For the first time since the 1980s, the U.S. is preparing to mass-produce plutonium pits — the source of nuclear explosions. Most will likely be produced at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina near Augusta, Ga.

A group of nonprofit and watchdog organizations sued the National Nuclear Security Administration in 2021 for failing to produce an adequate environmental impact statement for its plutonium pit production.

In April of this year, NNSA released that statement. But the plaintiffs argue it lacks critical information on whether or not these pits are needed in the first place.

Attorney Benjamin Cunningham of The South Carolina Environmental Law Project representing those groups requested that information from the NNSA last week.

“There’s a question about whether or not the NNSA could just reuse the current pits to avoid making all the new ones,” Cunningham said. “There is a study that we believe was completed last year on pits aging and that has not been released.”

In a press statement released on July 15, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) announced that the NNSA redacted the summary of its congressionally mandated study on the aging of plutonium, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request the UCS submitted.

The public comment period for the environmental impact statement ends after 11:59 p.m. eastern time July 16, and can be sent via email to PitPEIS@nnsa.doe.gov.