the most widely accepted and used groundwater model created by the U.S. Geological Survey, called MODFLOW. LANL uses its own groundwater model, called FEHM, which stands for Finite Element Heat and Mass Transfer Code. But to use FEHM, you have to register at fehm.lanl.gov. Today, Aug. 31, the registration links aren’t working. The USGS MODFLOW is “considered an international standard for formulating and predicting groundwater conditions and groundwater/surface water interactions.” Most water professionals use MODFLOW to protect water from contamination. It is a computer model that is publicly available without the need to register.

Our group suggests that groundwater monitoring data from 2016 forward be entered into both the U.S. Geological Survey MODFLOW hydrologic model and Los Alamos National Laboratory’s own FEHM model and compared.

Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety first suggested this approach as far back as 1998, when the first groundwater monitoring well was installed under LANL’s hydrogeological work plan. Over the decades, we have witnessed the long-standing resistance by LANL to use MODFLOW.

Water is too precious to put its purity at risk. The toxic hexavalent chromium plume below LANL was discovered in 2004. The big question right now is whether the injection of treated water is pushing, or smearing, the contamination deeper into the regional drinking water aquifer.

This is a big deal. To reach the drinking water aquifer where the hexavalent chromium is found, the wells must be at least 1,000 feet deep. Those wells extract, or pump, the waters to the surface, where they are run through large filters to remove the pollutants. The waters are then injected back into the aquifer to create a hydrologic barrier to keep the plume from moving. But the state Environment Department has concerns the injection is moving the existing contamination deeper into the aquifer.

In the early days of this effort, the hexavalent chromium was found in the top 50 feet of the aquifer. Now LANL says it is in the top 150 feet of the aquifer, creating an impasse between the state Environment Department and Department of Energy.

Importantly, the plume is sitting on the west side of the Española Basin Sole Source Drinking Water Aquifer. In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency found 85% of the drinking water in the 3,000-square-mile designated area comes from wells in the aquifer. The importance of getting the cleanup right cannot be understated.

On Aug. 21, the New Mexico Legislature’s Radioactive and Hazardous Material Committee met in Los Alamos. The toxic plume was on the agenda. A suggestion was made to bring in an independent negotiator to break the impasse. This is a good idea. A complete investigation of the movement of the hexavalent chromium in the aquifer will reveal if it has spread into the Española Basin SSA. To break the impasse, a comparison of the two groundwater models using the same data is required now.

Joni Arends is a co-founder and executive director of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety. She actively protects water from Los Alamos National Laboratory contamination.

 


  1. Friday, September 8th from noon to 1 pm MT – Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Guadalupe in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

 

Come and visit with us about planning Defuse Nuclear War events (Sept. 24 – 30 Week of Action) and the Back from the Brink campaign.   Pick up Back from the Brink materials to support work to prevent nuclear war.  https://preventnuclearwar.org/   

 

  1. Thursday, September 21st – United Nations International Day of Peace

 

 

 

  1. Friday, September 22, 2023 from 5 to 7 pm MT – NM Environment Department hybrid public meeting to present the changes made to the draft hazardous waste permit as represented in the proposed 10-year final permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The public is invited to ask questions to NMED and WIPP representatives and make public comments. For more information, see the August 15, 2023 public notice.  https://hwbdocuments.env.nm.gov/Waste%20Isolation%20Pilot%20Plant/230818.pdf  

 

Three ways to attend the public meeting:

Carlsbad in-person location:  Skeen-Whitlock Bldg., 4021 National Parks Hwy.

Santa Fe in person location:  Larrazolo Auditorium, NMED Harold Runnels Bldg., 1190 St. Francis Drive (between Cordova and Alta Vista).

Remote Access on WebEx:  https://www.env.nm.gov/events-calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D167732347

 

Three ways to submit public comments:  

NMED Public Comment Portal: https://nmed.commentinput.com/?id=G5E7C

Email to Megan.McLean@env.nm.gov

Postal Mail:         Megan McLean, Acting WIPP Group Program Manager

                              Hazardous Waste Bureau – NM Environment Department

                              2905 Rodeo Park Drive East, Bldg. 1

                              Santa Fe, NM  87505-6303

 

  1. Sign the Tewa Women United petition to Protect Vulnerable NM Communities: Halt Radioactive Tritium Release from LANL.  LANL is proposing to vent four flanged tritium waste containers (FTWCs) by September 30, 2023 (the end of the fiscal year).  https://tewawomenunited.org/2023/08/its-happening-again-petition-to-halt-lanls-planned-tritium-release

 

 

  1. Trinity: Legacies of Nuclear Testing – A People’s Perspective Art Exhibit at the Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main Street, Las Cruces, NM.  The exhibit will be up until September 23, 2023.  https://www.lascruces.gov/1528/Branigan-Cultural-Center