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.
SRS Watch News
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 &
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.
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 –
State Department Promises to Drag its Feet in Providing Information on Nuclear Waste from Spain to the U.S. – Re 1966 Palomares Nuclear Weapons Accident that Scattered Plutonium near Palomares, Spain, with Waste Dumped at SRS
U,S. State Department won’t respond until November 2025 to an information request about more nuclear waste that could come to SRS from a nuclear weapons accident in Spain in 1996!
In Response to NNSA’s Refusal to Release Information on Plutonium Pit Aging, SRS Watch Files FOIA Requests
DOE is using “pit aging” as a justification to fabricate new pits for new nuclear weapons. We challenge them to back up their claim with scientific data!
SRS Watch Updates Long String of Public Interest Victories Over Misguided SRS projects
Major Savannah River Site (SRS) Public Interest Victories – For a Cleaner, Safer Site
Stopped operation of the Allied General Nuclear Services (AGNS) reprocessing plant,
SRS Watch Requests Nonproliferation Review of Production of HALEU (Uranium Enriched to 20% U-235)
SRS Watch, in response to a DOE notice that an Environmental Impact Statement would be prepared on production and availability of High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU), has requested that a Nonproliferation Impact Assessment (NPIA) be prepared related to the HALEU program.
DOE’s Spotty Response to FOIA Requests Harms Openness and Transparency: Is DOE Secretary Granholm Paying Attention???
Here are some Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by SRS Watch – which indicate how slow DOE processes FOIA (counter to DOE regulations). Such slow response to FOIA request by public interests groups like SRS Watch undermines public confidence and hurts transparency and openness.
SRS Watch and other ANA Groups Meet with Congressional Staff, Administration Offices, Express Concern about DOE Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Waste Projects
Members of our grassroots network of public-interest groups around DOE sites – the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA), of which SRS Watch is a member – met with the Office of Environmental Management (EM) on April 25 to voice concern about site clean-up issues.
German Federal Government Concurs: Plan to Ship German Spent Fuel to SRS is Dead
German Federal Government Concurs with Termination of Plan to Ship Highly Radioactive Spent Fuel from Germany to U.S. DOE’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina
Decade-long Effort Funded by Germany to Develop Reprocessing Technique at SRS for Irradiated Graphite Fuel has Ended,
SRS Watch submits comments on draft EIS on plutonium “disposition”
Comments by Savannah River Site Watch (SRS Watch) on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program (SPDP EIS) (DOE/EIS–0549:
https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeeis-0549-surplus-plutonium-disposition-program)
27-page comments of SRS Watch posted here: Comments on Pu disposition draft EIS Clements March 16 2023
The comments by SRS Watch,
Silence on German spent fuel import plan remains a black eye on a derelict DOE
The Department of Energy continues to violate a committee made under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by refusing to update the public and the SRS Citizens Advisory Board about the status of the scheme to import,
Crackerneck Wildlife Management Area and Ecological Reserve: SRS Watch visits normally closed nature reserve on SRS
SRS Watch and friends visited the Crackerneck Wildlife Management Area and Ecological Reserve, which is located on the Savannah River Site and only open a few times a year (like Saturdays in March 2023),
SRS Watch files FOIA request on German spent-fuel import plan. Agreement to import spent fuel from German ended February 28, 2023. Is a new agreement in place?
To: Members of the SRS Citizens Advisory Board & the Public
From: Tom Clements, Director, Savannah River Site Watch
Re: Update on DOE plan to import highly radioactive spent fuel from Germany
In a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI),
DOE Dealt Set-back in Court Challenge by Public-Interest Groups of Effort to Fabricate Plutonium Pits (Triggers) for New Nuclear Warheads, Part of Planning for Full-Scale Nuclear War
District Court Denies Department of Energy’s Motion to Dismiss Plutonium Pits Suit
Aiken, SC — In a win for public participation and environmental protection, the United States District Court of South Carolina denied the Department of Energy’s motion to dismiss a 2021 legal action filed by multiple citizen groups.
Secret Cost Estimate Revealed for SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant – Cost of $16.5 Billion Hidden from Public, Underscoring Lack of Openness
Document withheld from Public Reveals DOE Cost Estimate for Plutonium Pit Project at Savannah River Site Hits $16.5 Billion, Over $5 Billion Higher than Current Public Estimate
A key U.S.
Plutonium Pondering: How much SRS plutonium has gone to WIPP? How much plutonium does DOE plan to ship to WIPP? 66 Metric Tons?!
Plutonium Pondering
The Department of Energy must fully reveal how much surplus plutonium it has already sent from the Savannah River Site (SRS) and other DOE sites to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).
Plans to Export German Spent Nuclear Fuel to the Savannah River Site for Processing & Dumping have been Terminated
U.S. DOE Plans to Export German Spent Nuclear Fuel to the Savannah River Site for Processing & Dumping have been Terminated after 10 Years, Yielding Good Outcome for South Carolina
Unsuccessful Effort to Illegally Export Spent Fuel from Germany to SRS Ends in Environmental Victory,
SRS Watch Files more FOIA Requests for MOX “Lessons Learned” and Contractor Performance Reviews
More FOIAs filed by SRS Watch – for MOX lessons learned & NNSA performance reviews
A second Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request has been filed by SRS Watch for “lesson learned”
SRS Watch Rocks Against SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant, at Bonnie Raitt Concert in Savannah
On November 11, 2022, SRS Watch was invited to have an information table at the Bonnie Raitt concert in Savannah, Georgia, one of our favorite venues. To the backdrop of great music –
Time again to rock against new nuclear weapons production at the Savannah River Site!
SRS Watch will be tabling on November 11, 2022 at Johnny Mercer Theater in Savannah,
DOE Official Reveals Costly 6-Month Delay in Proposed SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant (PBP); As Russia, U.S. Threaten Nuclear War the $11.5+ Billion SRS Pit Plant Key to New U.S. Nuclear Weapons and Irresponsible Planning for Full-Scale Nuclear War
DOE Official Heightens Concerns about Controversial Plutonium Bomb Plant at Savannah River Site by Admitting an Additional 6-Month Delay in the Project; Cost Could Jump $375 Million,
Still Building Bombs in South Carolina – Heart of the For-Profit Nuclear Weapons Industry
Key activities in South Carolina keep the state at the heart of the nuclear weapons arms race.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issues Environmental Impact Statement on Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel Plant, Fails to Justify 40-Year Operating License Extension for Troubled Facility
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issues Environmental Impact Statement on Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel Plant, Fails to Justify 40-Year Operating License Extension for Troubled Facility
Columbia,
DOE Faces Amended Complaint in Federal Court over Inadequate Environmental Review of Plutonium Pit Production (for New Nuclear Weapons), at SRS and Los Alamos and other DOE Sites
Lawyers for three public interest groups, at the request of the federal judge in the case, filed an amended complaint on July 11, 2022 against DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) over its plans to expand plutonium pit production for new nuclear weapons..
SRS Watch to Table at Bonnie Raitt Concerts, June 1 & 4, 2022, to Gather Letters Against Proposed SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant
Savannah River Site Watch is excited as we have been asked to have informational tables at the Bonnie Raitt/Lucinda Williams concerts in Charlotte, NC on June 1, 2022 and in Columbia,
Nuclear Weapons Funding Request for DOE, Savannah River Site Takes a Huge Leap in Support of Dangerous, Enduring U.S. Plans to Fight a Full-Scale Nuclear War
SRS Watch news, April 23, 2022: Nuclear Weapons Funding Request for Savannah River Site Takes a Huge Leap in Support of Dangerous, Enduring U.S. Plans to Fight a Full-Scale Nuclear War
SRS to Take a Larger Role in Nuclear Weapons Activities as Funding for SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant Spirals Out of Control,