CCNS UpdateMay 06, 2021
Defend New Mexico Water from Fracking Waste Contamination by Proposed Wastewater Reuse Rule
Beginning on Monday, May 13 th , at an in-person and virtual public hearing in
Santa Fe, the New Mexico Environment Department will present its proposal to vastly
expand the reuse of produced water from the production of oil and gas to the New
Mexico Water Quality Control Commission.
Public Comments Needed to Ban Open Burning and Open Detonation of PFAS, Toxic and Carcinogenic Explosive Materials
Did you know the federal Departments of Defense and Energy, NASA and the
private industry sector currently operate more than 60 open burn pits across the U.S.
and its territories – causing the uncontrolled release of PFAS and other toxic chemicals
to the environment?
NNSA Delays Urgent Research on Plutonium “Pit” Aging But Spends Billions on Nuclear Weapons Bomb Cores
This week, CCNS highlights portions of a recent press release by Nuclear Watch
New Mexico, Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (Tri-Valley
CARES), and the Savannah River Site Watch about the National Nuclear Security
Administration (NNSA). Their piece suggests NNSA does not have its priorities straight
in neither producing up-to-date information on the way plutonium appears to age nor
providing this information in a timely manner to the public. The entire press release is
posted at nuclearactive.org
Continuing Safety Problems with New WIPP Shaft
Recent monthly reports by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board relate
disturbing stories about near-miss operational incidents in the fifth shaft, under
construction, at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The underground federal
radioactive waste disposal site is located 2,150 feet below ground surface in a salt
formation almost 30 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico. The Board has reported
broken cables, misaligned transport platforms for workers to reach the underground,
and workers stuck in the new shaft.
Stop Forever WIPP Coalition’s First Annual Plutonium Trail Caravan on Saturday, April 6 th from Camel Rock to Lamy – Join Us!
The Coalition invites you to join the Saturday, April 6 th Caravan in your vehicle at
the Camel Rock geologic formation on the Camel Rock Frontage Road in Tesuque at
9:30 am.
The First Annual Plutonium Trail Caravan is on Saturday April 6 th - Join Us!
Did you know that the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) was supposed to
complete its 25-year waste disposal mission and begin closing on Tuesday, March 26 th ?
You may know about it because WIPP officials had a party.
WIPP Opened 25 Years Ago; It Was Supposed to Close Next Week
Did you know that on Friday, March 26, 1999, the first shipment of plutonium-
contaminated nuclear weapons waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
reached the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)?
Observing the 45th Anniversary of the Worst U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Accident
Thursday, March 28 th marks the 45 th anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear
power plant accident in Pennsylvania. A new documentary, “RADIOACTIVE: The
Women of Three Mile Island,” tells the harrowing story of the 1979 accident involving
the release of radioactive and toxic materials into the air, soils, water and into bodies
young and old.
Public Comments Needed about Protecting Aquifer from Hexavalent Chromium
For twenty years, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has struggled to contain
the cancer-causing hexavalent chromium plume in the regional drinking water aquifer
below the nuclear weapons site. The horizontal and vertical reach of the deep plume
covers an area of unknown size and the depth of the contamination is unknown.
Historic Inter-American Hearing on Impacts to Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights from Uranium Exploitation
Members of Indigenous communities provided testimony to the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights at a historic hearing in Washington, DC this week about
the impacts of uranium exploitation on their human rights.
Los Alamos County Moving Forward with Solar Power in an Amount LANL Says It Needs by 2027
This week, at the same time as the National Nuclear Security Administrative was
requesting public comments about its need for 173 megawatts (MW) of electricity, the
County of Los Alamos Board of Public Utilities was considering a proposal for 170
megawatts from the proposed Foxtail Flats Solar and Battery Energy Storage System in
San Juan County, New Mexico.
Public Comments on LANL Proposed Electrical Line Due on Tuesday, February 20 th
CCNS has prepared talking points and a sample public comment letter you can use
to craft your oral and written comments about the proposed 14-mile long, 115-kilovolt
electrical line across the Caja del Rio before it would cross the Rio Grande to Los
Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
Important Public Meetings Next Week and Public Comment Deadlines
Please mark your calendar to attend one or more of these meetings or submit public comments before the deadlines. Links and more information are available under Did You Know? at nuclearactive.org
February 15 th Public Meeting about the Proposed LANL Electrical Line Across the Caja del Rio
As promised, a second public meeting on the proposed Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) upgrade project to expand electrical power capacity will begin at 4 pm on Thursday, February 15 th at the Santa Fe Community College. The first virtual and in-person public meeting was held at the same location on January 11 th .
February 12 th Public Comments due on “Final” LANL Hexavalent Chromium Plume Remedy
Twenty years ago, the hexavalent chromium plume was discovered in the regional aquifer 1,000 feet below ground surface at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Since then the debate about how to remove the dangerous hexavalent chromium from the regional drinking water aquifer has been ongoing between LANL, the New Mexico Environment Department, and the public.
Bonuses Show LANL Legacy Waste is Not a WIPP Priority
In July 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the Tularosa Basin Range Services, a Bechtel affiliate, a 10-year, $3 billion dollar management and operating contract for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to continue the disposal of Cold War radioactive and hazardous wastes from the fabrication of plutonium-based nuclear weapons.
Events to Commemorate Third Anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Monday, January 22 marks the third anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This year’s focus is the lie of deterrence. For decades policy makers have declared nuclear weapons necessary to deter enemy attacks, all the while ignoring the humanitarian costs of the nuclear arms race and the global devastation promised by the nuclear weapons should deterrence fail.
Public Comment Opportunities about LANL’s “Final Remedy” for the Hexavalent Chromium Plume
In an utterly confusing move, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) released an environmental assessment for public review and comment that claims it contains the final remedy for the cleanup of the hexavalent chromium plume in the regional drinking water aquifer.
Caja del Rio Coalition Requests a 60-Day Extension of Time to Comment about Proposed LANL Electrical Line
On December 19 th , Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) released a draft environmental assessment that would allow the installation and operation of a 14-mile, 115 kiloVolt overhead electrical line basically in parallel to the two electrical lines that already cross the Caja del Rio Plateau and the Rio Grande to the Pajarito Plateau, where LANL is located. It is named the Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade, or EPCU Project. A thirty-day public comment period was announced, ending on Wednesday, January 17 th , 2024.
Request an Extension of Time to Comment about Proposed LANL Electrical Line Across Caja del Rio and Rio Grande
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has a habit of releasing environmental documents requiring public comment during the winter holiday season. That habit continued this winter with not one, but two draft environmental assessments (EA). One involves the hexavalent chromium plume in Mortandad Canyon. The second, and the topic of this Update, is the proposed Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project where an approximately 14-mile, 115 kiloVolt overhead electrical line would be added to the two that already cross the Caja del Rio and the Rio Grande to the Pajarito Plateau, where LANL is located.
Albuquerque Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board Hearing Last Week
An on-going David versus Goliath fight occurred last week during a public hearing before the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board, a board charged to prevent or abate air pollution.
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Meeting Addressed the Insecurity of Nuclear Deterrence
For the first time, an agreement was made by the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to challenge the false narrative of nuclear deterrence. It holds that possession of nuclear weapons will prevent another nation with nuclear weapons from attacking.
LANL Releases Draft Environmental Assessment for a Third Electrical Line to Cross the Caja del Rio and the Rio Grande
Since at least 1999 Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has proposed running an additional 12-mile, 115 kilovolt electrical line to the two that already cross the Caja del Rio and the Rio Grande to the Pajarito Plateau, claiming it needs the additional power line to run its supercomputers.
Global Day of Action Against Nuclear Weapons: Santa Fe Plaza, Sunday, November 26 th at 2 pm
You are invited to join the Global Day of Action Against Nuclear Weapons on Sunday, November 26 th at 2 pm on the Santa Fe Plaza. Come with your friends, family and colleagues and call for an end to nuclear weapons by bringing attention to the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the TPNW.
The Missiles on Our Land: New Research Reveals Growing Risks of America’s Land-Based Nuclear Missiles
What would happen to the fields of amber waves of grain in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana and North Dakota that feed so many, as well as the area’s population, should a concerted nuclear attack occur in those same fields housing silos of intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs?
States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Will Meet at the United Nations to Strengthen the Ban
From Monday, November 27 th to Friday, December 1 st , 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. This will be the second meeting of the States Parties.
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.”
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 6 th at 5 pm Mountain Time.
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.
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.
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 soils.
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.
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 6 th .
United Nations Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Continues to Gather Strength
On Wednesday, September 19 th , 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.
NMED Hybrid Public Meeting on Friday, September 22 nd about Changes to WIPP Operating Permit
Friday, September 22 nd 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.
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).
LANL’s Toxic Hexavalent Chromium Plume Must Remain a Priority
CCNS provided the following response to a recent Santa Fe New Mexican Our View:
“In response to Stop Stalling: Clean up chromium plume, no one is stalling.
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.
CCNS Urges State Legislature to Protect the Española Aquifer from LANL Pollutants
Did you know that in 2008 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
designated the 3,000 square mile Española Basin System as a Sole Source Drinking Water Aquifer? One ongoing concern is that Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) sits on its western edge, near the Valles Caldera. And a recent dispute between the New Mexico Environment Department and the Department of Energy about the LANL hexavalent chromium plume, which is being pushed deeper into the regional drinking water aquifer, highlights the need for state agencies to have the resources to protect it.
Hexavalent chromium is a known human carcinogen.
Join the Continuation of Dr. King’s Work at 60 th Anniversary of March on Washington in Albuquerque on Saturday, August 26 th
On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 peaceful demonstrators from across the United States of America joined together for the first March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. They came together to demand voting rights and equal opportunity for African Americans and to appeal for an end to racial segregation and discrimination.
Medical Journals Issue Urgent Call for Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
More than 100 medical journals, including the Lancet, the British Medical Journal, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the JAMA, have issued a joint call for urgent steps to decrease the growing danger of nuclear war and to move rapidly to the elimination of nuclear weapons. At a time of expanded fighting in Ukraine and increased tensions in Korea, leaders of the global health community underscore that any use of nuclear weapons would be catastrophic for humanity.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki Commemorative Events: The Forgotten Bomb Documentary, Inaugural Albu(r)querque Peace Festival and Gathering at Ashley Pond
Near the end of World War II, on August 6 th , 1945, the United States dropped a uranium atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, the United States dropped a plutonium atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. To acknowledge the harm done in the development, testing and use of the atomic bombs by the United States, two events are taking place on Saturday, August 5 th in Albuquerque and one event on
Wednesday, August 9 th in Los Alamos. For more information or to find similar
commemorative events in your area, please see the Physicians for Social Responsibility
website at psr.org.
Archdioceses of Santa Fe and Seattle Delegation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A delegation from the Archdioceses of Santa Fe and Seattle is embarking on a transformative Pilgrimage of Peace to the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Akita, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, from July 31 to August 12, 2023. The delegation comprises Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, and Most Reverend Paul D. Etienne, Archbishop of Seattle, along with representatives from various organizations and archdiocesan offices dedicated to nuclear disarmament and social justice. Funding for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe delegation is strictly through grants and personal contributions; no funds from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe are being used.
Announcing the Inaugural Albu(r)querque Peace Festival on Saturday, August 5 th at Roosevelt Park
Rain or shine, please join diverse organizations and individuals at the
Inaugural Albu(r)querque Peace Festival on Saturday, August 5 th from 2 to
6 pm at Roosevelt Park for music, speakers, informational tables and food
trucks.. The Albu(r)querque Peace Festival is an effort by multiple
organizations to bring attention to the danger of nuclear weapons, the
horror of nuclear war, and promote efforts toward longstanding peace
locally, nationally, and globally.
Sunday, July 16 th Vigil to Commemorate the 1945 Trinity Nuclear Test in New Mexico
You are invited to come to a free in-person and live stream public vigil entitled “From Reflection to Action: An Interfaith Remembrance of the Trinity Test” on Sunday, July 16 th from 4 to 6 pm at Santa Maria de la Paz Church at 11 College Avenue in Santa Fe. The vigil will commemorate the 78 th year since the detonation of the first atomic weapon, called The Gadget, at the Trinity Test Site in south central New Mexico and provide you with tools to work for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. Doors open at 3:15 pm so you may view exhibits and visit with representatives of local organizations, including CCNS.
Local Groups to Host Interfaith Vigil to Commemorate July 16, 1945 Trinity Nuclear Test in New Mexico
To commemorate the 78 th anniversary of the first detonation of an atomic weapon
at the nearby Trinity Test Site, the complete elimination of nuclear weapons must be
prioritized. A free in-person and livestreamed public event entitled “From Reflection to
Action: An Interfaith Remembrance of the Trinity Test” will be held at the Santa Maria de
la Paz Community Hall in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Sunday, July 16 th from 4 to 6 pm.
Doors open at 3:15 pm so you may view exhibits on nuclear issues and visit with
representatives of local organizations.
CCNS and NMED Negotiate Settlement Agreement for the WIPP Hazardous Waste Renewal Permit
CCNS and five other non-governmental organizations and one individual
successfully negotiated a settlement agreement last week to revise the draft ten-year
hazardous waste renewal permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Also at the
table were the New Mexico Environment Department and the co-Permittees, the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) and Salado Isolation Mining Contractors, LLC (SIMCO).
Please Contribute to CCNS This Summer! Together We Are Making a Difference!
Each week you depend on CCNS to provide you with the latest nuclear safety
issues through the radio, on the internet and by email. We’ve been producing the
weekly CCNS News Update for over 35 years! We need your financial support to keep
our programs going.
Communities for Clean Water Urge LANL to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Hexavalent Chromium Plume
Los Alamos National Laboratory plans to prepare an environmental assessment
to address the hexavalent chromium contamination in the deep regional drinking water
aquifer. In comments submitted this week, the Communities for Clean Water
recommended that LANL conduct a more detailed environmental impact statement in
order to protect the regional drinking water aquifer and the Environmental Protection
Agency-designated Española Basin Sole Source Aquifer from the migrating
contamination.
Saturday, June 10 th Forum “Radioactive Contamination, Environment and Public Health and the Future of the Portsmouth Nuclear Site”
You are invited to join the Ohio Nuclear Free Network for its important virtual public forum, Radioactive Contamination, Environment and Public Health and the
Future of the Portsmouth Nuclear Site, on Saturday, June 10 th beginning at 10:45 am Mountain Time. The in-person and virtual forum offers an opportunity to
learn from world-renowned experts about contamination at the Piketon, Ohio site and at
Department of Energy (DOE) sites across the country.
Public Comments Needed for the Scope of Sandia National Laboratory Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement
CCNS has prepared sample public comments you can modify about the scope of a new draft site-wide environmental impact statement for Sandia National
Laboratories in New Mexico. Comments may be submitted electronically to SNL-
SWEIS@nnsa.doe.gov through Monday, June 5 th , 2023.
G7 Summit in Hiroshima Fails to Contribute Meaningfully to Nuclear Disarmament
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: