“Impacts of plutonium pit production at Savannah River Site unveiled”
Savannah Morning News, April 20, 2026
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) released its draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for national production of up to 205 plutonium pits per year (ppy) on April 10.
The two-volume document identifies the half-century potential environmental and health impacts within 50 miles of the nation’s two facilities, the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, SC and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, NM, that process the materials fueling the explosions from nuclear warheads.
In the newly-released PEIS, the NNSA states its preferred approach is to produce up to 80 ppy at LANL and 125 ppy at SRS. The PEIS indicates that impacts would be minimal for wildlife, contamination, workers, radiation to surrounding communities and more. But critics are skeptical.
Photo credit ofcancelled MOX plant, now being repurposed into the SRS Plutonium Bomb Plant: by High Flyer