DOE aims to trade MOX debacle for nuclear weapons production
SRS Watch news release, May 10, 2018 – linked here
Initial DOE Decision Expected on New Nuclear Bomb Plant; “Pit” Production Plant at Savannah River Site would Lead to More Plutonium and Nuclear, Toxic Waste at SRS & Magnify Risks of Arms Race
DOE likely to Name Soon-to-be-Terminated MOX Building at SRS a Lead Contender for “Pit” Job; DOE System-Wide “Environmental Impact Statement” Required to Review Options and their Impacts
Columbia, SC – The U.S. Department of Energy is set to deliver to Congress a controversial report on the siting of new factories to produce plutonium components for nuclear weapons. The report could name the DOE’s Savannah River Site as a target for one of the factories, which would produce the plutonium “pits” – also called cores or triggers – central to individual U.S. nuclear weapons.
“Siting of new factories at SRS or elsewhere to produce the plutonium components of nuclear weapons is a provocative move that will further stimulate a nuclear arms race and result in a host of nuclear waste and toxic waste streams,” said Tom Clements, director of the public interest organization Savannah River Site Watch.
If the troubling and costly pit-production proposal goes forward, a full-blown nation-wide Environmental Impact Statement process will be legally required, with public participation at every step of decision making. While there may be some jobs that come with a plutonium pit plant, the environmental and arms control risks associated with new nuclear bomb facilities are high and will involve careful public review by citizens in South Carolina and elsewhere,” added Clements. “The public in South Carolina will be concerned about management and disposal of the nuclear and chemical waste streams associated with pit production and will likely be alarmed about any plans to dump such waste at SRS.”