The summary “Performance Evaluation Report” (PER) for the nuclear weapons programs at the Savannah River Site confirm that a special “Tiger Team” has reviewed documents for the planning of the proposed SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant and that the team is helping implement new design and cost plans.
“Appalling” and “Abysmal” – “How the Department of Energy addressed Governor McMaster’s and Attorney General Alan Wilson’s conflicting and sometimes harsh opinions regarding the future of surplus plutonium”
“Appalling” and “Abysmal”
By Don Moniak, Aiken County, South Carolina – in The Aiken Chronicles, January 22, 2024
How the Department of Energy addressed Governor McMaster’s and Attorney General Alan Wilson’s conflicting and sometimes harsh opinions regarding the future of surplus plutonium.
DOE Issues Final EIS on Surplus Plutonium Disposition, January 19, 2024
See links below to the Final EIS on Surplus Plutonium Disposition and to the Federal Register notice about that (January 19, 2024). SRS could well be processing 34 metric tons (plus another 6 MT already addressed = 40 MT) of plutonium into transuranic waste (TRU) to be dumped in the Waste Isolation Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico.
Plutonium Waste from Pit Production (for New Nuclear Warheads) may have No Place to Go
“Cold War nuclear waste is prioritized at Carlsbad-area repository. How much is there?”
article in Carlsbad Current Argus, Carlsbad, New Mexico, December 28 2023; with SRS Watch Director Tom Clements
Concerns were raised by government watchdog groups for a plan to dispose of Cold War nuclear waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant repository in southeast New Mexico,
Federal Environmental Lawsuit Against Plutonium Pit Production at SRS, Los Alamos Proceeds, with New Schedule
The federal environmental lawsuit brought by public interest groups asking for the court to order DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to prepare a “Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement”
More Warnings for SRS: Plutonium contamination in New Mexico “Buried secrets, poisoned bodies,” Dec. 20, 2023 article
Buried secrets, poisoned bodies
December 20, 2023 – in Searchlight New Mexico, investigative journalism website (something we unfortunately do not have in South Carolina – all we get is SRS “SubStandard”
Warning to South Carolina & Georgia: As SRS Aims to Ramp Up Plutonium Operations, Los Alamos Suffers Plutonium Fire
Plutonium is flammable, so there will be risks to SRS workers, the environment and public if SRS ever processes plutonium into “pits” for new nuclear warheads, part of the US effort to stoke a new nuclear arms race.
“A New Nuclear Arms Race?” – Proposed SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant a key to the madness of a new nuclear arms race
Proposed SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant a key to the madness of a new nuclear arms race
“A New Nuclear Arms Race?”
article in Defense & Security Monitor, November 15, 2023
As the world faces another full-scale war in the Middle East,
DOE’s Office of Hearings and Appeals Compels the Savannah River Site to Release Key Documents Related to Failed Decade-Long Efforts to Import Highly Radioactive Spent Fuel from Germany
Emails Obtained from the Department of Energy via a Freedom of Information Act request Reveal Frantic Interactions with Germany in Misguided Attempt to Import Highly Radioactive Waste to DOE’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina,
Lawyers for SRS Watch & Allies Deal Blow to DOE Challenge to Admission of Key Documents in Federal Lawsuit concerning New Plutonium “Pits” (Cores) for New Nuclear Warheads
Attorneys for SRS Watch, Nuclear Watch New Mexico and Tri-Valley CAREs, plaintiffs in a federal court case demanding a “programmatic Environmental Impact Statement” (PEIS) on plutonium pit production,
Plutonium Pits for New Nuclear Weapons Trumps Plutonium “Disposal”: DOE Pumps Information from its Black Box to Selected Allies and Not the Public about Delays in Plutonium Disposition
The U.S. Department of Energy has quietly told friends that it’s program to “dispose of” 40 metric tons of surplus weapons plutonium has been delayed 10 years. Search as we might we can find no public information about this.
“U.S. Strategic Posture Commission Ratchets Up Nuclear Arms Race”
From Nuclear Watch New Mexico, a fellow organization with SRS Watch in the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA):
U.S. Strategic Posture Commission Ratchets Up
Nuclear Arms Race
Today,
Was legal fee in lawsuit about plutonium storage at SRS lawful?
Dispute over $75M in legal fees SC attorney general paid to law firms now in judge’s hands
A decision is expected soon on whether to keep alive a lawsuit that questions the right of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson to award $75 million in fees to private attorneys who helped secure $600 million for the state in a dispute involving the Savannah River Site.
“South Carolina nuclear plant gets yellow warning over another cracked emergency fuel pipe”
South Carolina nuclear plant gets yellow warning over another cracked emergency fuel pipe
Small cracks have been found a half-dozen times in the past 20 years.
Nuclear experts raise new concerns about industry-led policy proposals to separate plutonium in Canada
Nuclear experts raise new concerns about industry-led policy proposals to separate plutonium in Canada
(Sept. 25 2023) Twelve internationally recognized nuclear experts have sent an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
Safety Board Underscores Serious Design Concerns with the Proposed SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant
“Are They Already Cutting Corners on Worker Protection at DOE’s New Plutonium Processing Plant?”
CounterPunch, September 11, 2023
As of this past Labor Day,
SRS Watch Engages Public on DOE’s Plans for the SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant, to Manufacture Plutonium “Pits” for New Nuclear Warheads Essential to Plans for Full-Scale Nuclear War
Savannah River Site Watch reached out to attendees at a clean energy festival (https://getoffthegridfest.com/) in Spartanburg, South Carolina on August 19, 2023, to enlist opposition to plans by the Department of Energy &
Activists Against Nuclear War Plans by DOE Appear in Court – Thanks to these Patriots for their Important Work!
The U.S. Department of Energy is central to U.S. plans for full-scale nuclear war. But some patriots are confronting those plans as they pose a threat to all of us .
Nuclear Weapons & Planning for Full-Scale Nuclear War : Zoom Event of August 16, 2023 Archived: “Oppenheimer’s Legacy: South Carolina and SRS at the Center of the New Nuclear Arms Race
Oppenheimer’s Legacy: South Carolina and SRS at the Center of the New Nuclear Arms Race
In case you missed the August 16,
Say What?! DNFSB Reports Leaking, Ignored Uranium Drum in DOE’s Aging H-Canyon Reprocessing Plant at SRS
An often-ignored but important agency – the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) – which conducts oversight of DOE activities reveals that a leaking radioactive drum “believed” to be uranium waste was “discovered”
Recommendation for Spent Fuel Reprocessing Study at SRS Reflects Profound Lack of Understanding, Fails to Move Forward
A draft recommendation before the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board (SRS CAB) to explore reprocessing of commercial spent fuel at SRS is misguided, poorly written and reveals profound ignorance of SRS abilities and the problems associated with reprocessing.
Oppenheimer Legacy: South Carolina, the Center of the New Nuclear Arms Race – Wednesday, August 16, 2023, 7-8:30 p.m. ET, Presentations & Discussion on Zoom
Photo in post: Don’t Dump Rocky Flats Plutonium Pit Production on South Carolina! 1992 at gates of Rocky Flats pit-production facility, nbear Boulder, Colorado, with current SRS Watch director (standing under the center of the billboard,
Federal Judge Sets New Schedule in Or Lawsuit Demanding Full Environmental Review of Plutonium “Pit” Production for New Nuclear Weapons
The federal judge in Columbia, South Carolina has issued a new schedule for the public interest lawsuit asking for preparation of a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) by DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) concerning the plan to produce plutonium pits –
DOE Grants SRS Watch Appeal of FOIA on German Spent Fuel Import – SRS Search “Inadequate”
The DOE’s Office of Hearings and Appeals has decided in favor of SRS Watch and granted our appeal of an inadequate search for documents relevant to our FOIA request related to import and dumping of Ger man spent fuel at SRS.
Barbies Say “No to Nuclear War” and SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant at Showings in Columbia, South Carolina
At showings of the films “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” at The Nickelodeon Theater in Columbia, South Carolina, in July 2023, pink-clad Barbies have been leafletting and engaging film attendees concerning the renewed threat of nuclear war,
Hiroshima Nuclear Bombing Commemoration, August 6, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina & Learn about the Proposed SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant, Key to the New Nuclear Arms Race
Please attend this event in Columbia, South Carolina on August 6, 2023, to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima (uranium bomb) and Nagasaki (plutonium bomb).
Sierra Club Call to Action to Oppose Plutonium “Pit” Production at SRS — Clean-up not build-up!
South Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club: Action alert against plutonium pit production for new nuclear warheads, July 2023:
Call to Action to Oppose Plutonium “Pit” Production —
“Safety Lapses at Los Alamos National Laboratory” – Sadly, such Reporting is Dead when it comes to SRS
While investigative journalism is dead concerning SRS – to the detriment of our democracy – good that it still lives in New Mexico:
“Safety lapses at Los Alamos National Laboratory –
SRS Watch Files Appeal to Inadequate SRS Response to FOIA Request for Documents on the Now-Terminated Scheme to Dump Highly Radioactive German Spent Fuel at SRS
An email provided to SRS Watch in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveals that the German entity notified SRS in October 2022 that the scheme to dump German spent fuel –
Rocky Flats Horror Show: Film about Plutonium Pit Production Disaster in Process – The Plutonium-Contaminated, Closed Rocky Flats Pit-Production Site in Colorado is a Stark Reminder of the Threats of Pit Production at SRS and the Risks of a New Nuclear Arms Race
Plutonium pit production – for the core of nuclear weapons – was an environmental and health disaster at the Rocky Flats plant near Denver, Colorado. Officially closed in 1992,