CCNS Update

In response to the lack of concrete progress on nuclear disarmament by the G7

leaders in Hiroshima last week, Ivana Nikolić Hughes, Ph.D., and President of the

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, wrote the following op-ed in Common Dreams. We

provide excerpts:

On May 15 th , four Archbishops, including Archbishop John C. Wester of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, sent a letter to the Group of Seven leaders gathering for

a three-day summit in Hiroshima, Japan to urge the leaders to take concrete steps toward nuclear disarmament.

The New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission not only denied Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE) and CCNS standing to challenge the groundwater

discharge permit DP-1132, but also denied the public any opportunity to provide comment during

Tuesday’s hearing.

The health of the Rio Grande watershed in the area of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is at stake. The protection of the 3,000 square mile sole source

drinking water aquifer is at stake. LANL has contaminated it with hexavalent chromium and the plume is migrating towards the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, the Rio

Grande, and the Buckman wells and diversion facility. Every drop of water is precious and must be free from contamination. Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE)

and CCNS work to ensure that every drop is protected.

Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE) and CCNS will be before the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission on Tuesday, May 9 th at the New Mexico

State Capitol to argue that they have standing to challenge the groundwater discharge permit, DP-1132, for the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility at

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The Hearing Officer, who reports to the Commission, recommended to the Commission that the non-governmental

organizations do not have standing.

There has not been an adequate examination of the seismic vulnerabilities and increasing risk of seismic activity in the area of Valles Caldera, with Los Alamos

National Laboratory on the eastern slope.

It was revealed at the Tuesday, April 11 th monthly meeting of the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission that the Department of Energy (DOE) had

approached Kelsey Rader, an at-large member of the Commission, on Good Friday about a job with DOE. If Commissioner Rader took a position with DOE, she

would be the third official who was hired away by DOE during the Commission’s review of DOE’s

New Mexico Environment Department ground water discharge permit.

It’s time to break the silence about the permitting of the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Since 1963, the Facility

has handled, treated and stored radioactive and hazardous liquid waste generated at the Plutonium Facility, where the triggers, or plutonium pits, for nuclear

weapons are fabricated.

The National Nuclear Security Administrator Jill Hruby and Senior Advisor to the Department of Energy Office of Environment Management Ike White will be in

Santa Fe next week for a public town hall. It is essential that they hear from you!

For nearly three years, the public has requested a town hall type of event in which officials from the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security

Administration (NNSA) would answer questions about the plans to expand operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

As if there is not enough going on, it’s time to get your personalized comments into the Department of Energy (DOE). It has published its unsupported draft

environmental impact statement about DOE’s proposal for handling more than 48 metric tons of surplus plutonium – and maybe more – for decades to come.

A review of the Department of Energy (DOE) National Environmental Policy Act website shows that it is behind schedule in providing the public with up-to-date 

site-wide environmental impact statements, or SWEISs, for the four main sites involved in DOE’s

proposed surplus plutonium plans.

What would you do with more than 30 metric tons of “surplus” plutonium in the form of triggers for nuclear weapons? The Department of Energy (DOE) has been working to find a solution for at least 30 years.

CCNS and Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE) filed a Verified Petition for An Original Writ of Mandamus with the New Mexico Supreme Court about the improper regulation by the Water Quality Control Commission of the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

On February 14 th , 2014, radioactive waste exploded at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground disposal site. To raise public awareness of the

Valentine’s Day anniversary and the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) expansion plans, individuals and organizations held a press conference at the New Mexico

State Capitol.

On February 14 th , 2014, one or more drums of radioactive and hazardous waste exploded in the deep underground disposal site of the Waste Isolation

Pilot Plant (WIPP). To raise public awareness, non-government organizations are joining together on Tuesday, February 14 th at 1:15 in the Rotunda at the New

Mexico State Capitol for a press conference.

On Wednesday night, the Santa Fe City Council heard from dozens of people, both in person and virtually, about the proposed rezoning of 22 acres of

open space on South Meadows to housing. Dave Englert, a retired New Mexico Environment Department geologist, and Joni Arends, CCNS Executive Director,

urged the City Council to prioritize cleanup of the Eberline site that borders the 22 acres to the south. Arends asked the Council to use its emergency powers to

install a tent with HEPA filtration over the building now.

The Santa Fe City Council will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, February 1 st at 7 pm to consider the proposed rezoning of the 22 acres of open

space on South Meadows. CCNS urges you to contact your city councilors and encourage them to vote no on the rezoning proposal. There are too many

unanswered questions about possible contamination of the open space remaining from decades of operations of the industrial Eberline / ThermoFisher

radiation detection manufacturing facility to the south.

On Tuesday, January 24 th and Thursday, January 26 th , the Department of Energy will hold in-person public hearings in Carlsbad and Los Alamos,

respectively, about their plans to handle, treat and dispose of surplus plutonium in New Mexico.

Two in-person public hearings in New Mexico and one virtual public hearing will be held about the Department of Energy’s plan to ship more than 30

tons of surplus radioactive plutonium for processing at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

On Tuesday, January 10 th , CCNS and Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE) will return to the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission to ask it

to vacate the decisions in which former Commission Chair Stephanie Stringer was involved. CCNS and HOPE have appealed the issuance of the groundwater

discharge permit, DP-1132, for the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to the Commission.

In May 2022, CCNS, Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE), and Veterans

for Peace appealed the federal Clean Water Act discharge permit for Outfall 051,

which is connected to the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility at Los

Alamos National Laboratory, to the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB).

On December 28 th , the three-judge panel in Washington, DC ruled unanimously

to remand the federal permit, or send it back, to EPA’s Region 6 office in Dallas.

CCNS and Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE) request your support of our request for sanctions in the appeal of the groundwater discharge permit DP-

1132, issued to Los Alamos National Laboratory for operation of the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility. The appeal is before the New Mexico Water

Quality Control Commission, which has the authority to order sanctions. We seek sanctions requiring the Permittees, the Department of Energy / National

Nuclear Security Administration, to pay our expenses caused by DOE/NNSA’s unethical behavior.

On Thursday, December 8th, the New Mexico Environment Department released its fact sheet for the draft Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Hazardous

Waste Permit. The draft fact sheet is a way to let New Mexicans and the Department of Energy (DOE) know about the Environment Department plans for

the ten-year renewal of the permit.

Under the banner of “Diplomacy is the Path to Peace,” diverse organizations are holding nationwide activities the week of December 19 th to end

the war in Ukraine, not life on Earth.

The Earth has been rocking and rolling with large earthquake and volcanic activity lately. It makes us wonder how seismic activity along the north – south

running Pajarito Fault System and the massive Valles Caldera is being monitored and where the data is posted for easy public access.

For over 34 years, CCNS has been a leader for nuclear safety. We began in 1988 to address community concerns about the proposed transportation of

plutonium contaminated hazardous waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory, or LANL, to the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, for disposal in 

the deep geologic repository. At that time, the proposal was to ship the waste through Santa Fe on Saint Francis Drive, near traditional neighborhoods, seven

schools and the hospital.

This week the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) provided evidence to CCNS and Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE) that Stephanie

Stringer, a New Mexico Environment Deputy Cabinet Secretary and Chair of the New Mexico Water Quality Commission, made adjudicatory decisions against 

the non-governmental organizations while she was applying for NNSA employment. This is the second time NNSA has hired an adjudicatory decision-maker 

during an ongoing proceeding addressing the groundwater discharge permit, DP-1132, for the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility at Los Alamos 

National Laboratory.

On Wednesday, November 16 th , during the first virtual and in-person public hearing session, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board will hear from three

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) officials about the stored and buried transuranic waste at the Area G dump. The Board wants to understand LANL’s

plans to “remove legacy transuranic waste while minimizing the amount of aboveground transuranic waste.” Let’s break down that description.

On Wednesday, November 16th, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) will hold a virtual and in-person public hearing at the Santa Fe

Community Convention Center from noon to 9:45 pm Mountain Time. The DNFSB’s goal is to gather information regarding legacy cleanup activities,

nuclear safety, and increased production of plutonium pits, or triggers, for nuclear weapons at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). There will be two

opportunities for oral public comments. Written comments will also be accepted.

On May 5, 2022, the New Mexico Environment Department issued discharge permit DP-1132 under the New Mexico Water Quality Act for the

Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Facility manages hazardous waste and the Water Quality Act is expressly

limited so that it does not apply to a hazardous waste facility. Nevertheless, the Environment Department issued LANL the Water Quality Act permit.

It is essential for folks to attend – either virtually or in person - the WIPP Community Forum on Monday, October 24 , beginning at 5:30 pm at Buffalo

Thunder Resort Casino. The Department of Energy (DOE), which owns both Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP),

has plans to greatly expand both facilities.

It’s time again to submit comments about what the scope of a new Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Los Alamos National Laboratory should

be as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Comments are due on Tuesday, October 18 th , 2022 by 11:59 pm Mountain Time to

LANLSWEIS@nnsa.doe.gov .

On September 26 th , Molly McGinty, Associate Program Director of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, spoke at the United

Nations.Listen to a portion here.

On May 5 th , 2022, the New Mexico Environment Department issued a new groundwater discharge permit for the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment

Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory under the New Mexico Water Quality Act. It is discharge permit DP-1132. The facility, located near the Plutonium

Facility, handles, treats and stores radioactive and hazardous liquid wastes from operations across the LANL site.

On Wednesday, September 21 st , the International Day of Peace, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use nuclear weapons in the Ukrainian

War. His threats to use nuclear weapons surpass Russia’s official nuclear doctrine. As posted on en.kremlin.ru, Putin said, “In the event of a threat to the

territorial integrity of our country and to defend Russia and our people, we will certainly make use of all weapon systems available to us. This is not a bluff.”

The privileges of the rich and powerful Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and its plans to expand the fabrication of plutonium pits, or triggers, for

nuclear warheads continue. After 115 non-governmental organizations and individuals requested a two-month extension of time for preparation of informed

scoping comments for a long-delayed draft sitewide environmental impact statement (SWEIS), LANL granted a whopping 15-day extension. Scoping

comments are now due by Tuesday, October 18 th . If you plan to email your comments, submit them before 11:59 pm Mountain time.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will host two virtual meetings to gather public comments about the scope of a draft

environmental impact statement for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). If you think these scoping meetings are not important, please check out the

recently released 2021 LANL Campus Master Plan. The plan was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

This week 63 non-governmental organizations and 52 individuals requested that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant a two-month

extension of time to provide informed public comments about the scope of the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Operations of Los

Alamos National Laboratory (LANL SWEIS). On August 19 th , DOE announced a 45-day comment period. Currently, comments are due on Monday, October 3rd , 2022.

Taos ceramic artist Serit Kotowski’s beautiful Sacred Trust: BROKEN is an educational installation that focuses on the impact of the nuclear weapons

industry in New Mexico. Using a traditional potter’s repertoire Kotowski created two sets of dinnerware to demonstrate that, if ingested, radioactive 

substances are harmful, if not deadly. The plates and cups are labeled “NOT FOOD SAFE.”

New scientific work demonstrates that even a “limited” nuclear war would cause abrupt climate disruption and global starvation. A limited nuclear war is

defined as a conflict confined to one region and involving a small fraction of the world’s nuclear arsenals. But such a conflict would be neither limited nor

regional and despite statements to the contrary, it would be an event on a planetary scale of death and destruction.

Did you know that the current hazardous waste permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) states that waste disposal operations will end in

2024, followed by a ten-year period to close the underground waste disposal site?

On Tuesday, August 9 th the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission will hear virtually a petition for review of the groundwater discharge permit, DP-1132, filed by non-governmental organizations CCNS and Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE). DP-1132 allows Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to handle, store and discharge treated radioactive and hazardous waters from the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility into Effluent Canyon, a tributary of Mortandad Canyon.

August 6 th and 9 th were the days in 1945 when the U.S. bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs 77 years ago. Every year community members gather at to commemorate those events, to recognize the harm done, and to recommit to working for peace. You are invited to participate in these commemoration events.

Did you know the hazardous waste permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is up for its ten-year renewal? In August, the New Mexico

Environment Department may release a draft permit for public review and a 60-day comment period.

In the face of continuing problems and escalating costs for expanded production of plutonium “pit” bomb cores for nuclear weapons, U.S.

Congressman John Garamendi, of California, has offered a common sense amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 

plutonium pit accountability.

Holtec International recently purchased two shutdown nuclear power plants in Michigan to create a supply chain of spent fuel rods for its proposed consolidated interim storage facility in southeastern New Mexico’s Permian Basin. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is expected to issue a Final Environmental Impact Statement this month and an operating license in early 2023 for the proposed “temporary” storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.

Did you know that the Department of Energy (DOE) plans to continue disposing of plutonium-contaminated radioactive and hazardous waste in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) essentially forever? In filings submitted to the New Mexico Environment Department on Monday, DOE stated, “[the] final facility closure could begin no earlier than [Calendar Year] 2083.”

This week before the start of the First Meeting of States Parties for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Vienna, three countries

deposited their ratification documents with the United Nations. Grenada, Cabot Verde, and Timor Leste joined 62 countries to ratify the treaty, 

for a total of 65. One-third of the world’s 195 countries have now ratified the Treaty.

If you were in charge of allocating U.S. taxpayer money, would you invest $84,094 [dollars] per minute for nuclear weapons? What would your priorities be?

While you may not be able to travel to Vienna, Austria for the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, you can sign the online Statement on the Existential Threat of Nuclear Weapons. 

Decisions being made by federal and state agencies about the plutonium-contaminated waste stored at the Waste Control Specialists facility located on the Texas-New Mexico border may foreshadow how non-compliant waste may be stranded in the future.

In November 2021, Los Alamos National Laboratory applied to the Environmental Protection Agency to begin construction of a new radioactive

liquid waste treatment facility for transuranic, or plutonium contaminated, liquid waste from the Plutonium Facility.

Plutonium operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory's Technical Area 55 are centered in the middle of the 36 square mile national nuclear weapons facility.

Recently released Biden Administration budget documents reveal that for Fiscal Year 2023, beginning on October 1st, the Administration is proposing a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) budget of $4.6 billion, an overall increase o 21 percent.

As of Wednesday evening May 4th, the Cerro Pelado wildland fire was about five miles from the "back gate" of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

Nearly 30 years ago, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board began communications with the DOE about ventilation systems in nuclear facilities, saying that they must contain or confine radioactive materials during an accident or seismic event that might be followed by a fire. 

Exploding Biden Administration budgets for the three Department of Energy (DOE) sites in New Mexico fully support the dangerous trend to develop more provocative nuclear weapons. 

Eight years after the 2014 explosion of one or more waste containers disposed in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) underground, on Saturday,

April 9 th , WIPP announced that one or more waste containers had leaked radioactive liquids while being unloaded from a TRUPACT-II shipping container

in the Waste Handling Building.

Last week we quoted Cynthia Lazaroff about the nuclear dangers in Ukraine and her call to come forward that "Our work is more important now that ever."

This week we quote the call to come forward from Ralph Hutchison, Coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, to all those working for the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty, that this is our time.

This week the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation held a virtual presentation by Cynthia Lazaroff and Richard Falk about the nuclear dangers in Ukraine.

www.wagingpeace.org

This week Nuclear Watch New Mexico announced the successful settlement of its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) about its slow cleanup of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

Please join the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service to acknowledge Robert Alvarez, one of the bedrock founders of the national movement to unmask the human and environmental carnage that resulted directly from the U.S. effort to create a massive nuclear arsenal. The live virtual event runs from 1 to 2:30 pm Mountain Daylight Time this Saturday March 19th.

Last week, the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission met to deliberate and make final decisions about the state's Surface Water Quality Standards.

Excerpts from Cindy Wheeler's speech during the March 1,2022 press conference at the New Mexico Capitol explains why you should care about the expanding mission for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. 

If you are concerned about proposed expansion of beryllium machining operations at LANL, now is the time to express your interest to the New Mexico Environment Depart Air Quality Bureau!

Find sample public comment letter on our website http://nuclearactive.org

Despite receiving comments from 19 non-governmental and business organizations representing tens of thousands of New Mexicans, the New Mexico Environment Department has permitted the use of the underground disposal Panel 8 at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) with 16-foot high ceilings.

This week Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety (CCNS) asked the New Mexico Environment Department to withdraw its draft groundwater permit DP-1132 for the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) because of the confusing, incomplete and defective documents released for public review and comment.

The NMED is again trying to skirt proper regulation of the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility at LANL as required by the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act.

The independent Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board recently reported that Triad National Security LLC, the nuclear weapons contractor at LANL, wants the DOE to accept the risk of bringing large shipments of plutonium-238 in uncertified containers for repackaging in the Plutonium Facility.

Saturday January 22, 2022, marks the first anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Join us for a wonderful event from 1 to 3pm at Ashley Pond in Los Alamos.

January 11th, Archbishop of Santa Fe John C Wester released his historic pastoral letter Living in the Light of Christ's Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament. 

Saturday January 22nd from 1 - 3 PM at Ashley Pond in Los Alamos join CCNS, Veterans for Peace, Nuclear Watch New Mexico and others for a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. and the first anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Visit Nuclear Ban Treaty Days of Action facebook Page for information. ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/336042507972854 )

For information on Dr. King and the Treaty visit Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. ( https://orepa.org/ )

The New Year will begin with the NM Environment Department's virtual public meeting about the annual cleanup plan for legacy waste at LANL.

Two appeals have been filed in the NM Court of Appeals to challenge the decision by NM Environment Dept. Secretary James Kenney to approve the new shaft at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

At 1:00p.m. Mountain Time Sunday December 19th, the Archbishop of Santa Fe, John C Wester, will hold an Unveiling and Blessing of a Sign of Peace at The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In a stunning bipartisan vote, this week the U.S. House Judiciary Committee passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2021 on a vote of 25 to 8.

Tuesday November 30th, the DOE held a press conference to announce a third attempt to find communities, sovereign tribal nations, or local or state governments to host an interim federal storage facility for high-level radioactive waste from commercial nuclear reactors.

DOE has raised the height of the underground waste disposal Panel 8 from 13 feet to 16 feet in violation of the Permit.

On October 27th, New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney granted the DOE and its contractor, Nuclear Waste Partnership, the latest approval requested to expand WIPP.

The public learned this week that DOE asked the LANL cleanup contractor, N3B, to request that the NM Environment Department move 19 hazardous wast sites from one part of the hazardous waste permit to another.

Our colleague, Linda Pentz Gunter, has written a brilliant piece about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

NMED granted the Department of Energy approval to excavate and use new Shaft No. 5 and its associated drifts in the WIPP Underground. Essentially ensuring Forever WIPP.

Due to on-going maintenance problems in the underground disposal facility, WIPP requested an extension of time from NMED to store waste in the Waste Handling Building.

In response to community concerns about the proposed increased shipments of more dangerous forms of plutonium along New Mexico State Road 599, Santa Fe County District 2 Commissioner Anna Hansen will host a Nuclear Waste Emergency Response Town Hall Tuesday October 19th from 6 - 7:30 PM.

For the first time in 3 years, the New Mexico Governor's WIPP Task Force met October 6th.

WIPP = Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

DOE = Department of Energy

NAS = National Academies of Science

GAO = Government Accountability Office

When will the New Mexico Environment Department acknowledge the DOE's proposals for WIPP as expansion?

A deadline of July 10th, 2022 is looming for continuing the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) and associated programs.

In a rare bi-partisan effort, the Texas legislature passed a nearly unanimous bill prohibiting the future storage or disposal of high-level radioactive waste, however, the NRC licensed construction and operation of a Consolidated Interim Storage Facility in Andrews County, Texas.

DOE's plan to expand WIPP without public comment underway.

https://stopforeverwipp.org/home

http://nuclearactive.org

Beginning at noon on Tuesday September 7th, the New Mexico Environment Department will hold a virtual public hearing for a groundwater discharge permit for WIPP.

NMED is holding a virtual public hearing for a groundwater discharge permit that would allow the construction and use of a Salt Cell 5 and Salt Storage Pond 5, It is scheduled for Tuesday September 7th at noon.

Publicly denying plans to double the size of WIPP, the DOE continues to ask for a new "west wing"

On August 6th and 9th, 1945 the U.S. Government dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Commemoration events were held in Los Alamos and Taos.

To listen to the panel discussion, courtesy of KCEI-FM go to - https://culturalenergy.org/listenlinks.htm#aug2021

Over 60 people attended a town hall to learn about Santa Fe County's emergency preparedness and response capabilities. 

Near the end of WWII on August 6th, the U.S. Government dropped a uranium atomic bomb on Hiroshima and 3 days later on August 9th dropped a plutonium atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.

Even though Sandia National Laboratory stated it could completely excavate the Mixed Waste Landfill, NMED replied sampling and monitoring would be sufficient to address potential risks.

Three events are scheduled to commemorate the long-lasting harm done by the first atomic bomb test at the Trinity site in south central New Mexico on July 16th, 1945.

If you live near or recreate on a New Mexico river, stream, or lake or irrigate from one, water quality should be a concern. Participate in the Public Hearing!

How many times do non-governmental organizations need to ask for the DOE and the NNSA to follow the law before they file a lawsuit, six!

New Mexico Governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham petitions EPA to safeguard water in state from toxic chemicals.

The presidents of the United States and Russia met and discussed a number of matters including "Strategic Stability."

The New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission will take up important regulatory water issues soon.

The DOE released its Fiscal Year 2022 congressional budget request for nuclear weapons activities this past Friday.

The Virtual Public hearings on the new shaft at WIPP ended last week. Here is a possible timeline.

Monday May 17th begins a 5 day virtual public hearing by the Hazardous Waste Bureau. Plan to be a part of the event!

No DOE employee will testify about the purpose and need for construction of a fifth shaft into the underground mine at WIPP.

When DOE (Department of Energy) gets in a hurry to ship plutonium-contaminated waste, bad things happen.

Celebrating Earth Day and the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, with 3 events.

https://taosenvironmentalfilmfestival.com/

https://tosavetheworld.ca/events-3/?event_id=433

http://www.nuclearban.us/

Why is the Hazardous Waste Bureau processing an incomplete permit modification for WIPP?

A 55-gallon drum of plutonium-contaminated waste had sparks visible and caused an evacuation at LANL! 

Long term waste storage licenses asked to be halted by New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas.

The EPA plans to renew the Clean Water Act permit for LANL, why?

Members of the City of Santa Fe Quality of Life Committee discuss benefits of LANL Regional Communities.

Please help support CCNS with an ongoing contribution. Your tax free support ensures our continued coverage of Nuclear Safety issues affecting our community. 

Thank you.

A new Plutonium pit for a proposed nuclear warhead would be fabricated at LANL. The W-87-1.

Also, proposed expansion of LANL into Santa Fe!

Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

We appreciate any support you can offer.

For more information, visit our website nuclearactive.org

Community Groups Oppose Next WIPP Radiation Release

Get more information at www.nuclearactive.org

Currently LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory is failing to comply with the law. We want to know why.

Visit our website to learn more www.nuclearactive.org

LANL stands for Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Find more information on our website!