Mo Charnot
News
Outside of the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in Santa Fe County, a group of protestors stand in a semicircle and sing a parody of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” retitled to “Take Me Out of the Bomb Game.” Some of them brought signs—held in the air, propped up on the ground or, in one case, attached to their hat.
“No more money for weapons of mass destruction,” one reads.
“Ban the bomb,” says another. “Wage peace, not war.”
“No pits!” says a third.
Attendees carried this sentiment throughout a town hall meeting hosted by the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration on July 22, during which heads of the DOE and NNSA spoke on the topic of plutonium pit production at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The meeting focused on providing information and hearing questions and comments from the community on the DOE’s ongoing project to supplement the nation’s pre-existing stock of plutonium pits (a key component of nuclear weapons) with at least 80 per year beginning in fiscal year 2026, with 30 per year produced at LANL and the remaining 50 at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina.
In 2021, a press release from the NNSA estimated the cost for the project, known as LAP4, would be between $2.7-$3.9 billion, with the project expected to complete between 2027 and 2028. Last year, LANL’s budget grew from $3.5 to $4.6 billion, with the vast majority of the funds used for nuclear weapons work.
NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby told attendees the US is prioritizing increased plutonium pit production to “deter” world’s other nuclear powers, namely Russia and China, as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine and China is projected to have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035, she said.
“We do not want an arms race, this administration doesn’t want an arms race, the NNSA doesnt want an arms race. We’re trying to exercise leadership and transparency, but we also can’t sit on our hands,” Hruby said. “The NNSA is being asked to do a lot; more than we’ve been asked to do for a very long time.”
Candice Robertson, who works as a senior advisor in the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, emphasized at the meeting that she believes “community input is paramount to making the most informed decisions.”
Comments from those attending overwhelmingly objected to the project as-is.
Some called to attention a need for a comprehensive environmental cleanup. Santa Fe County Commissioner Anna Hansen said that “cleanup is a priority for New Mexicans,” and that New Mexicans “want complete waste removal to protect groundwater.” Attendee Meredith Maines questioned whether New Mexicans can trust the federal government when they have “never acknowledged the harm” of the 1945 Trinity Test conducted in the desert southeast of Socorro, which has resulted in many New Mexicans developing health issues related to overexposure to radiation, for which they have yet to receive compensation from the federal government.
“I have no trust in what you’re telling me because you have not earned my trust,” Maines said. “You have not cleaned up the damage that has already been done, so if you’re planning more, how can we believe your plan?”
Robertson said the DOE is still working on cleanup around Los Alamos and said they “certainly recognize” the harm to the environment.
“I understand and appreciate the fact that it’s not enough, and not fast enough,” she added.
Cathy Swedlund, who lives in Sapello, shared her experience as someone who grew up downwind of nuclear waste fallout from the now-closed Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado, which used to produce plutonium pits.
“My whole family has cancer, I’ve had cancer twice. I know what it means to live next to nuclear waste. There is no cleanup of nuclear waste,” Swedlund said. “The only answer to any of this is to stop doing it….this is not working towards peace, this is working towards death.”
In response to a further question from Maines about the lack of compensation for downwinders—those affected by nuclear weapons testing—Hruby noted that while President Joe Biden and “many other elected officials” support compensation for downwinders, no bills to compensate downwinders have made it through Congress. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act that would have provided aid to downwinders expired on June 7.
“Until it does, we can’t do anything. We don’t have money to do that,” Hruby said. “It has to be authorized, it has to be appropriated. It’s frustrating; I appreciate your passion on the subject, and we are trying to do it differently.”
Hansen also criticized a lack of investment in local infrastructure as the LANL workforce grows, such as affordable housing.
When another attendee asked how NNSA would do to alleviate housing and commuter traffic impacts on counties surrounding Los Alamos as LANL expands its workforce for the project, Hruby said NNSA does not not plan to continually grow the size of the LANL workforce, and that she believes addressing these issues should be a “joint activity.”
“We need to try to solve this problem so that people can live high quality lives in this area,” Hruby said. “We’re trying to make sure that growth doesn’t continue forever…hopefully the housing can catch up.”
LANL also plans to construct a 14-mile power line that cuts through areas surrounding the Caja Del Rio Plateau to “provide LANL with higher capacity electrical power” necessary for the lab’s planned plutonium pit production, which attendees also expressed disapproval for—particularly representatives from Indigenous communities, as this area is considered to be a culturally and archaeologically sensitive area for nearby pueblos.
Tesuque Pueblo Legal Counsel Jim James criticized the project’s environmental assessment as “inadequate” and “a rush job”, noting that more than 23,000 public comments were submitted in opposition to the project.
“The equal rights of all the Indigenous people here has not been considered,” James said. “There are so many sacred sites all over the place. All of the pueblos—not just in this region, but in other parts of the state—have used those as trading points, have used those as paths to visit friends, relatives and to make pilgrimages to sacred sites. They need to be protected, and they need to be part of that comprehensive cultural review.”
Greg Mello, co-founder and executive director of the nuclear disarmament nonprofit Los Alamos Study Group, urged Hruby and Robertson to stop the power line project entirely, saying, “I’ve never seen a project so negatively thought of by the community. You need to just cancel it.”
Hruby responded that she has heard the criticisms of the power line project “loud and clear,” and says she will need to look at that “in more detail,” as the NNSA is still in the process of receiving feedback from the public. Additionally, she and Robertson noted that they will continue to seek out community input for both the plutonium pit production and power line project.
“We are doing a lot of work here, we want to make sure you understand what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” Hruby said toward the meeting’s end. “I don’t expect we’re all going to agree on those issues, but I do sincerely appreciate that you came out, that you’re willing to express your concerns and your issues.”
