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Tri-Valley CAREs in the news lately...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Livermore lab fails terror test By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Contra Costa Times
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_9251321?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com Lawrence Livermore Laboratory's protective force failed to deter a mock terrorist attack during a recent security drill, according to a Time magazine report online Monday.
During the simulated night-time attack several weeks ago, a team posing as terrorists was able to defeat the lab's defenses and get hold of their target of pretend nuclear material, according to unnamed sources.
"Failing an exercise like a mock terrorist attack highlights serious and unacceptable security shortcomings," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Alamo. "I have insisted that the plutonium housed at Livermore b... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Security Flaws Exposed at Nuke Lab By: Adam Zagorina
Published In: Times Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1739535,00.html "The fissile material simply cannot be made safe and secure," says Marylia Kelley, executive director of Tri-Valley CARES, a Livermore nuclear weapons watchdog group. "We in the community, which has 81,000 people, want to get rid of the plutonium and highly enriched uranium as soon as possible."... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Radioactive Report Card By: Staff
Published In: Independent
Tri-Valley CAREs is in Washington, DC this week to release a "Radioactive
Report Card" grading U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons
policies during the George W. Bush years and laying out a new and different
agenda for the next administration to follow.
The group urged members of Congress and agency officials to press for an
end to nuclear weapons development and to recommend funding be used instead
for environmental cleanup and other programs. There will be a request to
stop funding the Reliable Replacement Warhead.
The Tri-Valley CAREs team will be ... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tickets Benefit Tri-Valley CAREs By:
Published In: Independent
Legendary singer-guitarist Bonnie Raitt, a nine-time Grammy winner and Rock
and Roll Hall of Famer, and her band will be performing at the Wente
Vineyards on September 2. Fourth and fifth row seats to benefit the
Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs.
The Gold and Silver Circle VIP tickets are located in the Orchestra Section
in Rows D and E. Gold Circle are $300 and include the show and a backstage
visit with Bonnie. Silver Circle are $200. The proceeds from these special
Gold and Silver seats will support Tri-Valley CAREs' efforts to stop
further research on nuclea...
Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Rule means sick workers get help faster By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Contra Costa Times
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_8780787?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
Former Lawrence Livermore Laboratory workers who became ill from on-the-job exposure to radiation will now have their compensation claims fast-tracked through the Department of Labor.
"While this designation is certainly a step in the right direction, I'm concerned that many people are being left out," said Rob Schwartz, staff attorney for lab watchdog group Tri-Valley CAREs. "For instance, employees who worked in administrative areas will not be covered" by the new rule....
Click here to read the full article.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Lab releases new shipment of plutonium By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Contra Costa Times
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_8727077?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com Another shipment of weapons-grade nuclear material has made its way out of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, the National Nuclear Security Administration reported Thursday.
ut critics contend that it isn't safe now and could all be safely removed two or three years earlier.
"The plutonium is vulnerable today to a catastrophic release in an earthquake or terrorist attack," said Marylia Kelley of Tri-Valley CAREs at a public hearing last week on the National Nuclear Security Administration's plan to revamp the nuclear weapons complex. "It can be taken out by 2010 safely."
The a... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Plan to change nuclear labs draws skepticism By: David Perlman
Published In: SF Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/20/BAD1VMRF5.DTL&hw=perlman&sn=001&sc=1000 Marylia Kelley, the organization's executive director, brought technical diagrams of weapons-related buildings at the Livermore lab that would be altered under the plan, and argued that the Nuclear Security agency is concealing its intention to retain there dangerous inventories of tritium - the crucial radioactive fuel for hydrogen bombs. She said the agency should move immediately to get rid of all its tritium, plutonium and uranium rather than wait. Those elements, she maintained, have already polluted the environment perilously throughout the town of Livermore.
Long-range plans to t... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Proposed nuclear overhaul draws flak By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Contra Costa Times
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_8635915?nclick_check=1 Plans to overhaul the nuclear weapons complex were met by resistance from the public at a hearing in Livermore on Wednesday.
More than 50 people signed up to make oral comments after the presentation, the majority of which expressed their opposition to nuclear weapons.
Beverly King, Livermore, member of Tri-Valley CAREs
"I was 15 when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. It was a terrible shock. We should never do it again. We should have learned the lesson, never, never, never again."... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Nation's nuclear option By: Danielle MacMurchy
Published In: Tracy Press
http://tracypress.com/content/view/13960/2242/ The Department of Energy could stop open-air bomb tests at Site 300 under a plan for the nation's nuclear weapons complex. But some activists who showed up at a meeting in Tracy were not impressed.
Groups like Western States Legal Foundation, Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility and Tri-Valley CAREs set up information booths and lined the room with photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb victims.
“There’s no such thing as a safe nuclear weapon,” said Jacqueline Cabasso, executive director of Western States, a nuclear weapons watchdog that says the plan would really ... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
America's nuclear program gets a makeover By: Laura Anthony
Published In: ABC 7
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=6026724 LIVERMORE, CA (KGO) -- This week, you'll have the chance to tell the Department of Energy what you think about a plan to re-make the nation's nuclear weapons facilities.
But those who oppose nuclear weapons of any kind say "complex transformation" is just another term for something else.
Marylia Kelley is executive director of "Tri-Valley Cares," the citizens' watchdog group that's full-time mission is to keep a close eye on Lawrence Livermore.
"In fact, complex transformation, or "bombplex" will revitalize the infrastructure of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex in order t... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, March 17, 2008
A closer look at Lab nukes By: Danielle MacMurchy
Published In: Tracy Press
http://tracypress.com/content/view/13948/2242/ The public is invited to speak out for or against a new nuclear weapons complex proposed by the National Nuclear Security Administration at a public hearing Tuesday.
Marylia Kelley with Tri-Valley C.A.R.E.s calls the new plan, dubbed “complex transformation,” a thin disguise to build new nuclear weapons.
“Their plan is to rebuild and modernize about 25 million square feet of nuclear weapons factories across the country,” said Kelley, who will host a table at Tuesday’s meeting. “Do people want to see a nuclear weapons complex that’s rebuilt and turns out new nuclear weapons, or do... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Changes Coming to Livermore Lab By:
Published In: KCBS
http://www.kcbs.com/pages/1837084.php? LIVERMORE, Calif. (KCBS) -- Department of Energy officials this week are coming to Alameda County to explain their plans to streamline the nation's nuclear-weapons program. The changes could mean staff reductions at Lawrence Livermore National Lab.
But lab critics say the reliable replacement warhead program could lead to an arms race.
”We’re going to be recommending that Livermore Lab could have a wonderful future as a green lab, as a laboratory dedicated to solving problems like global warming,” said Marylia Kelley with the anti-nuclear proliferation group Tri-Valley CARE's.Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Public input sought on lab overhaul By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Contra Costa Times
http://www.trivalleycares.org/news/addnewevent.asp The Department of Energy's plan to revamp nuclear weapons work at eight sites across the country including Lawrence Livermore Laboratory will be open for public comment at three hearings this week.
Marylia Kelley of the citizens group Tri-Valley CAREs in Livermore is pleased that the nuclear weapons complex will be smaller, but she is opposed to the Department of Energy's plan to update the stockpile with a new "reliable replacement warhead." Congress cut the funding for the warhead for 2008, but the 2009 budget request includes $40 million
for the program.
"The DOE's 'Comple... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Anti-nuke activists sue lab over testing By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Oakland Tribune
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_8543534?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com A nuclear watchdog group filed suit Monday to stop Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from operating a Biosafety Level 3 lab that conducts research on deadly pathogens such as anthrax, bird flu and West Nile virus.
Livermore-based Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environments' lawsuit claims the Department of Energy began work at the lab without a full environmental impact statement that assesses the potential for a terrorist attack and without the required public comment process. ... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Group sues to halt biosafety laboratory By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Contra Costa Times
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_8531028?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com Livermore-based Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment's lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco claims that the Department of Energy began work at the lab without a full Environmental Impact Statement that assesses the potential for a terrorist attack and without the required public comment process.
"The DOE has refused to do an adequate analysis of the risks posed by this biowarfare research facility," said Marylia Kelley, executive director of Tri-Valley CAREs. "And the risks are extreme."
In addition to being an attractive target for terrorist... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Group sues to halt Livermore microbe research By: David Perlman
Published In: SF Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/11/BALOVHBPM.DTL&hw=perlman&sn=001&sc=1000 An anti-nuclear group filed suit in federal court in San Francisco on Monday, seeking to halt operations at a high-security Livermore laboratory building where scientists are storing and growing deadly microbes to develop new defenses against terrorist attacks.
The suit charges the facility with violating the National Environmental Policy Act because work began there without required environmental impact assessments being filed.
However, Marylea Kelley, executive director of Tri-Valley CARES, explained that the agreement means the Livermore facility has agreed to limit animal tes... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Lab Short of Funds For Clean-up Effort By:
Published In: The Independent
Full funding to clean-up contaminated groundwater and soil at the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory was left out of this fiscal year's budget.
The fiscal year began Oct. 1. Marylia Kelley, executive director of Tri-Valley CAREs, said she has been
working with local Congressional representatives in Washington. She said
she has gotten a positive response. However, funding can't be approved
without a reprogramming request from DOE. Along with the request, DOE would
have to provide the rational behind it. "It's a pretty straightforward
rational. I'm confident Con... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Bioterror Agent Mishandled at 254 Labs During Test By: Betsy Mason
Published In: NTI
http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2008_1_30.html#E3587241 “I’m convinced that this laboratory poses a serious threat to health and safety,” said organization head Marylia Kelley, who said that Livermore scientists should study the pathogens at the Centers for Disease Control rather than their home base... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Testing for deadly pathogens to begin in Livermore By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Oakland Tribune
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_8107870 A newly constructed laboratory equipped to handle deadly airborne pathogens such as anthrax, bird flu and West Nile virus began operating Friday at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.... Click here to read the full article.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Livermore Laboratory Opens High-Security Research Facility By: ANGELICA DONGALLO
Published In: Daily Cal
http://www.dailycal.org/article/100147/livermore_laboratory_opens_high-security_research_ Yet Tri-Valley CAREs, an anti-nuclear development community group based in Livermore, has scrutinized the department for what they said was a safety hazard for the lab's surrounding communities, including Berkeley.
"My biggest concern is the health and safety of the community surrounding Livermore Lab," said Marylia Kelley, executive director of Tri-Valley CAREs. "In the event of an accident, leak, spill or terrorist attack, this facility puts our lives at risk."
... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Decision a win for sick lab workers By: Betsy Mason
Published In: San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7920923?nclick_check=1 Former Lawrence Livermore Laboratory workers who became sick from exposure to radiation won a victory Tuesday when a petition to speed up compensation claims was recommended for approval.
The recommendation by an advisory board covers all workers who were at the lab, or at the lab's Site 300 near Tracy, for 250 or more days from 1950 to 1973 in any area that was monitored for radiation exposure or areas that should have been monitored.
"The board's recommendation is an important step toward sick workers from Livermore lab receiving the compensation they so justly deserve," said ... Click here to read the full article.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Congresswoman can take the heat By: Lisa Vorderbrueggen
Published In: Contra Costa Times
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_7896721?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com&nclick_check=1 Tauscher also earns mixed reviews from one of the most vocal federal laboratory watchdog and anti-nuclear organizations, Tri-Valley Communities Against a Nuclear Environment. Tauscher has two national laboratories in her district, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia, which play a key research role in the U.S. nuclear weapons program.
The group's executive director, Marylia Kelley, says Tauscher gets high marks for her support of a resource center for federal employees sickened by exposure to radioactivity and toxic materials. She also says Tauscher helped eliminate funding for the developmen... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, December 10, 2007
People must oppose scary new bio-lab By: Beverly King, Tri-Valley CAREs board member
Published In: Contra Costa Times
As your newspaper recently reported, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory caused an anthrax release when shipping more than 4,000 vials of the pathogen to Florida and Virginia. Two anthrax vials had missing lids and a third was not properly secured. The accident occurred in 2005, but the information was not made public. Fortunately, this carefully held secret was exposed in 2007. Lab management was fined $450,000 as these shipments violated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regulations and exposed workers to danger. The Department of Energy plans a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
More Nuclear Weapons By: Martha Priebat, Letter to the Editor
Published In: Indepenent, Livermore
I recently attended a meeting that discussed the National Nuclear Security Administration plans to build new nuclear weapons. This plan stands in defiance of the international nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which the United States is signatory.
I ask: Do we need new nuclear weapons? Our scientists tell us the current arsenal will remain reliable for a minimum of 100 years — or longer. So, we must conclude that new nuclear weapons are not needed.
In addition, the development and production of these new weapons will contaminate the environment, adding to the already known con... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Lab Fined $450,000 for Anthrax Incident By: Independent Staff
Published In: The Livermore Independent
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has reached a $450,000 settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The agreement concerns violations of the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) select agent regulations and involves errors in two shipments of bacillus anthracis dating back to September 2005.
It was the largest fine levied in recent history by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Tri-Valley CAREs has submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to federal agencies seeking ... Click here to read the full article.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Lab fined $450,000 for mishandling anthrax By: Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
Published In: San Franciso Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/07/BA6RSLIUB.DTL A former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist who lacked proper credentials sent off an uninspected package containing two open vials of deadly pathogen anthrax across the country in 2005, triggering a $450,000 federal fine against the lab, authorities say.
The scientist, who resigned her post at the Livermore lab after the incident, left the twist caps off two containers and a loose cap on a third vial in a 1,025-vial shipment to Palm Beach, Fla., in September 2005, according to the findings of a federal agency's review that led to the fine.
The lab in Florida then o... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Livermore Lab Fined for Mailing Anthrax Vials By: Jason Kobely, Internet News Producer
Published In: News 10 ABC
LIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) -- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been fined $450,000 after a federal agency found that a former scientist sent two open vials of anthrax across the country two years ago.
The Department of Transportation found that the employee lacked proper credentials when she sent a shipment with more than 1,000 vials of the deadly pathogen to a laboratory in Palm Beach, Florida.
The scientist resigned from her job after the incident.
Two workers at the Florida lab may have been exposed when the anthrax shipment was opened without proper precautions. ... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Livermore Lab fined for shipping open vials of anthrax to Florida By: Staff
Published In: Associated Press
LIVERMORE – Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been fined $450,000 after a federal agency found that a former scientist sent two open vials of anthrax across the country two years ago.
The employee lacked proper credentials when she sent a shipment with 1,025 vials of the deadly pathogen to a laboratory in Palm Beach, Fla. in September 2005, according to the Department of Transportation's review.
The scientist, who resigned from her job after the incident, had left the twist caps off two containers and a loose cap on a third vial, the agency found. Two workers at the Flor... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Livermore Lab Fined $450K For Anthrax Indiscretion By: Staff
Published In: NBC 11
Officials Say Worker Sent 2 Open Vials Across Country In 2005
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was fined $450,000 after a federal agency found that a former scientist sent two open vials of anthrax across the country two years ago.
The employee lacked proper credentials when she sent a shipment with 1,025 vials of the deadly pathogen to a laboratory in Palm Beach, Fla. in September 2005, according to the Department of Transportation's review.
The scientist, who resigned from her job after the incident, had left the twist caps off two containers a... Click here to read the full article.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Improper Shipment of Anthrax in 2005 earned the Lawrence Livermore Nat By: Jennifer Wadsworth
Published In: Tracy Press
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories was fined $450,000 for failure to properly prepare a package of anthrax shipped across the country in 2005.
The Department of Health and Human Services levied the fine against the laboratories on Sept. 24 for failure to comply with packaging laws, and for erroneous paperwork when they mailed vials of anthrax to bio labs in Virginia and Florida two years ago. Federal investigators publicly announced the fine Thursday at a Congressional hearing.
The fine was the biggest of the 11 issued since 2003 by the inspector general.
Vials of an... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Livermore Lab's Future Sparks Anxiety By: Cornell Barnard
Published In: News 10
Next month the U.S. Department of Energy will release its anticipated plan called Complex 2030. The plan will detail how Livermore Lab and other federal sites across the U.S. will store plutonium and develop new nuclear weapons over the next 30 years.
The lab reportedly wants to build a new plutonium pit production facility for producing bomb cores.
"The government doesn't need a new pit facility to manufacture nukes," said Marylia Kelly with Tri Valley CARES, a lab watchdog group.
The lab says the restructuring does not pose a danger or a threat to neighbors in the valley... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Warhead replacement policy a threat By: Beverly King, Tri-Valley CAREs board member
Published In: Tri-Valley Herald
Complex 2030 is the Department of Energy's policy to replace every nuclear warhead in our nuclear stockpile. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is designing the first of these weapons in a program called Reliable Replacement Warhead, a benign name for a dangerous venture. The policy is against the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty our country has signed. More nuclear materials are a threat to the environment at a staggering cost of $150 billion. When we create more nukes, we give excuses for other nations to do likewise, an international danger. Deterioration of the environment and people's... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Livermore lab to ship 'non pit' plutonium By: Jonathan Curiel
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
In a move it says will lead to cost savings and improved security, the Department of Energy announced plans on Wednesday to take hundreds of containers of "non-pit" plutonium from Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and two other nuclear facilities, and transport them for storage to South Carolina.
An anti-nuclear group in Livermore said the plan belies the fact that more dangerous plutonium will be sent to Lawrence Livermore Lab in the coming years - shipments that will make the Bay Area facility even more vulnerable to accidents and security breaches.
Using convoys of trucks guarde... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Lab will get rid of excess plutonium By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Contra Costa Times
• LIVERMORE: DOE officials plan to send 3,000 containers of element to South Carolina facility by 2010 Livermore Lab's surplus plutonium is set to be moved to South Carolina by 2010. The Department of Energy announced plans Wednesday to consolidate 3,000 coffee-can sized canisters of surplus plutonium at its Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.
"It's in our best interests, certainly from a security standpoint, to consolidate as much plutonium as possible," said DOE spokesman John Belluardo. The radioactive element is used to make fission cores for nuclear bombs.
Nearly... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
HER VOICE: Public Health Intern Sheyda Sabetan By: Sheyda Sabetan
Published In: The Independent
Lab Clean-Up
Sheyda Sabetan
Pleasanton
The Livermore Lab has been conducting experiments since 1955 that contaminate the soil, air, and groundwater, and put our community’s health at risk. Concerned members of our community must seize this opportunity to improve health prospects for future generations.
The Lab’s bomb component testing ground, Site 300, is located southwest of downtown Tracy. Many contaminants are cancer-causing substances left from radioactive explosions. Livermore Lab is continuing to expand these polluting experiments.
Tri-Valley CAREs is the watch... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Public Meeting will further explain lab's plan By: Jake Armstrong, Record Staff Writer
Published In: Stockton Record
TRACY - Air pollution regulators Wednesday will explain Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's request to more than triple the amount of explosives used in test blasts in the hills southwest of Tracy and outline how the public can get involved.
The lab is asking permission to detonate as much as 350 pounds of high explosives a day and up to 8,000 pounds per year - with the potential to release up to 453 pounds of depleted uranium into the air yearly at its test range, known as Site 300.
This is the second round for the request, which San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control Dis... Click here to read the full article.
Friday, July 13, 2007
HIS VOICE: Tri-Valley CAREs' legal intern, Michael Stanker By: Michael Stanker
Published In: Tracy Press
>http://tracypress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10177&Itemid=22 Guest editorial
The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday rejected Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s bid to house a bio-warfare agent research facility at Site 300, 6 miles from Tracy. The facility, which will be the size of five Wal-Marts, would have housed some of the world’s most lethal pathogens.
The main reason why Site 300 was not selected, despite the lab’s intense lobbying, was because the community vehemently opposed the facility. Residents spoke loudly and clearly opposing the dangerous facility. They wrote letters, made phone calls, signed petitions and s... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
UC Out of the running for controversial biodefense lab By: David Perlman, Science Editor
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/12/BAG61QV3GK1.DTL LIVERMORE--
The University of California lost its bid Wednesday to build a huge new biodefense lab where scientists would study highly dangerous microbes at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's property near Tracy, federal officials announced Wednesday.
Scientists at the new defense facility would research some of the world's deadliest disease-causing pathogens that terrorists or enemy forces might employ as biological warfare agents, according to plans disclosed a year ago by the Department of Homeland Security.
At that time, nearly 30 sites across the nation we... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Tracy site doesn't make cut By: Mike Martinez
Published In: Tri-Valley Herald
SUBTITLE: Facility for studying contagions to be built outside California
TRACY — Federal officials have whittled down their list of potential locations for a proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, and Site 300, located in the hills south of Tracy, is not on it.
The Department of Homeland Security selected sites in Mississippi, Kansas, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia as finalists for the proposed lab, much to the delight of local activists.
Marylia Kelley, executive director of Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, called it "a major victor... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Toxic Legacy: Cleanup at Livermore Lab By: Cornell Barnard
Published In: News 10, Sacramento
Click VIDEO link above, text link after this story.
A large group gathered near Tracy City Hall Wednesday to give their input on the federal goverment's plan to clean up Site 300 near the Lawrence Livermore Lab.
The weapons testing range, about eight miles west of Tracy contains radioactive pollution, enough to make the Superfund list for some of the nation's worst contamination.
"There is no health threat to the public in Tracy," said John Belluardo from the Department of Energy.
Some neighbors have concerns about living near the test range, and watchdog groups say the D... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Explosives test range Site 300 questioned over cleanup plan By: Bob Browne
Published In: San Joaquin News Service
Reresentatives of the U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory say they've made substantial progress in 25 years of cleanup efforts at Site 300, but lab critics said the overall cleanup plan does not go far enough.
"I'm surprised you would consider a cleanup plan without considering the pollution from further activities at the site," said local businessman Bob Sarvey, one of about a dozen speakers Wednesday as the DOE and the lab collected public comments for its cleanup plan.
"As part of your cleanup, you must stop polluting the site," Sarvey said.Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Site 300 Cleanup By: Bob Browne
Published In: Tracy Press
SUBTITLE: The Lawrence Livermore National Lab says they've made progress in cleaning Site 300 in the last 25 years.
IMAGE: Leslie Ferry (center), of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s environmental restoration division, answers questions from the audience Wednesday at the Tracy Community Center. Also pictured are Claire Holtzapple (left) and Mike Brown from the U.S. Department of Energy’s environmental stewardship division.
ARTICLE: The people from the U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory say they’ve made substantial progress in 25 years o... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
A Toxic Topic By: Bob Browne
Published In: Tracy Press
SUBTITLE: Cleanup of underground pollution at Lawrence Livermore’s explosives test site will be discussed at a 6 p.m. meeting tonight at the Community Center.
The public will get one more chance to discuss cleanup efforts at Site 300 before the U.S. Department of Energy settles on a plan to deal with groundwater contamination from radioactive materials and other toxic chemicals.
The 7,000-acre explosives test range just west of the proposed Tracy Hills development includes pits filled with radioactive waste from non-nuclear test explosions. Some of the site’s groundwater is also... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Energy Dept. acknowledges lab's e-mail security lapse By: Keay Davidson
Published In: SF Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/16/BAGG3QGHF01.DTL Officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory sent top-secret information about nuclear weapons through open e-mail networks, fueling concerns that security lapses, long an issue at the New Mexico lab, have not been solved by the recent installation of a UC-Bechtel management team.... Click here to read the full article.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Use your voice to make Tracy safer By: Marylia Kelley
Published In: Tracy Press
http://tracypress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9774&Itemid=2 The community has an important opportunity Wednesday to make Tracy a safer place to live and work. The public’s voice is needed to make sure that deadly toxic and radioactive wastes, which have seeped into the soil and water at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Site 300 on Corral Hollow Road, are cleaned up.
Site 300, which is used by the Livermore lab to test high explosives and nuclear weapon components, is a federal Superfund cleanup location. The pollution at Site 300, 8 miles southwest of Tracy, is among the worst in the country. This will be the public’s last chance to comm... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Hunger strikers protest UC nuke work By: Matt Krupnick
Published In: Contra Costa Times
About 40 University of California students and alumni are refusing to eat until the institution stops designing nuclear weapons.
The group began its hunger strike this week after the U.S. Department of Energy announced it had awarded management of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory to a group that includes the university. UC had managed the lab on its own since 1952.
At least eight protesters are fasting at UC Berkeley, one of four campuses involved. The others are at UC campuses in San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz, said Jedidjah de Vries, a spokesman for the nuclear watchd... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
UC/Bechtel Team Selected to Manage the Lab By: Independent Staff
Published In: Independent, Livermore
http://www.independentnews.com use the URL, see the May 10th, 2007 issue and just a little bit down on the front page you will find the article.... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
University Wins Bid for Livermore Lab By: Katlyn Carter, Staff Writer
Published In: Daily Cal
UC will continue to manage the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for at least the next seven years after partnering with a number of other groups to win the first-ever bid for the U.S. Department of Energy management contract.
The department and the National Nuclear Security Administration announced Tuesday that starting Oct. 1, the lab will be managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, a group formed by the university last year to bid for the contract.
The lab is one of the country's premier nuclear research and development labs and has been managed solely by the... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Consortium wins contract to run Livermore lab By: Ralph Vartabedian
Published In: Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-livermore9may09,1,1452581.story?coll=la-news-a_section The partnership, which is given a seven-year deal, includes the UC
system, which has long run the facility.
The Energy Department on Tuesday awarded a seven-year contract to
operate Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to an industry consortium
that includes the University of California, which has run the lab since
it opened in 1952.
This year the lab was selected by the Energy Department to design and
develop a new generation of nuclear bombs, known as the reliable
replacement warhead. A report by an independent group of scientists
warned that the project ... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
UC System To Continue Running CA Nuclear Labs By: Bay City News
Published In: Channel 5 CBS/KPIX TV
(CBS 5 / BCN) LIVERMORE The University of California system will continue to manage the labs that design and test the nation’s nuclear weapons, something they have done since the Manhattan Project, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced that a UC-led consortium, that also includes Bechtel National, Inc., Texas A&M University and a number of other private companies, has been awarded the seven-year contract to manage the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The United States has two other major nuclear weapons laboratories.
The ... Click here to read the full article.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Radiating Distrust of Bomb Tests By: Michael Fitzgerald
Published In: Stockton Record
Stockton is an unlikely target for terrorists. Yet some people are worried that Uncle Sam himself poses a danger by exploding radioactive material in the county.
It's been happening for years at a place called Site 300, a 7,000-acre weapons test site for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the hills south of Tracy.
The government says it's safe.
Activists say it's time to take a good, hard look at what's going on down there. Especially since the top-secret lab recently applied to do a lot more of it.
Lawrence lab's job is to develop and to "ensure the safety a... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Not in my backyard: Tracy community mounts opposition to proposed bio- By: Caitilin McAdoo
Published In: Bay City News Service
LIVERMORE (BCN) - Although some activists, community members and the Tracy City Council have voiced their opposition to a proposed plan to build a national bio and agro defense facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, site 300, lab spokesman Steve Wampler said Tuesday that there is also a great deal of support for the project.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture, the California Cattleman's Association, the California Veterinary Association, the California Farm Bureau, the California Poultry Federation, the California Wool Growers Association and the San Joaq... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Lawrence Livermore Lab Potential Site for Bio-Warfare Research Facilit By: Bay City News wire, TV5 evening news
Published In: CBS 5 Television
LIVERMORE (BCN)
In spite of widespread opposition to a proposed plan to construct a massive bio-warfare agent research facility at Lawrence Livermore Lab's Site 300 near Tracy, the Department of Homeland Security is sending a "site selection" team to the area today to evaluate the location, according a Livermore-based environmental group working to abolish nuclear weapons.
Tri-Valley CAREs, which has been monitoring activity at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory since 1983, reported today that the proposed new bio-warfare facility would cover 500,000 square feet, the size... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Homeland Security starts visits at Site 300 By: Mike Martinez, staff writer
Published In: Tri-Valley Herald
SUBTITLE: Agency looking at places for bio-ag defense research facility
TRACY — Federal officials said Friday they were beginning site visits on Monday of potential homes for a national bio- and agro-defense research facility, and the first place being visited is Lawrence Livermore Laboratorys Site 300.
The bio-ag facility, being built by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, would research and develop cures for life-threatening diseases — affecting both humans and animals — for which there is no known cure.
It would be one of a handful of biosafety level 4 labs — the... Click here to read the full article.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Report doubts lab terror threat By: Ian Hoffman
Published In: Oakland Tribune
SUBTITLE: Nuclear watchdog says analysis of attack risk insufficient as facility takes step toward opening
Federal authorities say the odds of a successful terrorist plot against a new biodefense lab in Livermore are too uncertain and remote to calculate, and that in any event the consequences of an attack or theft at the lab would be manageable.
The National Nuclear Security Administration, ordered by a federal appeals court last year to weigh the risks of terrorist acts at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's new biodefense research lab, reiterated Wednesday many of the sam... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
'Unlikely' attack at lab could release microbes, study says By: Keay Davidson, Chronicle Science Writer
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/12/BAGDDP78DN1.DTL "A suicidal plane crash" by terrorists could unleash into the environment some of the world's scariest diseases from a proposed killer-microbe lab at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. And a saboteur inside the lab could conceivably set off a bomb that might cause a "catastrophic" breach of all microbe containment systems, says a federal study released Wednesday.
However, the U.S. Energy Department draft environmental assessment study concludes that a direct terrorist assault on the facility is "highly unlikely" to succeed.
But because it acknowledges local activists' conc... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
In the Belly of the Beast By: Zev Vernon-Lapow and Jono Kinkade
Published In: City on the Hill Press
SUBTITLE: The UC's (Universities of California) contribution to nUClear proliferation
11:55
It’s five minutes to midnight and when the clock strikes twelve, we all will die; our shadows will be imprinted on the seemingly photo sensitive sidewalk, blast winds will tear through the streets, buildings will crumble and radiation will fill the air.
This isn’t your ordinary timepiece; it’s the Doomsday Clock, a marker of our proximity to international nuclear exchange that has been set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since the second World War.
In January 2007, the gro... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
David stuns Goliath By: Niko Kyriakou
Published In: Tracy Press
Shoe store owner Bob Sarvey won an appeal when regulators revoked a permit for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to test bigger bombs in Site 300. By Niko Kyriakou
Press file photo - VICTORIOUS:Local activist and shoe store owner Bob Sarvey shows a map of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Site 300 to the Tracy Tomorrow and Beyond committee in October during discussions about a proposed bio-lab. Sarvey’s work against increased outdoor bomb testing at Site 300 has resulted in the lab’s air pollution permit to be rescinded.
Local activist Robert Sarvey has convince...
Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
San Joaquin air officials rescind permit for testing nukes By: AP
Published In: San Jose Mercury news
TRACY, Calif.- San Joaquin Valley air officials rescinded their decision to allow the federal government to test its nuclear weapons arsenal in the Altamont Hills after they learned the bombs would have radioactive material.
The San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District initially granted a permit to the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory to test the 350-pound bombs on Site 300, a 7,000-acre open field owned by the lab off Interstate 580 near Tracy. But air officials changed course when they learned the tests would involve depleted uranium.
"They did not tell us they had radioactive... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Officials Block Radioactive Weapons Test in Altamont Hills By: John Fowler
Published In: KTVU Television
TRACY -- San Joaquin Valley air officials have rescinded their decision to allow the federal government to test its nuclear weapons arsenal in the Altamont Hills after they learned the bombs would have radioactive material.
The San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District initially granted a permit to the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory to test the 350-pound bombs on Site 300, a 7,000-acre open field owned by the lab off Interstate 580 near Tracy.
But air officials changed course when they learned the tests would involve depleted uranium.
"They did not tell us they had radioac... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Mock nuke blast permit revoked By: Keay Davidson, Science Writer
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/08/BAG4POHHK71.DTL SUBTITLE: Bombs would contain radioactive material
The San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District landed a blow to the federal government's efforts to test its nuclear weapons arsenal by rescinding its decision to allow the lab to blow up radioactive 350-pound bombs in an open field near Tracy.
The tests, planned for an open field off Interstate 580 in the Altamont Hills, were to be part of a multibillion-dollar U.S. effort to simulate full-scale nuclear weapons blasts to determine the reliability of the nation's nuclear arsenal.
Three tests were to be conducted over th... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Activists Worried About Repercussions of Lawrence Livermore's Nuclear By: Channel 5 evening news
Published In: KCBS
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS/AP) -- Local anti-nuclear activists are riled by yesterday’s announcement that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory won a competition for its design for a new generation of atomic warheads.
A year ago the Bush Administration ordered the competition between Lawrence Livermore and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Many of the warheads in the nation's stockpile were designed and built 40 years ago. Because their plutonium and other components are deteriorating in ways that researchers do not fully understand, the government spends billions of dollars... Click here to read the full article.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Livermore wins A-bomb, Los Alamos loses out By: Scott Lindlaw
Published In: Associated Press (AP)
SUBTITLE: Choice draws criticism from nuclear weapons opponents.
SAN FRANCISCO - The Bush administration selected Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's design Friday for a new generation of atomic warheads, advancing a plan to update the nation's arsenal amid criticism from nuclear weapons opponents.
The Lawrence Livermore design beat one submitted by Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico because it can be built with more certainty in the absence of underground testing, the National Nuclear Security Administration said.
"Both teams developed brilliant designs," sa... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Make It Or Break It By: Charles D. Ferguson and Lisa Obrentz
Published In: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Subtitle:
The weapons labs built the
Bomb. Now they’re tasked
with finding ways to get rid
of it. Trouble is, old habits
die hard.
In August 1945, nuclear weapon scientists became heroes. The U.S.
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki signaled the end to a long
and bloody world war.
The scientific expertise that gave birth to the Bomb has also helped secure
nuclear weapons and weapons-usable materials. During the Manhattan
Project, the United States sent scientists throughout Europe to stop
Nazi Germany from building the Bomb. This du... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Experts decline to endorse new nuclear arsenal By: Ian Hoffman
Published In: Inside Bay Area
SUBTITLE: Uncertain cost benefits and ban on testing raise problems, scientists say
SAN FRANCISCO — Experts assembled by the world's largest scientific organization declined in a report Sunday to endorse a Bush administration plan for redesigning all U.S. nuclear weapons, citing a lack of reliable cost estimates and of proven methods for verifying whether the new hydrogen bombs will work without test explosions.
The new weapons could lead to hardier bombs that are easier to make and harder for terrorists to detonate, but the cost benefits "are less certain and would on... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Livermore Lab may see cut in federal funding By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Inside Bay Area
SUBTITLE: Department of Energy asks for 8 percent less for next year, but most programs to remain intact
ARTICLE: Lawrence Livermore Laboratory would see a small cut in funding under President Bush's budget request for the Department of Energy for 2008, but most major lab programs would remain largely intact.
The DOE has requested $1.15 billion for the lab in fiscal year 2008 — 8 percent less than the $1.25 billion request for 2007.
If approved by Congress, the total DOE budget would expand by $700 million, or 3 percent, to $24.3 billion in 2008.
"We have had to take s... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Feds 'Biased' Against 'Green' Plan for Nuke Weapons Lab By: Catherine Komp
Published In: New Standard
A coalition opposed to nuclear weapons is fighting the federal government over rejection of its bid to turn a national laboratory that engages in nuclear-arms research into an environmental science center.
The US Department of Energy is considering bids to manage and operate the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California. This is the first time the federal government has initiated a competitive bid to run the $1.6 billion dollar "national interest" research facility since its creation in 1952. The current contract with the University of California, which has ... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
'Green' groups contend lab bid treated unfairly By: Sam Richards
Published In: Contra Costa Times
SUBTITLE: LIVERMORE: Complaint describes 'improper and biased handling' of proposal
ARTICLE: A team of organizations that includes a Livermore-based watchdog group filed a formal protest Tuesday with the U.S. Department of Energy claiming "improper and biased handling" of their bid to manage Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.
The proposal was submitted by GREEN LLC and led by the weapons-lab watchdog groups Livermore-based Tri-Valley Citizens Against a Radioactive Environment and Nuclear Watch of New Mexico. They claim their bid was rejected without proper consideration by DOE's Nat... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Order for terror study at Diablo stands By: Keay Davidson, Chronicle Science Writer
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/17/BAGP8NJVF61.DTL Subtitle: Supreme Court refuses to hear case brought by PG&E, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
SAN LUIS OBISPO--The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and PG&E were issued a major legal setback Tuesday when the Supreme Court declined to consider a lower court decision requiring that a nuclear power plant near San Luis Obispo be analyzed for terrorist risk.
The high court's refusal to take up the case means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which monitors the nation's operational commercial nuclear power reactors, must now formally study the environmental impacts of potential at... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Green Company bids to Manage Lawrence Livermore Labs By: Christina Aanestad
Published In: SF Bay Area Independent Media
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/01/17/18348084.php Livermore Labs GREEN, a consortium of environmental and social justice groups filed a formal complaint with the National Nuclear Security Administration today, alleging the agency wrongfully rejected it’s bid to manage the Livermore National Laboratory. Livermore Labs GREEN claims its bid to manage the nuclear weapons research facility was rejected because of misinformation and its environmentally friendly vision for the labs.
Imagine the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories as a hub for alternative energy and global warming research-a lab that plans to phase out plutonium and nucl... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
'Green' groups contend lab bid treated unfairly By: Sam Richards
Published In: Contra Costa Times
LIVERMORE: Complaint describes 'improper and biased handling' of proposal
A team of organizations that includes a Livermore-based watchdog group filed a formal protest Tuesday with the U.S. Department of Energy claiming "improper and biased handling" of their bid to manage Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.
The proposal was submitted by GREEN LLC and led by the weapons-lab watchdog groups Livermore-based Tri-Valley Citizens Against a Radioactive Environment and Nuclear Watch their bid was rejected without proper consideration by DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration on groun... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Protesters honor King, decry conflict in Iraq By: Eric Kurhi
Published In: Inside Bay Area
Small demonstration in Livermore mirrors those in larger cities
AS A GROUP of about 35 peace demonstrators quietly marched past her house on a sleepy downtown side street, Dorothy Wein stepped out onto her porch to cheer them on.
We need to show that we can stand up as Americans, one small town at a time, Wein said. Its wonderful.
For the third year, the group has taken to the streets for two reasons — to honor slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and to call for an end to the war in Iraq.
Around the Bay Area, several communities commemorated Kings birth... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Busywork for Nuclear Scientists By: Editorial Board NYT
Published In: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/opinion/15mon1.html The Bush administration is eager to start work on a new nuclear warhead with all sorts of admirable qualities: sturdy, reliable and secure from terrorists. To sweeten the deal, officials say that if they can replace the current arsenal with Reliable Replacement Warheads (what could sound more comforting?), they probably won t have to keep so many extra warheads to hedge against technical failure. If you're still not sold, the warhead comes with something of a guarantee -- that scientists can build the new bombs without ever testing them.
Let the buyer beware. While the program has got... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Watchdog groups' Livermore Lab bid is rejected By: Ian Hoffman
Published In: San Jose Mercury News
Federal nuclear weapons officials have rejected a bid by disarmament and renewable energy activists to manage the Lawrence Livermore weapons design lab, saying the "green team'' didn't fit federal plans.
The team, calling itself GREEN LLC, was led by two weapons-lab watchdog groups, Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs and Nuclear Watch of New Mexico.
The groups never really expected to run the sprawling bomb lab, but they were offended that the National Nuclear Security Administration said the team's proposal ran afoul of federal law and "did not demonstrate an understanding of the ... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Lab foes lose bid for "green" takeover By: Staff
Published In: The Record
LIVERMORE - A "green" bid to take over operations at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been rejected by the federal government, which called the proposal "grossly and obviously deficient."
Longtime lab foe Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment filed its long-shot bid in October to wrest the lab away from the University of California, which has managed Lawrence Livermore for 50 years.
Tri-Valley CARES proposed phasing out the lab's nuclear weapons program. The National Nuclear Security Administration responded by saying that was inconsistent with th... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Anti-nuke GREEN lab bidders see red By: John Upton
Published In: Tracy Press
A combined proposal by two anti-nuclear groups, an alternative energy company and a progressive college to run Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been rejected by the National Nuclear Security Administration.
The nuclear administration rejected the bid by the Livermore Lab Green Renewable Energy and Environmental Nexus in part because it planned to phase out nuclear weapons research and testing at the lab.
Daniel Saiz, a government worker who is helping choose a new lab operator, told Marylia Kelley that her group didn’t grasp the nuclear administration’s needs, since it plan... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Fed reject activists' Livermore Lab bid By: Staff Writer
Published In: Inside Bay Area
'Green team' wanted move toward nonproliferation
Federal nuclear weapons officials have rejected a bid by disarmament and renewable energy activists to manage Lawrence Livermore weapons design lab, saying the "green team" didn't fit federal plans.
The team, calling itself GREEN LLC, was led by two weapons-lab watchdog groups, Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs and Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, who never really expected to run the sprawling bomb lab.
But they were offended that the National Nuclear Security Administration said the team's proposal ran afoul of federal law an... Click here to read the full article.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Nation's nuclear lab chief loses job By: Keay Davidson, Chronicle Science Writer
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/05/MNGSKND93U1.DTL SUBTITLE: Linton Brooks asked to resign over security and management issues
The head of the nation's nuclear weapons agency, who tried last year to implement several dramatic reforms in security and safety at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, has been fired following security breakdowns at different federal facilities, including a nuclear weapons lab in New Mexico.
Linton Brooks, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages the nation's nuclear weapons labs for the U.S. Energy Department, said in a statement Thursday he would l... Click here to read the full article.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Nuclear weapons administrator ousted By: Ralph Vartabedian, Times Staff Writer
Published In: Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-nuke5jan05,1,867242.story?coll=la-news-a_section Subtitle:
Energy Secretary Bodman asks for the resignation of Linton F. Brooks, under fire for his handling of security lapses at U.S. labs and weapons sites.
The nation's nuclear weapons chief was fired Thursday, after a long series of security breaches at Los Alamos National Laboratory and other weapons sites had prompted strong criticism of his performance.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman issued an unusual public statement Thursday saying he had asked for the resignation of Linton F. Brooks, chief of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which operates eight major b... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Explosive Radiation: Radioactive element could be in test bombs By: John Upton
Published In: Tracy Press
Radioactive tritium might accompany depleted uranium in a series of large outdoor test explosions planned this year as little as a mile upwind from Tracy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has conceded for the first time ...
Tritium in the blasts would be dispersed as fine particles into the air during the experiments, according to Larry Sedlacek, Deputy Associate Director of Operations in the lab’s Defense and Nuclear Technologies Group.
Sedlacek said tritium could be used in tests and that it would be "aerosolized" after test blasts as he answered intense questions from C... Click here to read the full article.
Friday, December 15, 2006
New Nuke Arsenal Decried Nationwide By: Catherine Komp
Published In: The New Standard
*A correction was appended to this news article after initial publication.
Dec. 15 – A movement is mounting to foil a controversial federal program to "modernize" the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal. The Bush administration says its plan will lead to a "smaller, safer and more-secure" stockpile, but opponents call it a blueprint for a new atomic arms buildup.
The US Department of Energy, in partnership with the National Nuclear Security Administration, opened a 90-day public comment period on their plan in mid-October. Since then, scores of people have turned out at public heari... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Complex 2030 Hearing in Livermore to Draw Nuclear Weapons Protestors By: Staff
Published In: Bay City News Service Wire
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration will be holding an all-day public meeting in Livermore today on Complex 2030, a plan to transform and modernize the nation's nuclear arsenal by the year 2030.
Tri-Valley Communities Against Radioactive Environment announced today that they plan to hold press briefings on the NNSA's plan at 11:30 a.m. today to protest what they are calling a "new U.S. nuclear 'bombplex'" that will impact the Livermore lab as well as the testing site in Tracy.
While the NNSA has reported that they plan to make the nation's nucle... Click here to read the full article.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
DOE's "Complex 2030" plan By: Marylia Kelley
Published In: Letter to the Editor
The Department of Energy plans to reorganize its nuclear weapons complex at eight locations, including at the Livermore Lab. DOE calls its plan "Complex 2030." The driving force for this new "Bombplex" is the controversial Reliable Replacement Warhead program to re-design every nuclear weapon in the enduring U.S. arsenal and build 125 new nukes per year.
If this plan moves forward it will mean a new plutonium bomb core factory to manufacture upwards of 200 "pits" each year in a single shift. This is the activity that so polluted Rocky Flats it was shut down following an FBI raid.
Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Energy Department Faces Lawsuit By: Phil Hayworth
Published In: Tracy Press
The lawsuit is being filed by an environmental watchdog group that says important documents were hidden from the public that could provide important information regarding our future safety.
An environmental watchdog group Tuesday filed a lawsuit in federal district court in San Francisco against the Department of Energy for failing to release requested information.
Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs said the energy department failed to provide documents for three years regarding the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s desire to develop ground-penetrating nuclear weapons, the... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Livermore Group Files FOIA Lawsuit Against Dept. of Energy By: Wire Service story
Published In: CBS5 news, Bay City Wire Service
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)
A nuclear weapons watchdog group sued the U.S. Department of Energy in federal court in San Francisco today for allegedly failing to provide documents about activities at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The lawsuit was filed by Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, or Tri-Valley CAREs.
It accuses the department of violating the U.S. Freedom of Information Act by failing to respond to requests for unclassified documents about nuclear weapons research, biological warfare defense research and security at the laboratory.
<... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Livermore lab watchdog group sues DOE over information issues By: Chris Metinko
Published In: San Jose Mercury News
A Livermore-based national laboratory watchdog group filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Energy, alleging failures to comply with the Freedom of Information Act.
Tri-Valley CAREs claims the department has lagged on five different FOIA requests that range between one and three years old.
The five FOIA requests that are subjects of the suit involve unclassified information on the feasibility of developing earth-penetrating nuclear weapons, the environmental implications of a terrorist attack or catastrophic accident on Livermore ... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
3 teams vie to manage nuclear research at Lawrence Livermore By: Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press AP
Published In: San Jose Mercury News
SAN FRANCISCO - Three teams have submitted bids for the right to manage Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including one consisting of nuclear watchdogs, academics and a "green" energy firm, the groups said Friday.
Livermore Lab GREEN, as the team calls itself, would halt the nuclear weapons research that has been the lab's primary mission since its inception in 1952.
For the first time in its history, the federal government opened up the process for securing the management contract for Lawrence Livermore to competitive bidding.
Lawrence Livermore, one of the nation's... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Watchdog group wants to turn weapons lab green By: Alex Breitler
Published In: Stockton Record
Subheading: Environmental group bids to run Livermore site
LIVERMORE - It has filed more than 20 lawsuits, testified at dozens of hearings and hosted at least 200 community meetings.
Now a group of environmentalists that has long focused its fury on the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is taking that watchdog role to a new level by filing a bid Friday to take over the lab entirely.
Lawrence Livermore, which employs about 2,000 San Joaquin County residents, has been managed for the past 50-plus years by the University of California. But for the first time ever, a com... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Ruling stalls biodefense lab in Livermore By: Ian Hoffman
Published In: San Jose Mercury News and other print outlets
subtitle: AGENCY MUST EXAMINE THREAT OF TERRORISM
The defense arm of the U.S. Department of Energy cannot open a new biodefense research facility at Lawrence Livermore nuclear weapons laboratory until the agency
considers the risk and effects of a terrorist attack, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
The ruling by a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is likely to postpone by at least several months the start of research at the new lab on potential bioterror
germs that cause anthrax, plague, Q fever and other lethal or disabling diseases.
Exte... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Court blocks Lawrence Livermore research center By: Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff writer
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/17/LIVERMORE.TMP A federal appeals court on Monday blocked Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from opening a research center for detecting biological weapons until the government studies the possible environmental consequences of a terrorist attack.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the federal Department of Energy must consider whether terrorists could attack the center, and then decide whether the possible consequences warrant a full environmental review. Such a review could take a year.
Two anti-nuclear organizations and several local residents sued the govern... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, October 16, 2006
More study of terrorist attacks on "hot lab" needed By: Eric Kurhi
Published In: Contra Costa Times
A federal appeals court ruled today that the Department of Energy must take the possibility of terrorist actions into account before opening a biodefense facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The decision affirms a lawsuit filed by Livermore-based Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, which alleged such an attack on a Livermore biowarfare research lab could have a disastrous effect on the surrounding community.
"I can tell you honestly I feel safer today because of the ruling," said Marylia Kelley of Tri-Valley CARES. "Operating an advanced b... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Court blocks Lawrence Livermore research center By: Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff writer
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/17/LIVERMORE.TMP A federal appeals court on Monday blocked Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from opening a research center for detecting biological weapons until the government studies the possible environmental consequences of a terrorist attack.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the federal Department of Energy must consider whether terrorists could attack the center, and then decide whether the possible consequences warrant a full environmental review. Such a review could take a year.
Two anti-nuclear organizations and several local residents sued the government to ... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Livermore Lab officials comment on federal appeal court ruling By: Julie Cheever
Published In: Bay City News Service
http://www.fogcityjournal.com/news_in_brief/bcn_livermore_labs_061016.shtml SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - A federal appeals court in San Francisco today ordered the U.S. Department of Energy to consider whether further study is needed of the
environmental impact of a possible terrorist attack of a planned biodefense facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The project, known as a "Biosafety Level 3" facility, will conduct research on how to detect and defend against biological warfare agents.
Lawyers for a citizens' group that sued the department said the ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means the opening of the facility wil... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Appeals court questions Livermore biodefense lab By: David Kravets
Published In: AP (Associated Press)
SAN FRANCISCO - The federal government's plan to research lethal agents such as HIV and anthrax in a San Francisco Bay area suburb hit a legal snag Monday when an appeals court ruled the Energy Department must consider what would happen if the lab were attacked by terrorists.
Acting in a case brought by neighbors of the Livermore facility, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Energy Department conducted an inadequate assessment of the lab's environmental impact because the agency did not adequately examine the repercussions of a terrorist attack.
The new biodefense lab ... Click here to read the full article.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Group files longshot bid for control of lab By: Keay Davidson, Science Writer
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/08/BAGS3LL5A21.DTL subheading: Anti-nuclear activists, partners want Lawrence Livermore to focus on peaceful pursuits
It's a classic David versus Goliath standoff.
A band of nuclear disarmament advocates, college educators and wind-energy developers is positioning itself to go up against a consortium led by the University of
California and the politically powerful San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp. for control of one of the nation's top nuclear design labs.
The band, which includes longtime advocacy group Tri-Valley CAREs, acknowledges it has little chance of outbidding the UC-Bechte... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Opponents say biological lab would pose threat By: Jake Armstrong
Published In: Stockton Record
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060913/NEWS01/609130326/1001 TRACY - In less than a decade, research on the most-dangerous pathogens on the planet could be under way just south of this growing city.
The facility could identify remedies for diseases now considered incurable and plan responses to biological attacks. But at what risk? opponents of a proposed biological research laboratory asked at a public workshop Tuesday night.
A 7,000-acre piece of land south of Tracy is on the short list of sites the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is considering for a $451million, roughly 500,000-square-foot National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.
Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Proposed biolab draws criticism By: John Upton
Published In: Tracy Press
Tracy residents gathered Tuesday night to air their grievances about a proposed research lab that could be built near Tracy that would house deadly diseases.
A high-security biological defense laboratory that might be built near Tracy to store and study incurable diseases such as the Ebola virus and mad cow disease would be no different than a biological weapons research center, according to a molecular biologist from the University of California, San Francisco.
“The only difference between defense research and offense research is your intent,” said Dr. Judith Flanagan, who said the... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Locals Rally to Combat biodefense labs By: Erika Check
Published In: Nature, the international journal of science
Nature, the international journal of science
30 August 2006
Locals rally to combat biodefence labs
Protests mount against classified research centres.
As the US government picks up the pace of building high-security
biodefence laboratories, community groups and watchdogs are ramping
up their protests.
The latest clash centres on Fort Detrick, an army facility in
Frederick, Maryland, that has long been home to biosecurity labs. The
government is planning to overhaul the existing facilities and build
a new biodefence research complex. Construction has al... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Biodefense lab plan survives short list By: Keay Davidson, Science Writer
Published In: SF Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/10/BAGLVKEOCO1.DTL LIVERMORE---
Plans for a controversial second biodefense laboratory at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory moved closer to realization Wednesday, when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it was putting the proposal on a short list of candidate sites.
At the lab proposed for a facility near Tracy on Livermore lab property known as Site 300, researchers would expose cattle and other animals to some of the world's deadliest diseases and then try to develop defenses against such lethal microorganisms, whether unleashed by terrorists or Mother Nature.
With Wednesd... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
UC, lab courting bio tech facility By: Ian Hoffman
Published In: Oakland Tribune
18 finalists are in running for new national microorganism center
On rolling, grassy hills between the Bay Area's cities and the farms of the Central Valley, the University of California and scientists of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory see a sprawling biodefense lab as large as two Wal-Mart Supercenters.
Federal homeland-security authorities gave the nod Wednesday to the the university and its 7,000-acre site near Tracy along with 17 other proposals nationwide as contenders for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, pronounced EN-BAF.
Originally, this new ... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Bioterror By: Eric Firpo
Published In: Tracy Press
A bomb test site in the hills upwind of Tracy has made the “short list” of 18 spots where a research laboratory might be built to help protect against bioterrorism, the Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday.
Homeland Security is looking for a spot to build a 500,000-square-foot research lab to replace a similar, but antiquated, laboratory at Plum Island in New York, which was built in the 1950s.
The University of California asked to run the new lab at Site 300, 7,000 acres in the hills west of Tracy that’s part of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
H... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Livermore lab, UC contenders for biotech center, National Bio and Agro By: Ian Hoffman, Staff Writer
Published In: Inside Bay Area
On rolling, grassy hills between the Bay Area's cities and the farms of the Central Valley, the University of California and scientists of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory say they see a sprawling biodefense lab as large as two Wal-Mart Supercenters.
Federal homeland-security authorities gave the nod Wednesday to the university and its 7,000-acre site near Tracy along with 17 other proposals nationwide as contenders for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.
But lately the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has retreated from talk of closing Plum Island and suggest... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
UC enlists Bechtel for Livermore lab bid By: Eric Stern, Bee Staff Writer
Published In: Sacramento Bee
SAN FRANCISCO -- The University of California is preparing to fight for a third federal nuclear lab contract since a series of accounting and security mishaps pushed the U.S. Department of Energy to order competitive bidding.
The UC's governing body, the Board of Regents, agreed last week to team with the Bechtel Corp., a giant engineering and construction firm, to bolster a bid to retain control of the Lawrence Livermore nuclear lab.
Last year the company helped UC hold on to its management contract at Los Alamos labs in New Mexico.
UC has operated the historic labs in Be... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
How risky is Bay Area biodefense lab? By: Ian Hoffman
Published In: Oakland Tribune
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals judge Tuesday questioned building a biodefense lab in Livermore, close to 7 million Bay Area residents, for handling lethal and possibly weaponized germs.
Federal attorneys and opponents sparred over whether the federal government adequately studied the risks of the new biodefense facility at Lawrence Livermore nuclear weapons lab.
U.S. Justice Department environmental attorney Todd Aargaard said analysts found the biolab safe even in "catastrophic" situations. The lab is needed immediately, federal officials say, to develop biodetection methods ... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Concern over lab's plan to test microbes By: Keay Davidson
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/06/14/LIVERMORE.TMP A federal court judge in San Francisco hinted on Tuesday that she finds it troubling that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory plans to build a lab in the Bay Area to store and experiment with trillions of deadly microbes without proper environmental review.
The nuclear weapons lab's environmental report on the project does not include "any discussion anywhere of what seems most troublesome," namely that the proposed biodefense lab "is being built in a very highly populated area of Northern California," said Chief Judge Mary M. Schroeder.
But an attorney representing the lab ... Click here to read the full article.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
How risky is Bay Area biodefense lab? By: Ian Hoffman
Published In: Oakland Tribune
Federal appeals court questions hazards of Livermore facility in populated region SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals judge Tuesday questioned building a biodefense lab in Livermore, close to 7 million Bay Area residents, for handling lethal and possibly weaponized germs.
Federal attorneys and opponents sparred over whether the federal government adequately studied the risks of the new biodefense facility at Lawrence Livermore nuclear weapons lab.
U.S. Justice Department environmental attorney Todd Aargaard said analysts found the biolab safe even in "catastrophic" situations. The lab is needed immediately, federal officials say, to develop biodetection methods ... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Hearings Set for Proposed Biodefense Lab By: Scott Lindlaw
Published In: The Washington Post
Also published: Forbes, CBS national news, Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury news and over 100 national and international outlets SAN FRANCISCO -- To the Bush administration, a biodefense lab designed to test lethal agents including HIV, plague and anthrax is vital to national security. But area residents have visions of a biodisaster, and warn an accident could kill thousands.
Years of legal wrangling were to culminate Tuesday when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears arguments about whether the Department of Homeland Security should be permitted to open the lab at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, about 50 miles east of San Francisco.
The new facility would test some of the deadliest toxins k... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Judge Troubled by Government's Biolab Plans By: Associated Press, KTVU Television
Published In: KTVU TV
SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court judge said Tuesday she found it "troublesome" that the Bush administration wants to open a lab for testing lethal agents including HIV, plague and anthrax in the densely populated San Francisco Bay Area.
But a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer told the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the administration had thoroughly researched its plans for a biodefense lab at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and concluded there was little risk of a disaster.
If pathogens were to seep from the proposed lab and reach the public, they would have di... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Appeals court hears arguments on proposed biodefense lab By: Scott Lindlaw
Published In: AP, Associated Press
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/14805928.htm(c) SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court judge said Tuesday she found it "troublesome" that the Bush administration wants to open a lab for testing lethal agents including HIV, plague and anthrax in the densely populated San Francisco Bay Area.
But a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer told the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the administration had thoroughly researched its plans for a biodefense lab at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and concluded there was little risk of a disaster.
If pathogens were to seep from the proposed lab and reach the public, they would have dis... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Appeals Court considers Livermore 'hot lab' By: Chris Metinko
Published In: Contra Costa Times
Watchdog groups want the federal government to further investigate the
impacts of possible terrorist attacks before it proceeds with its plan
to open a laboratory to study anthrax, plague and other deadly pathogens
at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.
At a hearing Tuesday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San
Francisco, the Livermore-based Tri-Valley Communities Against a
Radioactive Environment and Nuclear Watch New Mexico groups argued the
Department of Energy did not do an adequate assessment of the potential
environmental impacts of locating a "hot lab" i... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Judge to hear concerns over proposal for bioware lab By: Knight Ridder
Published In: San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/14750893.htm LIVERMORE
Judge to hear concerns over proposal for biowarfare lab
A federal judge will consider Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's plans to build a new ``hotlab'' to study anthrax, plague and other deadly pathogens.
The hearing, scheduled for next Tuesday in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, is the latest development in a battle over the ``Biosafety Level 3'' facility.
Livermore-based Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment and other watchdog groups claim the Department of Energy didn't do an adequate assessment of the potential enviro... Click here to read the full article.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Judge to rule June 13 on planned Livermore 'hotlab' By: Betsy Mason
Published In: Contra Costa Times
A federal judge will consider Lawrence Livermore Lab's plans to build a new "hotlab" to study anthrax, plague and other deadly pathogens.
The hearing, scheduled for June 13 in the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco, is the latest development in a battle over the "Biosafety Level 3" facility.
Livermore-based Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Enviroment, and other watchdog groups, claim the Department of Energy didn't do an adequate assessment of the potential environmental impacts of locating such a facility in Livermore.
"It is outrageous that the DOE granted itself the go-... Click here to read the full article.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Livermore considers bio-defense lab in Tracy: Proposed research site m By: Keay Davidson, Science Writer
Published In: San Francisco Chronicle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/05/28/BAGLSJ3NVT1.DTL TRACY
The University of California and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which are already pushing for federal court approval to store and study dangerous microbes at the Livermore lab, have expressed interest in building a second bio-defense lab near Tracy -- a lab that could experiment with even deadlier bugs.
Critics say approval might allow such a facility to be a storehouse and research center for particularly virulent diseases such as Ebola, dengue fever, Lassa fever and other illnesses for which there are no known cures.
"To propose location of (such a potentially... Click here to read the full article.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Council cleanup By: Phillip Hayworth
Published In: Tracy Press
http://www.tracypress.com/local/2006-04-20-Council.php Tracy’s City Council decided Tuesday to write a letter asking the Department of Energy to spend millions to excavate and remove radioactive waste from pits at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Site 300 where bombs are tested.
“Pit 7” is the general term for four contaminated, unlined waste pits just 8 miles from Tracy city limits that the DOE used from 1958 through 1988 as a dump for tritium, uranium and other toxic substances.
Water has leached through the pits, contaminating groundwater. A toxic plume was discovered slowly moving toward Tracy.
“The City Council decided to g... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Group hails plutonium removal, warns of dangers By: Marilyn Bechtel
Published In: Peoples Weekly World
http://www.pww.org/article/articleprint/8930 The Department of Energy said last week it plans to remove all “nuclear bomb useable” quantities of plutonium and highly enriched uranium from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory by the end of 2014, establishing a new plutonium megaplex at another location. The lab is at the edge of the San Francisco Bay Area. Only last November, DoE announced plans to double the amount of plutonium at the facility, despite widespread concerns about the safety and security of the plutonium already in use there.
While calling the long-term plan to remove the highly radioactive materials a victory, th... Click here to read the full article.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Activists Pleased with Livermore Lab Plutonium Removal By: CBS
Published In: CBS-N ews, Channel 5
url LIVERMORE (BCN)
A Livermore anti-nuclear activist says she's pleased that the Department of Energy has announced plans to move plutonium from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory by 2014.
In a statement issued yesterday, Marylia Kelley of Tri-Valley CARES (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment), said, "We applaud the decision to remove plutonium from Livermore Lab even as we realize the devil will be in the details."
Kelley said her organization will closely monitor the removal effort.
She said, "We will press for both a more speedy removal plan and for approp... Click here to read the full article.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Plutonium will be removed from lab By: Keay Davidson, Science Writer
Published In: San Francisco Chron icle
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/04/07/BAGGCI59D31.DTL LIVERMORE
Administration sets 2014 deadline for moving chemical
Amid long-standing public concerns about safety, all nuclear-weapons-grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium will be shipped out of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to another site by 2014, Bush administration officials say.
The presence of the radioactive material -- enough to make dozens or hundreds of nuclear weapons, in fast-growing Livermore immediately adjacent to suburbs -- has been a long-standing source of anxiety for local anti-nuclear activists.
Its presence has also attracted intense c... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Lab's plutonium to move by 2014 By: Betsy Mason
Published In: San Jose Mercury News
url NEW MEXICO TO HOUSE RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL
The federal Department of Energy announced plans Wednesday to move plutonium from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory by 2014, part of a plan to consolidate all U.S. work involving plutonium at a single facility by 2022.
The move, intended to enhance security and increase efficiency, is part of a larger plan to renovate the nuclear weapons complex by 2030.
``We're looking to make the complex safer and more secure,'' said Bryan Wilkes, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration -- the Energy Department branch that ... Click here to read the full article.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
A Most Unclean Site By: Phil Hayworth
Published In: Tracy Press
http://tracypress.com/2006-04-06-site.php About 50 people attended a final public hearing Wednesday hosted by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Department of Energy regarding the cleanup of “Pit 7,” the general term for the four contaminated, unlined waste pits just eight miles from Tracy city limits.
Various members of the public weighed in on the best way to clean up the pits, and government agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy said they would consider the |
