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Tri-Valley CAREs News Clips: Most Recent • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 and earlier
NIF Report Asks for More Time to Achieve Ignition
December 22, 2012
Source: Science Magazine
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) faces an uncertain future after its managers admitted to Congress this month that they need at least another 3 years to try to identify what has prevented the giant laser fusion lab in California from achieving ignition. The report sharpens an ongoing debate between those who say that NIF is essentialto the maintenance of the nuclear weapons stockpile and opponents who claim that NIF is a boondoggle. NIF offi cials believe that major cuts in the facility's $450-million-ayear operating budget could slow progress. But obtaining enough funding could be difficult given the intense pressure to reduce domestic spending.
Around the U.S., protesting the appalling legacy of nuclear weapons
August 7, 2012
Source: People's World
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Though more recent issues of ending the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and keeping the U.S. from engaging in new ones may make more headlines, the decades-old goal of winning worldwide complete nuclear disarmament remains an urgent peace movement concern which is supported by a strong majority of Americans.
That concern was foremost in the minds of some 200 protesters who gathered here Aug. 5 to mark the 67th anniversaries of the U.S. nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Demonstrators gathered in a grassy park near the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - one of several facilities around the country designing and maintaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal - before marching to the lab's gates to symbolically "Foreclose on the Bomb, Not the People," hanging colorful plastic chains and locks across the fencing.
Speaking at the park, Tara Dorabji of Tri-Valley CAREs (Tri-Valley Communities against a Radioactive Environment) reminded the crowd that while they were among hundreds of thousands around the world commemorating the twin anniversaries, they also occupied a special place.
"Every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal was created and designed by an employee of the University of California, either at this lab or at the sister lab in Los Alamos, N.M.," she said. "So being here, and saying No to nuclear weapons, is being at the brain, the center of the complex."
Peace protesters gather at Lawrence Livermore Labs on eve of Hiroshima bombing anniversary
August 5, 2012
Source: KTVU
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Monday marks the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan to hasten the end of World War II and hundreds of Bay Area peace protesters marked the event by marching to the gates of the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.
A crowd of 200 people Sunday marched, then covered the lab's gates with signs, paper chains and makeshift locks for the lab's past and current work with nuclear weapons.
"Part of the reason we're here is to say never forget," said Marylia Kelley, a protester with Communities Against a Radioactive Environment. "The bombings were horrific. People were vaporized."
People gathered a nearby park to remember the 1945 atomic attacks.
Livermore group to commemorate atomic bombings
August 3, 2012
Source: The Oakland Tribune and The Contra Costa Times
LIVERMORE -- The 67th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima will be marked Sunday with a rally and protest at the exact time it occurred in Japan.
The Livermore-based Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment is co-hosting "Foreclose on the Bomb, Not the People" at 4 p.m. Sunday at William Payne Park, at Patterson Pass and Vasco roads. The rally takes place kitty-corner to Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, where nuclear weapons have been developed.
The program includes guest speakers, including Takashi Tanemori, a Hiroshima bombing survivor scheduled to speak just after 4:15 p.m. -- which will be 8:15 a.m. Monday in Hiroshima, the time the atomic bomb was dropped 67 years ago.
"It adds a new element to our cause," said Marylia Kelley, executive director of Tri-Valley CARES, "and deepens the meaning to be acting at the same time in concert with the survivors in Japan who we are supporting."
Hiroshima Day
August 2, 2012
Source: The Independent
Hiroshima Day
Hundreds of peace advocates to "Foreclose on the Bomb, Not the People" are expected to gather Sun., August 5 to commemorate the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The event will take place from 4 to 6 p.m.
According to the protestors, nuclear weapons spending has increased. They will talk abou the economic reality of weapons spending while people's basic need go unmet. There will be speakers, music, local organizations, and food courtesy of Food not Bombs.
Natalia Mironova, engineer, activist and former legislator from Chelyabinsk, Russia, will speak on US- Russia nuclearism. Other speakers will be Takashi Tanemori, Hiroshima bomb survivor; Michael Eisenscher, US Labor against the War; Tara Dorabji, Tri-Valley CAREs; Andy Lichterman, Western States Legal Foundation.
Music includes Emma's Revolution, back for a return engagement, local band Tasha Kame, and Daniel Zwickel.
The event will take place across from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory at William Payne Park, corner of Vasco Rd. and Patterson Pass Rd., Livermore.
Foreclose on Bomb- A Letter to the Editor by TVC Enviro Science Intern Alison Forrest
July 12, 2012
Alison Forrest
Source: The Independent
You are invited to: Foreclose on the Bomb, Not the People!
On Sunday, August 5th, there will be a free event from 4pm to 6pm commemorating the 67th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This specific timing is extremely significant. 4:15pm our time is 8:15am August 6th in Hiroshima, Japan, the precise moment the A-Bomb exploded.
This event will take place at Wm. Payne Park in Livermore, located near I-580 on Vasco and Patterson Pass Road (across from Livermore Lab). There will be live music and speakers. For more information, call Tri-Valley CAREs at (925) 443-7148, or go to www.trivalleycares.org.
This is significant to Tri-Valley residents because there is a nuclear weapons lab located right here in our community. The Lawrence Livermore National Lab is spending billions of our tax dollars on new and modified nuclear weapons. This is why the theme of the event revolves around the economic reality of ever increasing nuclear weapons spending while people’s basic needs go unmet.
Hiroshima Day- A Letter to the Editor from TVC Board Member Beverly King
July 12, 2012
Beverly King
Source: The Independent
I was 15 years old in 1945 when the A-bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Until then, the public knew nothing of the splitting of the atom.
Pictures came later, showing devastation to humans on earth. I was stunned.
The vast knowledge we have acquired over subsequent generations about radioactivity is primarily scientific; thereby omitting the moral aspects of using the bomb.
We rarely consider that radioactivity does not respect people and national boundaries. Radiation is destructive to all life, through mining, weapons research, manufacture and waste storage. Everyone is affected when excess radiation is released. This Hiroshima Day, I will commemorate all victims of radiation worldwide.
I invite you to join your neighbors on August 5 at 4PM in William Payne Park, located across from Livermore Lab and the intersection of Vasco and Patterson Pass roads. It is time to add to our moral knowledge: never again.
Commemoration- A Letter to the Editor from TVC Board Member Jo Ann Frisch
July 12, 2012
Jo Ann Frisch
Source: The Independent
We will commemorate the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan on Sunday, August 5 at 4PM in Livermore.
The first nuclear bomb exploded over Hiroshima, in a flash vaporizing people going about their morning chores. Three days later, a second atomic bomb exploded over Nagasaki.
We remember this date to ensure it will never happen again. People are still dying from illnesses cause by radiation from those bombs.
Locally, we will gather at William Payne Park on Vasco and Patterson Pass roads, where we will listen to wonder speakers like Michael Eisenscher and Dr. Natalia Mironova.
I had the privilege of meeting Natalia in Russia at a conference on nuclear disarmament. She is a world renowned speaker, engineer and head of the Movement for Nuclear Safety in Chelyabinsk.
For more information: www.trivalleycares.org. I am a member of this Livermore-based organization that is co-sponsoring the commemoration.
Living with the Legacy of the Nuclear Stockpile Next Door in Livermore, CA
July 6, 2012
Source: Around Dublin (blog)
Tri-Valley CAREs has had many successes throughout the years. It stopped Lawrence Livermore National Lab from building a massive toxic and radioactive waste incinerator. Further, the group led a successful campaign to shut down Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s existing incinerator.
As the first group in the western US to receive an EPA grant to monitor the Superfund cleanup at Lawrence Livermore National Lab and the first community-based group in the country to win a recognition award from EPA for its effectiveness, Tri-Valley CAREs has helped to stop Congressional funding for two new nuclear bombs that were under development at Lawrence Livermore National Lab. One was called the "Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator" bomb, and the other was called the "Reliable Replacement Warhead" Program.
Radiation air monitors needed near Big Trees- A Letter to the Editor from Tri-Valley CAREs Board Member Lee Torres
July 5, 2012
Source: Times- Herald
The Livermore Lab should use radiation air monitors for a potentially dangerous project next to the Rhonewood swimming pool. Hundreds of Livermore citizens agree. However, Lab officials informed Tri-Valley CAREs, a Livermore-based nonprofit, that they will not utilize radiation air monitors for this project.
The problem: this project will require digging within feet of Big Trees Park, which is known to be contaminated with elevated levels of radioactive material. The highest levels of contamination were found feet away from where digging will occur.
The project could kick dirt into the air–dirt that may be contaminated with radioactive material.
Real Waste- A letter to the editor from Board Member Stephanie Ericson
June 28, 2012
Stephanie Ericson
Source: The Conta Costa Times
As millions across this nation continue to suffer economic hardship, all levels of government are faced with budget shortfalls, often facing agonizing choices over which critical social, educational and economic support programs to cut.
Meanwhile shrill pundits decry "wasteful" government. Yet how many of these self-styled fiscal conservatives will take a whack at our bloated nuclear weapons budget?
From 2000 to 2012 the number of nuclear warheads in our stockpile decreased from 10,600 in 2000 to 4,700 today, a good thing. Nevertheless, the nuclear weapons budget went up, and this trend is projected to continue.
The current (FY2013) $7.6 billion budget request amounts to $1.7 million per warhead, nearly four times what we paid to maintain each warhead in the stockpile in 2000.
Physicist Robert Civiak, a former nuclear weapons program budget examiner, suggests that common sense budget reductions of $1.5 billion would bring us to 2000 spending levels (adjusted to inflation) yet keep the stockpile safe and reliable. (http://www.trivalleycares.org/new/FY2013BudgetAnalysis.pdf). Ask senators Feinstein and Boxer, and your representative to cut the real waste in government.
Toxic Legacy- A letter to the editor by Board Member Mary Perner
June 28, 2012
Mary Perner
Source: The Contra Costa Times
For decades, a toxic groundwater plume has flowed westward from Livermore Lab (a Superfund Cleanup Site) in the Livermore community aquifer. The plume’s leading edge is filled with volatile organic compounds, such as PCE.
The Lab plans to pump this toxic water back to its Main Site for cleanup, but earlier pumping processes lacked necessary strength. Another pumping well has been constructed further west, closer to the plume’s edge. Soon, a pipeline will be laid to support the new pump.
Construction will pass along Susan Lane, turn onto Charlotte Way then pass under Charlotte Way to the edge of Big Trees Park, a park with a secret.
Early 1990’s soil testing identified elevated levels of Plutonium in Big Trees Park. Plutonium, used in atom bombs, is a radioactive, high energy, alpha emitter. One microscopic Plutonium particle, inhaled into the lungs, is sufficient to cause cancer.
Pipeline installation is a dirty, dusty business. It will take one month to dig, install, and fill in the trench containing the pipeline. Stringent dust suppression measures are planned, but, with Plutonium around, dust abatement monitoring is not enough.
The Lab needs to install continuous monitors for radionuclides to alert pipeline workers to the presence of airborne Plutonium particles, so they may take measures to fully protect themselves and the neighborhood.
With school out, kids and families from nearby homes and apartment complexes should be free to enjoy their park, playgrounds, and community pool without fear of the Lab’s toxic legacy.
Lab Should Monitor for More Radiation- A letter to the editor by Environmental Science Intern Alison Forrest
June 28, 2012
Alison Forest
Source: The Contra Costa Times
As summer approaches, I couldn’t help but imagine myself lying by the poolside soaking up some sun. I recently learned some disheartening news that makes me rethink this.
The Livermore Lab is responsible for a toxic groundwater plume, which extends to the community pool on Charlotte Way, which they plan to clean up soon. While I think this cleanup is a great thing, the ground has been tested and found to be contaminated with a radioactive element, Plutonium.
As construction happens on a pipeline to clean the plume, there could be plutonium in the the dust. Livermore Lab has so far ignored the idea of installing continuous air monitoring to detect radionuclides at the construction zone.
One microscopic particle of Plutonium that is inhaled can damage cells to cause cancer and other illnesses. Not only will the pipeline be located near the pool, but also near an elementary school, apartment complexes occupied by children, and Big Trees Park.
Livermore Lab, I beg you to please rethink your stance on a continuous air monitoring system for radiation.
Oversight Issues- A letter to the Editor by Board Member Beverly King
June 21, 2012
Beverly King
Source: The Independent
The House National Defense Authorization Act has made an unprecedented attempt to shift management of a nuclear facility, the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at Y-12 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, out of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and treat it instead as a construction project managed by the Army Corp of Engineers under the Department of Defense.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Water and Energy, has written to the Senate Committee on Armed Services (who have the power to change this in their own bill) requesting that the UPF management remain with NNSA for two reasons. One, the Corp of Engineers has no experience with nuclear facilities. The NNSA does. Second, this project would take money from true military needs that would support our troops.
I thank Senator Feinstein for writing this letter and for her commitment to exercising more aggressive oversight of UPF construction. I urge her to commit to increased congressional oversight over our entire wasteful nuclear program until such time that we can eliminate nuclear weapons completely.
Lab's manager just routinely ignores law- A Letter to the Editor by Legal Intern Annie Batanides
June 20, 2012
Annalisa Batanides
Source: The Times-Herald
I am a legal intern with Tri-Valley CAREs, a nonprofit group that monitors Livermore Lab's activities.
My job includes using right-to-know laws to obtain information from Livermore Lab regarding potential health and environmental effects from their nuclear weapons work. So far, I have been surprised at the difficulty in obtaining information and the challenges met at every turn from the Department of Energy (DOE), the lab's parent agency.
As a federal agency, DOE is required to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which mandates that agencies must respond to public requests for information within 20 days, with reasonable exceptions. I am astonished by their consistent failure to comply with the law. Looking through dozens of requests over the past four years, I was unable to find one instance in which our request was handled within the time limit mandated in the FOIA statute.
Livermore Lab appears to be ignoring the administration's Open Government Directive, which urges transparency at federal facilities, leaving the public in the dark as to the potential impacts of those activities.
Livermore Lab's site 300 needs watching- A Letter to the Editor by Alison Forrest
June 14, 2012
Alison Forrest
Source: The Stockton Record
Central Valley residents spoke and Tri-Valley CAREs listened.
In February, the nonprofit organization Tri-Valley CAREs hosted a meeting in Tracy that I attended. Meeting attendees became concerned about the contamination that Lawrence Livermore Lab was creating at site 300. We asked them to set up a tour of the unit for our community. The public can join them on June 27 for a special community tour of site 300. Badging will begin at 8:45a.m., and the tour will be from 9 a.m. until noon. RSVP is required by Friday, so call (925) 443-7148. The information needed for a badge is your full name, driver's license or U.S. passport number, date and place of birth, and Social Security number. Space is limited, reservations are on a "first come, first served" basis.
For those who are unfamiliar, site 300 is Livermore Lab's high-explosives testing range. It is a nuclear bomb research and development site and was named one of the most contaminated spaces in the United States by the EPA in 1990. This superfund cleanup site is right in our backyard: the Altamont Pass. Site 300 is contaminated with radioactive and toxic materials such as depleted uranium, radioactive hydrogen and other contaminants. These same chemicals are leeching into the surrounding environment through soil and groundwater.
Senate should fix latest flawed defense bill- By TVC's Staff Attorney- Scott Yundt
May 31, 2012
Scott Yundt
Source: Times-Herald
Senate should fix latest flawed defense bill
On May 18, the House of Representatives passed a defense bill for fiscal year 2013 that is out of step with 21st century political and financial realities.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) increases spending on weapons systems that, according to Pentagon and Energy Department testimony, are unneeded. Further, it is marred by an undemocratic process that eliminated key amendments designed to fix its flaws. Unless altered by the Senate, this NDAA will have dangerous consequences locally, nationally and internationally.
The Republican majority pledged an open and free debate on the NDAA, but that is not what happened. Instead, procedural sleight of hand was employed to narrow the choices available to members of Congress and to forestall needed debate.
Amendments were submitted to the Rules Committee, which determines which ones can be voted upon. Unfortunately, that committee prevented key NDAA amendments from reaching the floor, preemptively barring members of Congress from voting on them.
A case in point is the amendment to restore nuclear safety requirements that had been gutted in the NDAA. The amendment was offered in a timely manner by three respected Democrats, the Bay Area's Democratic Rep. George Miller and U.S. Reps. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., and Loretta Sanchez, D- Calif. The amendment would have simply restored core safety standards at U.S. nuclear weapons facilities to their existing level, including Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.
It was neither out of order nor duplicative of another amendment offered. Yet, it was disallowed by the Rules Committee.
Similarly, an amendment by our local U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Livermore, on the question of authorizing money this year for a missile defense site on the East Coast was disallowed by the Rules Committee.
And, the Rules Committee refused a straightforward amendment by Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Sanchez and Hank Johnson, D-Ga., to strike the $100 million that was put in the NDAA for a new plutonium bomb plant that the administration had delayed five years on the grounds it was unnecessary and the Republican majority over on the appropriations side of the House had not wanted either.
Senators of both parties now have a solemn obligation to counter these provisions in their NDAA. Let's hope they are up to the challenge.
Lab Should Monitor Project for Radiation- A Letter to the Editor from Tri-Valley CAREs Board Member
May 24, 2012
Jo Ann Frisch
Source: Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, Sunol Times-Herald
Plutonium was found in soil at Big Trees Park and along Arroyo Seco.
Digging in contaminated soil can cause plutonium particles to become airborne and, if inhaled, can cause cancer.
Livermore Lab is going to dig a trench along Susan Lane, paralleling Arroyo Seco and across Charlotte Way to Big Trees Park, where it has a groundwater pumping station. The digging is for an underground pipeline to pump contaminated water from our aquifer back to the lab.
So far, the lab has ignored 130 neighborhood requests to use monitors to detect radiation particles during construction. The lab says it will only measure wind speed and regular dust, like any other construction site. That will not tell us if the dust is radioactive.
Construction preparation began May 14. Trenching begins May 21. I call on the Lab to do the right thing and monitor for radioactivity while digging in contaminated soil.
Contaminated Soil
May 17, 2012
Jo Ann Frisch, Tri-Valley CAREs Board Member
Source: The Independent
Plutonium was found in soil in Big Trees Park and along Arroyo seco.
Digging in contaminated soil can cause plutonium particles to become airborne and, if inhaled, can cause cancer.
Livermore Lab is going to dig a trench along Susan Lane, paralleling Arrouyo Seco, and across Charlotte Way to Big Trees Park where it has a groundwater pumping station. The digging is for an underground pipeline to pump contaminated water from our aquifer back to the Lab.
So far, the Lab has ignored 130 neighborhood requests to use moniotrs to detect radiation particles during costruction. The Lab says it will only measure wind speed and regular dust, like any other construction site. That will not tell us if the dust is radioactive.
Costruction preparation began May 14. Trenching begins May 21. I call on the Lab to do the right thing and monitor for radioactivity while digging in contaminated soil.
HAMTC worries bill could erode Hanford worker safety
May 16, 2012
Source: The Tri-City Herald
Hard-won safety protections for Hanford workers could be lost under a bill the U.S. House may consider today, according to the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council.
However, Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., disagrees that the bill would affect Hanford.
The fiscal 2013 Defense Authorization Act would substitute Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety standards for Department of Energy standards in DOE's nuclear weapons complex, according to fact sheets developed by national organized labor groups.
Some DOE standards are stricter than OSHA standards, including the beryllium standard. DOE's standard is 10 times as protective as OSHA's.
The bill would transfer health and safety responsibilities from DOE's Office of Health, Safety and Security to the quasi-independent National Nuclear Security Administration. The ability to impose fines for violations would be lost, according to the organized labor fact sheet.
Former Atomic Workers Assert Inconsistent Beryllium Claim Processing
April 26. 2012
Scott Yundt, Tri-Valley CAREs Staff Atttorney
Source: Huntington News (West Virginia)
Energy Employee Occupational Illness Compensation Act (EEIOCPA) claims for chronic beryllium disease (CBD), should be the most clear-cut claims for the Department of Labor adjudicate.
The criteria for approval are expressly spelled out in the Act itself.
Historically, if a claimant suffered from what was believed to be CBD, but died and received a diagnosis of another lung condition other than CBD, before 1993, they could still qualify for benefits if they satisfied three of the five statutory pre-1993 criteria.
Thus, approval did not require a firm diagnosis of CBD. Yet, in recent cases it has been the Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation’s (DEEOIC’s) position that a claim for CBD cannot be approved without a firm diagnosis.
This is evident in DEEOIC’s latest claims examiners’ training manual.
Insist on ceasing NIF project funding- A Letter to the Editor by TVC Board Member Jo Ann Frisch
April 25, 2012
Jo Ann Frisch
Source: The Oakland Tribune
Ten years after Lawrence Livermore National Lab's National Ignition Facility was scheduled to be completed, it has cost us nearly $7 billion. The original cost was $677 million. Despite being $6 billion over budget and still not achieving ignition, it continues to be funded.
NIF's mission was threefold: 1) nuclear weapons design; 2) nuclear weapons effects tests; 3) develop inertial fusion energy. However, its energy goals appear to be impossible.
The lab's next budget request fully walks away from any promise of ignition, citing the "physics uncertainties" associated with ignition.
A recent report from the National Nuclear Security Administration states the "useful data collection remains below the rate which has previously been" necessary for assuring success.
Will NIF ever achieve its goal of ignition? Will it continue to be funded despite its failure? Contact your legislators and tell them to stop funding a failed boondoggle.
More Green Funds- A Letter to the Editor from Tri-Valley CAREs Board Member Lee Torres
April 19, 2012
Lee Torres
Source: The Independent
More Green Funds
The Lawrence Livermore National laboratory is known to many Livermore neighbros as a developer of green technology. They do sonme gret work researching energy efficiency and developing renewables, but not enough. As a Livermore resident, I would like to see the lab do more with its vast resources.
For the lab's 2013 budget, DOE officieals requested over 1.1 Billion dollars. A staggering 87.7 % (987million) of that budget is to be allocated toward nuclear weapons activiites, while a paltry .58% (6.6 million) is designated for renewable energy research. Channeling more of LIvermreo Lab's vast resources toward promoting cleaner, safer and cheaper sources of energy could pave the way for true, longterm energy independence. Part of the Livermore Lab's mission concerns "enhancing the energy and environmental security of the nation." Allocating more money toward that coal would be an investment in the right direction.
NIF Funding
April 12, 2012
Jo Ann Frisch
Source: The Independent
NIF Funding
Ten years after Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s National Ignition Facility was scheduled to be completed, it has cost us nearly $7 billion. The original cost was $677 million. Despite being $6 billion over budget and still not achieving ignition, it continues to be funded.
NIF’s mission was 3-fold: 1) nuclear weapons design; 2) nuclear weapons effects tests; 3) develop inertial fusion energy. However, its energy goals appear to be impossible.
The Lab’s next budget request fully walks away from any promise of ignition, citing the “physics uncertainties… associated with ignition.”
A recent report from the National Nuclear Security Administration states the “… useful data collection remains below the rate which has previously been … necessary for assuring success.”
Will NIF ever achieve its goal of ignition? Will it continue to be funded in spite of its failure? Contact your legislators and tell them to stop funding a failed boondoggle!
Nuclear Workers
April 12, 2012
Bev King, Tri-Valley CAREs Board of Directors
Source: The Independent
Many former Livermore Lab, Sandia and other nuclear weapons workers, who believe they were made sick from work related exposures to radiation and/or chemicals, do not know that there is a federal program to cover medical costs and provide compensation for these illnesses.
The Energy Employee Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act can provide up to $250,000 in compensation plus medical coverage. Unfortunately, the process is long and confusing which is very discouraging when one is ill. Thankfully, a local support group has been created by Tri-Valley CAREs to help these workers navigate this program. Additionally, authorized representatives can be appointed on contingency to process your claim for you.
Sick former Department of Energy workers and their families deserve all the benefits and resources available. To be informed about these options, everyone interested is invited to the next Sick Worker Support Group meeting, Wednesday, May 2nd, 12:30 - 2 pm at the Livermore Public Library, Community Room A, 1188 South Livermore Avenue, Livermore. Call (925)-443-7148 for more info.
KPFA Evening News- Good Friday Action at Livermore Lab, Featuring Scott Yundt
April 6, 2012
Source: KPFA Evening News Segment- From minute 32:52-37:26
The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays - April 6, 2012 at 6:00pm
Click to listen (or download)
Annual nuclear weapons protest at Livermore lab set for Friday
April 4, 2012
Source: Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, Valley Times
LIVERMORE -- The annual early morning Good Friday protest against Lawrence Livermore Laboratory's role in creating weapons of mass destruction is set for Friday.
The event begins at 7 a.m., at the intersection of Vasco and Patterson Pass roads, with a sermon and program.
For the past three decades, the Ecumenical Peace Institute and the Livermore Conversion Project have co-sponsored the protest.
The sermon will be followed by a march down Vasco that will end at the west gate of the lab, where protesters have blocked the entrance in the past as a show of solidarity against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Along the route protesters, that have numbered from 70 to hundreds in the past, can stop at stations of the cross and listen to discussion related to the labs, said Scott Yundt, staff attorney at Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment). Tri-Valley CAREs is a Livermore-based nonprofit organization founded in 1983 whose goal is to inform the public and to eliminate nuclear weapons.
Yundt said Tri-Valley CAREs will participate and he will be giving one of the talks about activity at the lab, which he said still has 89 percent of its budget focused on nuclear weapons activity. Last year, 33 Good Friday protesters were arrested peacefully, cited and released.
TVC's Executive Director, Marylia Kelley, on CBS Sunday Morning - Energy from lasers: Sure shot or dead end?
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Source: CBS Sunday Morning (national)
The National Ignition Facility opened its doors to their control room for "Sunday Morning" to witness a laser shot for tests that may change how the U.S. may some day get its energy. David Pogue reports.
Watch the story on CBSNews.com...
Good Friday Protest
March 29, 2012
Source: The Independent
The annual Good Friday protest will be held April 6 near the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The theme, "Occupy Good Friday, Proclaim Good News to the Poor." Keynote speaker is Nochola Torbett, founding director Seminary of the Street, Marylia Kelley, of Tri-Valley CAREs, will discuss nuclear weapons activities.
The event begins at 6:45 a.m. with music followed by a 7 a.m. program at the corner of Vasco Road and Patterson Pass Road in Livermore. The service will include a call to action, procession, stations to visit and a chance to proclaim legal witness and to risk arrest at the gates of the Lab.
A community gathering will be held at about 10 a.m. at Asbury Unitied Methodist Church, 4743 East Ave., Livermore. Refreshments and light breakfast foods will be provided.
For information go to www.trivalleycares.org
Film- Continued Nuclear Arms Race and Nuclear Testing at Lawrence Livermore Lab
March 13, 2012
Abby Martin
Source: Mediaroots
MEDIA ROOTS — Abby and Robbie Martin grew up in Pleasanton, CA, a city located ten miles from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), a secret nuclear weapons production facility. They initially set out to explore the psychological impacts of taking nuclear testing into virtual space. But as their investigation unfolded, they found that the LLNL—in conjunction with Site 300—has built an impressive greenwashing PR campaign cloaking a sinister reality.
Letter to the Editor- "DOE Finances" by Jo Ann Frisch, Tri-Valley CAREs Board Member
March 8, 2012
Jo Ann Frisch
Source: The Independent
DOE Finances
Families across America are tightening their belts. But, the Department of Energy's (DOE) overall 2013 budget request is 41% higher than 2012. The request for DOE's nuclear weapons activities is $7.6 billion. If granted by Congress, it would be the largest in our nation's history.
Livermore Lab's portion of the DOE request is more than $1 billion. Nuclear weapons activities make up 88% of that. Scarcely 2% would be allocated for cleanup of pollution. And only 1% would go to renewable energy research.
There are millions of wasted dollars in the budget request. One example is the money squandered on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Taxpayers have already spent $7 billion on this mega-laser. Ignition was first promised in 2003. It has still not been achieved. The 2013 request for NIF is several hundred million. Instead, that money should go to cleanup and renewable energy research.
Nationally and locally, we can see that DOE can't be trusted to tighten its own belt. It's up to Congress to bring financial discipline to this agency.
Letter to the Editor- "Cautionary Anniversary" by Stephanie Ericson, Tri-Valley CAREs Board Member
March 8, 2012
Stephanie Ericson
Source: The Independent
Cautionary Anniversary
March 11 marks the anniversary of Japan's earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands, dislocated tens of thousands and caused meltdowns in three reactors in Fukusima, spewing radiation in to the air and ocean. Herioc efforts by Japanese nuclear workers notwithstanding, the plant was declared "stabilized" only recently.
Yet huge problems persist. Crushed trucks, equipment and towers remain in place, many repairs are makeshift, annd radiation leaks, though much reduced, are still high, peaking at more than 1000 times past levels. It will take 30 years to decommission the reactors. Meanwhile, vulnerabilities remain, and the tanks storing 100,000 tons of contaminated water will run out of space in April.
Global warming is real and potentially catastrophic, but nuclear power is not a green alternative. Our society and government must firmly commit to massive investment in renewable energy sources and conservation. Leaders who do not prioritize renewables over nuclear power deserve our healthy skepticism.
Letter to the Editor- "Heed the Warning" by Beverly King, Tri-Valley CAREs Board Member
March 8, 2012
Beverly King
Source: The Independent
March 11, 2012 will mark the one year since the Fukushima disaster.
Going inside the nuclear plant is still dangerous. According to the plant chief the Fukushima nuke plant is still vulnerable. Workers are allowed in for only a few hours at a time and only for a few minutes at a time in the highest radiation areas.
A remotely-operated robot recetly detected radiation at 220 millisieverts per hour in Reactor #2. Exposure to 1,000 millisieverts can cause acute radiateion sickness, a level that would be achieved in less than 5 hours.
The cleanup goal is to remove the fuel from the reactors and dismantle them. The Japanese government warns that it could take 40 years.
The people and the environment are suffering terrible damage. Yet new nuclear power plants are being proposed while older ones are leaking readioactive tritium on a daily basis.
Nuclear energy - be it for weapons or power generation - is potentially lethal. Fukusima is a warning we should heed.
Letter to the Editor- "More Safeguards" by Janis Kate Turner, Tri-Valley CAREs Board President
February 23, 2012
Janis Kate Turner
Source: The Contra Costa Times and The Valley Herald
Some of my neighbors and I are concerned that the Department of Energy and Livermore Lab will not undertake the safety measures necessary to ensure that the cleanup of off-site contaminated groundwater emanating from Livermore Lab does not result in additional public health impacts to our neighborhoods. I understand that nuclear weapons activities at the Livermore Lab main site have polluted our groundwater and soil.
Generally, I support the effort to build a pipeline to capture the off-site groundwater contamination, pump the toxic water into the pipeline and bring it back to the lab site in order to clean it in an existing groundwater treatment facility. However, the pipeline extension will go through soils known to be contaminated with plutonium, a long-lived radioactive element that is dangerous in microscopic quantities.
The construction of the pipeline is likely to result in additional public health impacts from the disturbance of plutonium-contaminated soils unless additional precautions are taken. Specifically, I urge the lab to include continuous radiation air monitors during the pipeline construction project.
Op-Ed in SF Chronicle- Questioning Obama's Nuclear Agenda
February 15, 2012
Marylia Kelley, Executive Director, Tri-Valley CAREs
Source: The San Francisco Chronicle
While most federal agencies are being placed on an austerity diet, the Obama administration's 2013 budget for nuclear weapons activities is more than last year's appropriation and 20 percent higher than President Reagan's largest nuclear weapons budget at the height of the Cold War, adjusted for inflation. If fully funded, Obama's budget will be the biggest nuclear weapons budget in our nation's history.
President Obama firmly declared "America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons" in his 2009 Prague address. The world, including me, cheered. But, Mr. President, this is not a budget that implements our solemn commitment.
It's time for congressional Democrats and Republicans alike to sharpen the budget ax.
TVC Executive Director, Marylia Kelley, on KPFA evening news re: FY2013 US Nuclear Weapons Budget
February 11, 2012
Source: KPFA 94.1 Evening News
To hear Marylia's interview listen from 18:18 to 20:23
The KPFA Evening News (Weekend) - February 11, 2012 at 6:00pm
Click to listen (or download)
Listen to the story on KPFA.org...
Biological weapons research center's status upheld
February 8, 2012
Source: The San Francisco Chronicle
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the continued operation of a biological weapons research center at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, rejecting opponents' claim that the government failed to consider fully the possible release of deadly organisms in a terrorist attack.
The center, which opened in February 2009, conducts research intended to detect biological pathogens such as anthrax, plague, brucellosis and Q fever.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had blocked the facility in 2006, saying the environmental assessment by the Department of Energy had failed to study the consequences of a terrorist attack.
The department took another look and found no significant danger from terrorism, a conclusion accepted by a federal judge and, on Tuesday, by the appeals court.
Activists urge court to order new study of terrorist attack on DOE weapons lab
January 16, 2012
Source: Platts Inside Energy
Apart from researching cutting-edge energy technologies and nuclear weapons, the Energy Department's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory also studies how to defend against biological attacks — an area that has sparked controversy and lawsuits from the community around the Northern California lab.
That controversy heated up last week, with local activists taking DOE to court once again in an effort to force the agency to more thoroughly examine the potential harm that could come from a terrorist attack on the facility.
Read the full story... (PDF)
U.S. needs to reduce its nuclear arsenal- A letter to the Editor by TVC member Stephan Kelley
January 19, 2012
Stephan Kelley
Source: The Oakland Tribune
U.S. needs to reduce its nuclear arsenal
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I thought about the powerful things the civil rights leader had to say about war and this nation's priorities.
In 1967, he said, "The best brains in the highly developed nations of the world are devoted to military technology. The fact that most of the time human beings put the truth about the nature and risks of nuclear war out of their minds because it is too painful and therefore not 'acceptable,' does not alter the nature and risks of such war."
This situation persists, even at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, where thousands still work every day on nuclear weapons technology for our government at huge costs to taxpayers. President Barack Obama is pushing for a reduction in weapons, and this is a positive sign. We must support his efforts to eliminate these weapons before they eliminate us.
Bioweapon Security Questioned
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Source: The Daily Journal
A community group concerned over the operation of a bioweapon research facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory sought to convince the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday that the high security facility has failed to adequately look at the risks posed by a terrorist attack.
Nonprofit Tri-Valley Cares is fighting the Energy Department, claiming it glossed over the threat of deadly pathogens such as anthrax and plague escaping from the lab in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA.
Read the full story... (PDF)
Livermore Lab bioweapons center debated in court
January 12, 2012
Source: The San Francisco Chronicle
An opponent of the new biological weapons research center at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory told a federal appeals court Wednesday that government officials approved the project without fully considering the consequences of a possible terrorist attack or disclosing the details of a past release of anthrax.
Research at the center is intended to help the government detect biological pathogens such as anthrax, plague, brucellosis and Q fever. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the facility in 2006, saying the Department of Energy's environmental assessment had failed to study the possibility that terrorists could cause a release of deadly organisms.
The department took another look and found no significant danger from terrorism, a conclusion accepted by a federal judge who allowed the center to open in February 2009. But a lawyer for opponents argued Wednesday that the new review was perfunctory and violated the court's 2006 order.
Livermore lab watchdog appeals for closure of lab's bioresearch facility
January 12, 2012
Source: Bay Area Newsgroup Papers (Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, Valley Times, San Jose Mercury News)
A Lawrence Livermore Laboratory watchdog group argued in a San Francisco federal court Wednesday for a halt to biological weapons research until its danger to residents is more thoroughly examined.
Inside a high-security building at the national lab, researchers are working with microbes such as anthrax, plague, Q fever and other deadly pathogens to better understand how they infect people and to develop technologies for detecting them.
"And this will all be done a half a mile away from densely populated areas in Livermore," said Scott Yundt, a lawyer with Tri-Valley CAREs.
Yundt argued strenuously before the three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that risks to the environment and human health were not adequately analyzed before the facility opened in 2008.
Organization brings case to federal court against Lawrence Livermore lab
January 12, 2012
Source: The Daily Californian
SAN FRANCISCO – A local community organization presented its case against the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in federal court Wednesday morning, alleging that the lab handled potentially lethal chemicals without proper environmental review.The organization, Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, challenged the U.S. Department of Energy, which funds the lab, on its methods of dealing with potential terrorist or accidental situations if lethal pathogens such as anthrax were released from the lab facility. The case was presented before a panel of judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, who promised an expedient decision due to the case’s importance.
The lab, which is one of three department labs that the University of California is involved with managing, researches science and technology to solve national security issues.
Inflated Budget- A Letter to the Editor from TVC Board Member Jo Ann Frisch
January 5, 2012
Jo Ann Frisch
Source: The Independent
The so-called Super Committee failed to reach a deal on deficit reduction. This has triggered “sequestration” which means automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion split evenly between defense and civilian programs over the next ten years.
However, the GOP, in particular, wants to nullify the effects of “sequestration” on the pentagon budget. These are the very same people who got us in this spending mess in the first place. We have spent $3.7 trillion on their wars over the past ten years, which has driven the deficit to all-time highs. Thankfully, President Obama has steadfastly stated he will veto any effort to reduce the defense cuts.
Part of the solution to our budget problems can be achieved by also cutting the nuclear weapons budget which has continued to increase in spite of the end of the cold war two decades ago. Up to $700 billion is proposed to be spent on nuclear weapons and related programs over the next ten years. Urge your Congress people to support cutting this grossly inflated nuclear weapons budget.