Challenges Facing Host of Savannah River Site Projects in 2021; SRS Must Strive to Better Serve Public
Proposed and Unjustified SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant (PBP),
NNSA’s “Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan” – Bring on the Nukes, Increase the Threats to Our Security & Hand Over the Cash!
“NNSA Nuclear Plan Shows More Weapons, Increasing Costs, Less Transparency”
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) new Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan (SSMP) doubles the number of new nuclear warhead programs compared with the previous plan from 2019.
Unjustified $R$ Plutonium Bomb Plant, Dangerous New Nuclear Warhead Programs to Face Strong Opposition in 2021
“Under Trump, the nuclear weapons industry has boomed – Expansion could be scaled back as President-elect Biden and Congress prioritize pandemic and recession problems.”
Article on Versatile Test Reactor (aka Virtual Test Reactor) – Given Cost & Risks How Long Can this Project Last?
SRS Watch in “DOE publishes reactor impact statement”
Idaho Falls Post Register, December 21, 2020
“The U.S. Department of Energy has released the draft environmental impact statement for a test reactor it would like to build at Idaho National Laboratory.”
DOE Funding Document Posted as Part of Omnibus Process, December 21, 2020
Congress has finally posted funding language for Fiscal Year 2021.
Full Omnibus bill: https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/BILLS-116HR133SA-RCP-116-68.pdf
Division D – Energy & Water funding:
https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20201221/BILLS-116RCP68-JES-DIVISION-D.pdf
page 108
Plutonium Pit Production.-The agreement reiterates House direction regarding plutonium pit production and clarifies that the plan to complete a resource-loaded integrated master schedule shall include all pit production-related project and program activities that shall provide additional details within high-level milestones for projects based on GAO best practices.
Draft EIS Reveals New DOE Reactor Would Bring 30 Metric Tons of Plutonium to SRS for Fuel Fabrication – VTR Must be Rejected
DOE Announces Release of Draft EIS on Versatile Test Reactor (VTR); Lacking Justification and Due to Proliferation Risks, VTR Project Must Not Go Forward – SRS Watch news,
Why the Continuous DOE Silence about Problems with SWPF Start-up at SRS?
DOE needs to fully reveal what’s going on with the start-up of the new high-level waste processing facility – Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) – at SRS.
Doubts Grow about Unjustified Plutonium Bomb Plant (PBP) at SRS: “‘Highly skeptical’: House Armed Services chairman concerned about SRS pit production”
Unjustified Plutonium Bomb Plant (PBP) proposed for SRS faces new challenges from key member of US House
News article in Charleston (South Carolina) Post &
DOE Announces Plan to Prepare EIS on Disposition 34 Metric Tons of Surplus Plutonium, Key Role for SRS
“Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program” – Federal Register on December 16, 2020
“Public scoping” comment period begins December 16,
Chairman of House Armed Services Committee Casts Doubt on SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant, Calls MOX “Close to White Collar Crime”
Chairman of House Armed Services Committee Reveals Great Skepticism in NNSA’s Ability to Covert SRS MOX Facility to Plutonium Pit Production, Refers to $6 Billion Project as Potential “Rat Hole”
Representative Adam Smith Asserts that Failed Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Project at SRS is “Pretty Close to White Collar Crime”
The powerful chairman of the House Armed Services Committee,
The Courage of Greenpeace Needed to Confront Push for New Nuclear Arms Race and Proposed $R$ Plutonium Bomb Plant (PBP)
Peace Train: Greenpeace brings half-century of sheer courage
The environmental nonprofit organization’s many voyages have made a mark on nuclear testing sites
Boulder (Colorado) Daily Camera,
Safety Board names degraded SRS facilities, cites DOE for “erosion in DOE’s nuclear safety framework”
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety (DNSB) is an independent agency providing invaluable oversight of DOE operations. A recent report on recommendations by the board points out numerous shortcomings by DOE in its operations.
Nuclear Ship Savannah, Docked in Baltimore, Still Contains Radioactive Material – First Commercial Nuclear-Powered Ship did Not Pave the Way to the Future
The Nuclear Ship Savannah, the world’s first commercial nuclear powered ship, remains at dock in Baltimore Maryland and awaits being fully decommissioned and possibly turned into a museum.
Safety Board Affirms Elevated Radiation Levels in New High-Level Waste Facility at SRS, DOE Remains Mum
The Defense Nuclear facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has confirmed that a potential radiation exposure concern is present in the newly started Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). SRS Watch was alerted about this problem about two months ago but DOE has kept it on the down low.
Helping inform the Public about SRS: BREDL Podcast on Savannah River Site, with the SRS Watch Director
“Everything You Need to Know About the Savannah River Site (SRS)”
Want to learn about SRS? Listen to this BREDL podcast with the SRS Watch director,
US NRC Analyzes SRS High-Level Waste Tank “Closure,” Makes Recommendations to DOE
As SRS aims to fill more high-level waste tanks with “grout,” the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission submits an analysis on the approach DOE took with in-situ tank closure of Tank 12H.
Photos of Three Failed Nuclear Construction Projects in GA, SC Released: MOX (Proposed for Plutonium Bomb Plant), Vogtle & VC Summer Reactor Construction
New Aerial Photos Released of the Trio of Failed Nuclear Projects in South Carolina & Georgia: Plutonium Fuel/MOX (Proposed to be Converted into a Plutonium Bomb Plant) and the Vogtle &
SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant to be Reviewed by Biden Administration – Article in The State, Columbia, South Carolina
“Is jobs-rich nuclear plant in jeopardy? Biden expected to re-examine SC factory”
The State, Columbia, South Carolina, November 27, 2020
Earlier this month, efforts to build a jobs-rich nuclear weapons component factory in South Carolina reached a milestone that boosters hoped would keep construction plans on track over the next decade.
New Aerial Photos, by “High Flyer,” Released of V.C. Summer Nuclear Reactor Construction Debacle on Heels of Fraud Agreement by Former SCANA CEO
New Aerial Photos of VC Summer Nuclear Construction Site Obtained Day After Former SCANA CEO Agrees to Plead Guilty to Fraud for His Role in Failed Nuclear Reactor Construction Project;
HOT NEWS! Former SCANA Nuclear Boss Pleads Guilty to Fraud for Nuclear Reactor Construction Debacle in South Carolina!
“Nuclear fiasco: SCANA ex-CEO to plead guilty to fraud, get prison, pay $5 million”
The State, Columbia, SC, November 24, 2020
article linked here: https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article247398515.html
Kevin Marsh plea agreement,
An initial take: Two dodgy characters close to the Biden transition merit in-depth investigation
An initial take: Two dodgy characters close to the Biden transition merit in-depth investigation
Check out this quick comment about Mignon Clyburn and Ernest Moniz –
Strontium Waste Arriving in Port of Charleston, SC, to be Trucked Cross Country for Dumping by DOE in Area 5 at Nevada National Security Site
Ship Carrying Radioactive Waste (Stronium-90) from France to Arrives in Charleston, SC
Three U.S.-Supplied Strontium-Bearing Electricity Generators to be Trucked to Nevada to by Dumped in Ground-Level Trench in Area 5 at the Nevada National Security Site;
SRS Again Fails to Accurately Inform Public about Status of Startup of Key High-Level Waste Facility (SWPF)
Safety Board Notes “Hard Shutdown” of the Key Cesium-Removal Step during Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) Startup; For Second Time, DOE Failed to Publicly Reveal Operational Problems with SWPF,
Stronium-90 Headed from France to US on Pacific Heron, via Port of Charleston, SC to Disposal in Nevada
Ship Carrying Radioactive Waste (Stronium-90) from France to Arrive in Charleston, SC around Nov. 16; Three U.S.-Supplied Strontium-Bearing Electricity Generators to be Trucked to Nevada to DOE Nuclear Waste Dump;
SRS has been Irresponsibly Silent on High-Level Waste Facility “Hot Commissioning” but Problems Confirmed by DOE Oversight Board (DNFSB) and Not DOE
Safety Board Confirms Rumors about Problems with Start Up of Salt Waste Processing Facility at Savannah River Site; DOE-SRS has Refused to Provide an Update on Status of the Facility until after the SRS Watch News Release – Why?
Will New DOE Appointees Jettison the Destructive Fraidy-Cat Policy of Refusing to Meet with Public Interest Groups?
For the last four year, DOE officials have been shaking in their fraidy-cat boots and have refused to meet with public interest organizations working on SRS and DOE issues.
NNSA Administrator – US DOE Nuclear Weapons Boss – Jumps Ship Post-Election or Fired? November 6, 2020
National Nuclear Security AdministrationU.S. Department of EnergyFor Immediate ReleaseFriday, Nov. 6, 2020Contact: NNSA Public Affairs, (202) 586-7371 or nnsanews@nnsa.doe.gov
Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty Resigns as NNSA Administrator
Dr.
DOE’s Formal Decision to Pursue Plutonium Bomb Plant at SRS Draws Immediate Criticism, Faces Potential Legal Challenge
Savannah River Site Watch, Nuclear Watch New Mexico (Santa Fe, NM) and Tri-Valley CAREs (Livermore, California) news, November 5, 2020: DOE Issues Controversial Decision to Pursue a Plutonium Bomb Plant (PBP) at Savannah River Site (SRS);
ALLIANCE FOR NUCLEAR ACCOUNTABILITY (ANA) TOP TEN LIST PRIORITIES FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS COMMUNITIES for NEXT ADMINISTRATION and CONGRESS
“THE ALLIANCE FOR NUCLEAR ACCOUNTABILITY (ANA) TOP TEN LIST PRIORITIES FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS COMMUNITIES”
Advice of ANA – SRS Watch is a member –
Secretary of Energy Brouillette Thumbs Nose at Concerns Over Plutonium and Nuclear Waste Management at SRS – Why? Too Busy Traveling and Endlessly Putting Out News Releases?
The focus these days of Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette seems to be putting out as many news releases as possible about his travels and money that DOE is doling out.