WHEN:Thursday, September 18, 2014 from 7 PM to 8:30 PM

WHERE: Livermore Library Community Room A, 1188 So. Livermore Ave

SPEAKERS:

• Peter Strauss is President of the San Francisco-based PM Strauss & Associates. He began working for Tri-Valley CAREs in 1991 as Technical Advisor on the Superfund cleanup of the Livermore Lab's main site. In the mid-90s, he was also awarded a second contract by Tri-Valley CAREs to analyze data and advise on the Superfund cleanup at the Livermore Lab's site 300 high explosives testing range. His responsibilities include providing detailed analysis of reports, well logs and other technical data on soil and groundwater contaminants and their migration through the environment. Strauss also provides analyses of remediation technologies.

• Marylia Kelley is Executive Director at Tri-Valley CAREs. She brings 31 years of research, writing and facilitating public participation in decisions regarding the Livermore Lab, nuclear weapons, waste and cleanup. Kelley has served on the Livermore Lab "Community Work Group" (since 1989) to advise the government and the community on the Lab’s Superfund cleanup of toxic and radioactive pollution. Kelley has testified on issues related to the U.S. nuclear weapons complex before the House Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Congress, the California Legislature and the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, among other deliberative bodies.

• Scott Yundt is Staff Attorney at the Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs. He heads the group’s environmental and “right to know” litigation, and is managing Tri-Valley CAREs analysis of the renewal of Livermore Lab’s permit to store and treat hazardous and “mixed” radioactive wastes on site. Yundt also facilitates a support group for Livermore Lab and other workers made ill by on the job exposures.

WHY: At the main site, Livermore Lab has not held a meeting of its official “Community Work Group” in about two years. The public is being excluded. Contributing problems include a thick veil of institutional secrecy, hypertechnical “Lab-speak,” an absence of Spanish translation, and the regulatory agencies’ inability to compel meaningful changes in the Lab’s public involvement methods. At Site 300, a pressing problem is the lack of any official process to involve the public in Superfund cleanup decisions. Background on environmental contaminants at Livermore Lab is available at www.trivalleycares.org, or call us at (925) 443-7148. ###

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“Failure to Disarm: Holding Our Government Accountable”

Hiroshima Commemoration, Protest & Nonviolent Direct Action at Livermore Lab Highlights Courageous “Nuclear Zero” Lawsuits Brought by the Marshall Islands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 31, 2014

WHAT: California peace advocates will mark the 69th Anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Livermore Lab, where the U.S. is spending billions of dollars to create new and modified nuclear weapons. The aptly titled event, “Failure to Disarm,” will highlight the landmark litigation filed recently by the tiny Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), used as a U.S. nuclear test site for 12 years, against the nine nuclear weapons states for their failure to disarm under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and customary international law. The RMI also filed a separate case against the U.S. in Federal Court in San Francisco. The complaint specifically cites Livermore Lab’s activities to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile as a breach of the NPT and flagrant violation of international law.

WHEN: Wed., August 6, 2014. Rally will be from 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM, with a moment of silence at 8:15 AM, the moment the first atomic bomb used in war exploded over Hiroshima. At 8:30 AM there will be a procession to the Livermore Lab West Gate, with a traditional Japanese dance and the chalking of human bodies on pavement to commemorate the vaporized remains found after the atomic bombings. Those who choose will peaceably risk arrest. Others will offer witness and support.

WHERE: Livermore Lab , corner of Vasco & Patterson Pass Roads in Livermore. Procession will go southward down Vasco Road to Westgate Drive.

SPEAKERS: • Rick Wayman will deliver the keynote. Wayman is Director of Programs for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. He worked on nuclear policy with the UK Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament before moving to Santa Barbara in 2007 to join NAPF. Wayman works closely with the government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to coordinate the educational, policy and legal components of the litigation.

• Scott Yundt will detail weapons activities currently underway at Livermore Lab. Yundt is Staff Attorney at the Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs. He manages the group’s environmental and “right to know” litigation, and is preparing an amicus brief in support of the Marshall Islands’ Federal case. Yundt facilitates a support group for Livermore Lab and other workers made ill by on the job exposures.

• Jackie Cabasso will address resurgent U.S. militarism in Asia-Pacific and the growing dangers of great power wars among nuclear armed nations. Cabasso, Executive Director of the Oakland-based Western States Legal Foundation since 1984, is an internationally recognized leading voice for nuclear weapons abolition. She was the recipient of the 2008 Sean McBride Peace Prize.

• Chizu Hamada will speak on the links between nuclear weapons, nuclear power and the ongoing dangers at Fukushima Daiichi. Hamada is a San Francisco business owner and spokesperson for the No Nukes Action Committee, a group of Japanese citizens, Japanese-Americans and others who came together after the 3/11/2011 earthquake, tsunami and meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

• Music by Duamuxa, world music ensemble, and Daniel Zwickel, singer-guitarist.

WHY: On the 69th Anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, we will gather at the location where scientists are developing new and modified nuclear weapons. The Livermore Lab budget request reveals that 89% of the money will go to nuclear weapons activities in the coming fiscal year. Overall, the U.S. government spends nearly $2 million each hour on the nuclear weapons stockpile. U.S. spending will reach nearly $4 million each hour by 2030. This reality stands in stark contrast to the President’s rhetoric of seeking a “world without nuclear weapons” and the U.S. legal commitment to disarm under the NPT. The tiny Pacific Island Nation of the Republic of the Marshall Islands has filed valiant “Nuclear Zero” lawsuits against the U.S. and eight other nuclear weapons states in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The nuclear nine are: the U.S., Russia, UK, France, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea. The Marshallese have also filed separately against the United States in the U.S. Federal District Court in San Francisco. The Marshall Islanders know all too well the devastating effects of living in the nuclear age. From 1946 to 1958, the U.S conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands. Their explosive power was estimated to be 1,000 times greater than the atomic bombs that leveled Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Yet, the Marshallese are not seeking damages in their historic litigation. Instead they seek to compel compliance with the nuclear disarmament obligation enshrined in the NPT and in customary international law binding on all states.

The Japanese Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) also speak for global nuclear disarmament. Each August 6 and 9th, their voices are raised to cry “never again,” so that no others shall ever feel the horrific blast, heat, thirst, radiation sickness and either bloody death or [often] lingering illness that follows. On this August 6th, we will remember with sadness our government’s use of nuclear weapons on the Japanese people and recommit with joy to our ongoing our efforts to abolish nuclear weapons – an urgent necessity for our collective survival. We will stand, too, in solidarity with the people of the Marshall Islands as their historic litigation for nuclear zero wends its way through the international and domestic court systems.

OPS: Pre-event interviews with speakers, artists or organizers available on request.

Photo opportunities available at the rally site at 7:30 AM, and also along the procession route and at the Livermore Lab’s West Gate. Call for details.

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Inaugural Youth Video Contest on Livermore Lab Contamination Issues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 24, 2014

Livermore, CA - “Six Decades of Nuclear Bombs at Livermore Lab” is the theme of the inaugural Youth Video Contest sponsored locally by Tri-Valley CAREs*. The instructions are simple: Describe why a clean environment is important to you.

On Tuesday, July 29th at 10am at Livermore Main Library (1188 South Livermore Avenue), Tri-Valley CAREs will hold a press conference announcing the video contest. Members of the organization will put up a display on the bulletin board in the main hall, as well as be available for interviews, questions, and photo opportunities.

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LIVERMORE GROUP HEADS TO WASHINGTON TO EXPOSE “BILLION DOLLAR BOONDOGGLES” FOR NUCLEAR FACILITIES & WARHEADS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 14, 2014

Livermore, CA - Members of Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment) will be in Washington, DC the week of May 18 to oppose U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear projects, including work proposed for, and being done at, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, that will waste billions in taxpayer funds, damage the environment and undermine the nation’s non-proliferation goals. The group will meet with leading members of Congress, committee staffers, and top administration officials with responsibility for U. S. nuclear policies.

The Livermore delegation will be working with colleagues living around other DOE facilities, from a dozen other states, who are participating in the 26th annual Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) "DC Days." The activists will meet with California Senators and Representatives, as well as leaders of congressional committees that oversee nuclear issues, and key federal agency staffers.

On Monday, May 19, ANA will release Billion Dollar Boondoggles, a comprehensive analysis of the Obama Administration’s latest plans to spend more money for less security. Tri-Valley CAREs’ Executive Director, Marylia Kelley, authored several sections of the report and will speak at the Monday news conference to release it to media and the public. The report highlights the proposed use of plutonium in the National Ignition Facility at Livermore Lab and warhead “Life Extension Programs,” among other topics.

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Budget Dispatch #3 – NUCLEAR AGENCY WITHHOLDS CRITICAL BUDGET DOCUMENTS; WATCHDOG GROUP DECRIES DELAY, PROVIDES OVERVIEW OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS, NONPROLIFERATION & CLEANUP FUNDING REQUEST BASED ON AVAILABLE DOCUMENTS

This is the third in a series of Tri-Valley CAREs’ dispatches from deep within the FY 2015 budget request documents for the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). This dispatch will conclude our remarks on the budget documents released today. The NNSA’s detailed budget submittal to Congress has yet to be made public. We will resume these dispatches when key details become available, which may not be until March 11, 2014.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 4, 2014, 5PM

Tri-Valley CAREs celebrated important budget victories in the placement of the Mixed Oxide Plutonium Fuel (MOX) program into “cold standby” and the 5-year deferment, amounting to cancellation, of the new W78/88-1 “interoperable” nuclear warhead (see dispatches #1 and #2). The overview of the entire nuclear weapons budget request is far less rosy, however.

The “top line” request for DOE NNSA nuclear weapons activities rises to $8.3 billion, an increase of nearly $534 million, or about 7%, above the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 level, which was already far too high. Notably a major increase is requested in FY2015 for “directed stockpile work” (mostly to combine 4 versions of the B61 into a new B61-12 nuclear bomb, a risky enterprise that is neither desirable nor necessary). Additionally, the related increase in NNSA’s “readiness campaign” was also attributed to the B61-12. (See pages 12 and 13 in the DOE Budget Highlights).

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Budget Dispatch #2 – INTEROPERABLE W78/88-1 WARHEAD DESIGN DEFERRED 5-YEARS; TRI-VALLEY CAREs PRONOUNCES THIS LIVERMORE LAB PROGRAM “DEAD”

This is the second in a series of Tri-Valley CAREs’ dispatches from deep within the FY 2015 budget request documents for the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 4, 2014, NOON

Tri-Valley CAREs applauds the White House decision to defer the W78/88-1 "interoperable" nuclear warhead by at least 5-years. Further, the nuclear watchdog group declares that the Livermore Lab-led program is now “effectively dead in the water.”

The W78/88-1 Life Extension Program, as envisioned by weaponeers at Livermore Lab, would have entailed the design of a new, untested warhead “mash up” of the land-based W78 warhead, the submarine-launched W88 warhead and the core from a third design, the W87. The NNSA estimated about its cost at around $14 billion, but congressional staff and independent analysts, including at Tri-Valley CAREs, estimated its costs would meet or exceed the $28 billion mark.

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Budget Dispatch #1 – TRI-VALLEY CAREs CELEBRATES MAJOR VICTORY; MIXED OXIDE FUEL (MOX) BOONDOGGLE IS PUT IN “COLD STANDBY”

This is the first in a series of Tri-Valley CAREs’ dispatches from deep within the FY 2015 budget request documents for the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 4, 2014

Tri-Valley CAREs declares a major victory as the White House announces it will place the Dept. of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration’s beleaguered Mixed Oxide Plutonium Fuel (MOX) program into “cold standby” as it examines other less costly alternatives for disposition of plutonium declared surplus from nuclear weapons programs.

The MOX plant, under construction at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, has been rife with escalating costs, including a new, internal estimate rumored to top $30 billion. Tri-Valley CAREs is one of dozens of organizations across the country that has worked tirelessly over the past several years to bring accountability to the MOX program and to encourage the federal government to reopen a search for disposition alternatives that will be safer, faster and cheaper, including further analysis of the “immobilization” option.

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QUESTIONS FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE) FY 2015 NUCLEAR WEAPONS, REACTOR AND CLEANUP BUDGET

from Tri-Valley CAREs, Livermore, CA & Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, Washington, DC

for use with March 4, 2014 Obama Administration Budget Request

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 3, 2014

The U.S. nuclear budget is out of control. Huge cost overruns for unnecessary production facilities are common. At the same time, cleanup of radioactive and toxic pollution from weapons research, testing, production and waste disposal is falling behind. The Department of Energy (DOE) budget for FY 2015 will reveal the Obama Administration’s nuclear priorities.

The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA), a 25-year-old network of groups from communities downwind and downstream of U.S. nuclear sites, will be looking at the following issues. For details, contact the ANA leaders listed at the end of this Media Advisory.

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Unfinished Business and Our Most Urgent Responsibility: Banning the Bomb at the Livermore Lab and Globally

Hiroshima Commemoration, Protest & Nonviolent Direct Action at Livermore Lab

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 1, 2013

WHAT: Northern California peace advocates will mark the 68th Anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Livermore Lab, where the U.S. is presently spending billions of dollars to create new and modified nuclear weapons. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is one of two locations that have designed every warhead in the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.

WHEN: Tues., August 6, 2013. Rally will be from 7 AM – 8:15 AM, the moment the first atomic bomb used in war exploded over Hiroshima. At 8:15 AM there will be a procession to the Livermore Lab West Gate and the chalking of human bodies on pavement to commemorate the vaporized remains found after the atomic bombings. Those who choose will peaceably risk arrest. Others will offer witness and support.

WHERE: Livermore Lab, corner of Vasco & Patterson Pass Roads in Livermore. Procession will go southward down Vasco Road to Westgate Drive.

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Tri-Valley CAREs Files Federal Lawsuit to Compel Release of Information About Nuclear Weapons Activities at Livermore Lab

Group charges Energy Dept. illegally withheld documents on dangerous plans to use plutonium in the National Ignition Facility, ship nuclear bomb cores to California, and more; requests Special Prosecutor be named

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, June 7, 2013

LIVERMORE & OAKLAND, CA – Today, Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment) filed a Federal lawsuit in United States District Court for the Northern District of California against the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) and its National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for numerous failures to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which requires federal agencies to respond to public requests for information within 20 days.

According to the complaint filed today in US District Court, Tri-Valley CAREs alleges five separate instances the DOE and NNSA failed to provide responsive, unclassified documents regarding operations at the agencies’ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as required by law. The information that is the subject of the litigation is overdue by time periods between one and two years.

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For a PDF of the press release, click here.

To read the whole Tri-Valley CAREs' Complaint filed against the DOE and NNSA, click here.

Tri-Valley CAREs Team Heads to Washington to Cut Spending on Nuclear Weapons Programs; Restore Needed Funds for Radioactive Waste Cleanup and Securing Nuclear Materials

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, April 11, 2013

A unique delegation of activists and experts from Tri-Valley CAREs will be in Washington, DC from April 14 through 17 to conduct meetings with leading members of Congress and the Obama Administration in the wake of the Fiscal Year 2014 budget request’s increases for nuclear weapons, which were released April 10, 2013. The team aims to prevent billions of dollars from being spent on ill-conceived nuclear weapons projects that threaten the nation’s nonproliferation goals as well as public health and the environment.

Representing the Livermore, CA-based group will be Janis Kate Turner, the Board President whose home sits near a contaminated groundwater plume emanating from Livermore Lab. Additionally, Dr. Robert Civiak, a physicist and former White House official, will be joining the team. Rounding it out will be Scott Yundt, the group’s Staff Attorney, and Marylia Kelley, its longtime Executive Director. Tri-Valley CAREs’ delegation will be in DC working with colleagues from a dozen other states who are participating in the 25th annual Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) “DC Days.”

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For fact sheets and more information on “DC Days” events, check here.

From Tri-Valley CAREs, Livermore, CA for Reporters and the Public: Our Initial Response to the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Request for Nuclear Weapons

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 10, 2013

Noon April 15, 2013: The “top line” budget numbers for the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) are now on the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website. Tri-Valley CAREs notes with concern that the NNSA “nuclear weapons activities” are receiving an increase in this era of budget austerity.

The request of $7.87 billion for Fiscal Year 2014 (page 89) is actually $900 million (13 percent) above the FY 2013 final enacted level including the sequester. Indeed, all posted comparisons in the NNSA budget request to FY 2013 funding levels are misleading, because they do not reflect the effect of the 7.8 percent sequester.

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QUESTIONS FOR THE APRIL 10 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE) FY 2014 NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND CLEANUP BUDGET ROLLOUT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 8, 2013

for further information:

Marylia Kelley, Tri-Valley CAREs, Livermore, CA (925) 443-7148

Katherine Fuchs, ANA, Washington, DC (202) 544-0217

Bob Schaeffer, Public Policy Assoc. and ANA, (239) 395-6773

and local contacts listed below

An overriding issue for the Wednesday, April 10, budget release is: Will the Obama Administration continue to escalate funding for unnecessary nuclear programs in light of current fiscal constraints while cutting legally required cleanup spending? The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA), a national network of groups from communities downwind and downstream of U.S. nuclear facilities, is concerned that out-of-control spending on nuclear weapons will divert resources from legally required environmental cleanup, dismantlement, and critical nonproliferation efforts. Here are some key questions that the Department of Energy (DOE) budget should address:

-- How much will be spent on construction of the Mixed Oxide (MOX) plutonium fuel plant at the Savannah River Site, which is far behind schedule and over budget? What is DOE’s re-baselined cost estimate for building the facility, recently reported by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to have increased from $4.9 billion in 2008 to $7.7 billion? What is the projected life-cycle cost for all aspects of the MOX program, which ANA estimates to be over $20 billion?

-- Will the budget rein in over-spending on the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) in Oak Ridge? Will there be any accountability for the flawed $500 million building design fiasco before more money is spent? Will an Independent Cost Estimate be required before UPF construction funding is released?

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Federal Official “Cooks the Numbers” in Livermore Lab Management Review; $44 Million Bonus and Contract Extension Unwarranted, Charge Watchdogs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 7, 2013

As the nation faces sequestration and across the board budget cuts, one federal official has made "an adjustment to the recommended incentive fee" for the Limited Liability Company (LLC) that manages and operates the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the U.S. Dept. of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The contractor, Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), LLC is a consortium made up of Bechtel National, the University of California, Babcock and Wilcox, the Washington Division of URS Corp. and Battelle.

The just-released NNSA Fiscal Year 2012 Performance Evaluation Report (PER) shows that the numbers were cooked to benefit the management contractor after the evaluation had been completed, allowing for an increased fee award and an extra year, non-competitive extension of the contract for the LLC. Nuclear watchdogs, including the Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs, are crying foul and calling for "greater oversight of taxpayers’ money and a more open and transparent contract process."

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Click here to read the publically available summary of the Fiscal Year 2012 Performance Evaluation Report of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Click here to read the FULL Fiscal Year 2012 Performance Evaluation Report of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Livermore Lab at the Crossroad

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 28, 2013

Forum this Wednesday on Potentially Illegal Plan to Ship Plutonium Bomb Cores from NM to CA

On January 30, Tri-Valley CAREs will host a forum in Livermore with environmental, legal and nuclear experts from New Mexico and California to discuss a federal proposal to transport plutonium bomb cores from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the Bay Area. Livermore and Los Alamos are the nation’s two major nuclear weapons design facilities. The event will be held from 7 PM to 9 PM in the large community room at the Livermore main library, 1188 South Livermore Avenue. Livermore Lab permanently lost its security authorization to handle, use or store bomb-usable quantities of plutonium, including bomb cores, on September 30, 2012. At that time, Livermore Lab changed from a Category I/II security infrastructure to a lesser Category III security posture, which does not allow any nuclear bomb-usable quantities of plutonium on-site. Yet, the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE), the agency that owns both weapons labs and mandated the de-inventory of plutonium from Livermore Lab, left a suite of bomb core diagnostics in a service bay in Livermore’s Bldg. 334. The DOE now proposes to bring whole plutonium pits from NM to CA to utilize the diagnostics, known as “shake and bake,” which consist of a shaker table, thermal unit and drop test. Los Alamos Lab does not currently possess this particular diagnostic suite and Livermore Lab does not possess the security infrastructure to safely handle the plutonium bomb cores, also called “pits”.

Tri-Valley CAREs’ Executive Director Marylia Kelley commented on plan, “Livermore Lab management appears to be placing its bomb testing desires above public safety. Moreover, DOE is exercising poor planning in leaving the diagnostics behind. The bottom line,” Kelley continued, “is that communities should not be put in danger because Livermore Lab has ‘plutonium envy’ and DOE Headquarters suffers from an abysmal lack of foresight. The government must either decommission the bomb core diagnostics at Livermore or move them to where the bomb cores are located.”

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"Foreclose on the Bomb, Not the People"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 30, 2012

Hiroshima - Nagasaki Commemoration and Protest at the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Laboratory

WHAT: Bay Area peace and justice advocates will mark the 67th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Livermore Lab, where the U.S. is presently spending billions of dollars to create “new and modified” nuclear bombs. This event is part of national "Nuclear-Free Future Month". The "Occupy Oakland" bus will bring some participants to the venue from the MacArthur BART station. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is one of two principle U.S. facilities engaged in nuclear weapons R&D.

WHEN: Sunday, August 5, 2012, from 4 PM to 6 PM, with a procession to Livermore Lab following the program. Please note that 4:15 PM local time on August 5 is 8:15 AM August 6 in Hiroshima, the precise moment the first nuclear bomb used in war exploded.

WHERE: A rally will take place at William Payne Park in Livermore, across the street from the Lab at Vasco and Patterson Pass Roads. Following the program, at approximately 6 PM, nuclear disarmament advocates will march to the Livermore Lab. Participants will symbolically “foreclose on the bomb” with art, paper chains, cranes, locks and foreclosure signs. Some may choose to also peaceably risk arrest.

WHO: “Foreclose on the Bomb…” is co-sponsored by more than two-dozen organizations. Featured speakers and performers are:

• Mr. Takashi Tanemori, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, who will discuss his experiences that morning and the aftermath, including his journey from anger to peace.

• Natalia Mironova, Ph.D., a former legislator, and longtime leader of the Movement for Nuclear Safety in Chelyabinsk, Russia, will talk about the emerging dangers of a new U.S. – Russia nuclear arms race and the hurdles to and necessity of nuclear disarmament.

• Michael Eisenscher, a co-founder of U.S. Labor Against the War, will speak to the U.S. military budget and its impact on human needs and working people.

• Tara Dorabji, of the Livermore-based Tri-Valley CAREs, and Andrew Lichterman, of Oakland’s Western States Legal Foundation, will speak on Livermore Lab and the centrality of nuclear technology in the military-industrial-technology complex, respectively.

• Emma’s Revolution, a popular and topical musical duo will preform, as will Kaylah Marin, Daniel Zwickel, and Taiko drummers.

WHY: August 6^th and 9^th 2012 will mark the 67th anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  This year, commemorative activities will connect the ongoing existential threats posed by nuclear weapons with the negative economic impacts of massive investments in militarism and nuclear technology on basic human needs in a time of global economic and environmental crisis.

CONTACT:

Marylia Kelley, Tri-Valley CAREs: 925-443-7148; cell on-site: 925-255-3589.

Jackie Cabasso, Western States Legal Foundation: 510-839-5877; cell on-site: 510-306-0119

###

Key Congressional Appropriations Amendment Passage Supports Needed Nonproliferation Program Over Troubled Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Scheme

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 6, 2012

Key Congressional Appropriations Amendment Passage Supports Needed Nonproliferation Program Over Troubled Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Scheme

Today, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed an amendment offered by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE). Members of the House from both sides of the aisle spoke in favor of Rep. Fortenberry’s amendment, which moved $17 million from the Mixed Oxide Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Program to the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI).  The amendment, which passed by a vote of 328 to 89, was offered to the House Appropriations bill to fund Department of Energy programs.

“The passage of the amendment is a clear indication that congressional oversight of the MOX program is increasing” said Katherine Fuchs, Program director at the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA), a national network to which Tri-Valley CAREs has belonged since 1989.

The amendment comes on the heels of an earlier cut of $152 million from the MOX program by the House Appropriations Committee.

“The Global Threat Reduction Initiative is the leading edge of our nation’s ongoing effort to secure loose nuclear materials,” explained Tri-Valley CAREs’ Executive Director, Marylia Kelley.  “Rep. Fortenberry’s amendment brings funding for this critical program up to the President’s requested level for Fiscal Year 2013.”

The MOX program is intended to make 34 metric tons of weapons grade plutonium inaccessible for use in a weapon by blending plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons with depleted uranium for use in commercial nuclear reactor fuel.

Tom Clements, ANA’s Nonproliferation Director, noted, “The MOX program has been plagued by technical, financial, and scheduling problems and no utilities have contracted to use the MOX plutonium fuel.”

The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability and Tri-Valley CAREs welcome increased Congressional oversight of the MOX program’s out of control costs.

The Report that accompanies the House Energy and Water Appropriations bill amended this afternoon expresses the committee’s concerns about the program: “There is still no fidelity on the total project costs and timeline to get the MOX facility up and running, and few details have been provided on the long term investments that will be needed to support full operating feedstock requirements.... The Department [of Energy] is now reporting internally that the total project costs could be understated by as much as $600,000,000 to $900,000,000, and that the project will overrun its projected completion date by months if not years. Further, the updated cost estimates provided by the NNSA for the projected annual operating costs of the MOX facility have skyrocketed and are now 2.5 times the projections of just two years ago.”

Speaking for his amendment, Rep. Fortenberry said “We should be proud of our work as a country in our nuclear security efforts, but it is abundantly clear that the mixed oxide fuel program is not the most productive use of our constituents' taxpayer dollars…”

Tri-Valley CAREs is a Livermore, California-based organization of 5,600 members who watchdog the nearby Livermore Lab and the U.S. nuclear weapons complex of which Livermore Lab is a part.

The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability is a national network of 35 organizations working to address issues of nuclear weapons production and waste cleanup.

CONTACT:

Marylia Kelley, Tri-Valley CAREs, [email protected], 925-443-7148

Katherine Fuchs, ANA Program Director, [email protected], 414-324-4228

Tom Clements, ANA Nonproliferation Policy Director, [email protected], 803-834-3084

###

Watchdog Group Blasts House Rules Committee Decision to Prevent Debate and Vote on Crucial Amendment to Restore Nuclear Safety in National Defense Authorization Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 17, 2012

House NDAA Will Compromise Nuclear Oversight and Risk Health and Safety
at Livermore Lab and other Nuclear Weapons Sites across the Nation

LIVERMORE – Moments ago, Bay Area Rep. George Miller (D-CA-07)  took to the floor of the House of Representatives to decry the fact that the Miller-Visclosky-Sanchez amendment to restore nuclear safety, which had been offered in a timely manner to the National Defense Authorization Act,  had been prevented by the Rules Committee from being considered. (A link to Rep. George Miller’s press release and his floor statement follow.)

Tri-Valley CAREs responded: “This decision guts nuclear safety. The Miller-Visclosky-Sanchez amendment was absolutely essential to prevent a dangerous rollback of 25 years of safety standards at the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons facilities, including the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory," stated Marylia Kelley, the group’s Executive Director.

Kelley explained, “Today is a sad day for the safety of workers at nuclear weapons facilities and for the American people who live around these sites. Language in the NDAA will weaken the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s ability to provide independent oversight at nuclear weapons facilities.  Moreover, the act’s language also limits the role of the Secretary of Energy in setting safety standards. Instead, the contractor ‘foxes’ would be placed in charge of safety at the nuclear ‘henhouses’. Such ill-advised changes take us back to the days of huge accidents, spills and radioactive releases in Livermore and across the country.”

Tri-Valley CAREs’ staff attorney, Scott Yundt, expressed his concern now that the Miller amendment has been disallowed. Yundt facilitates a support group for Livermore Lab and other nuclear workers made ill by on the job exposures.

“The current language in the NDAA will result in more worker exposures and illnesses,” he charged. “Further, an amendment by Mike Turner (R-OH) that was accepted by the Rules Committee, if adopted, will allow the administrator at the National Nuclear Security Administration, which is part of the DOE, to lower safety protections for workers and the public by substituting a ‘risk-based’ approach in place of more rigorous and prescriptive standards.”

Yundt concluded, “There have been more than 3,000 claims filed by workers at Livermore Lab, or their widows, for illnesses caused by on the job exposures. I am frequently contacted by Livermore Lab workers and others in the weapons complex who have been exposed to toxic and radioactive materials. If anything, current provisions could be made more rigorous. Weakening them will result in even more sick and dying workers at Livermore Lab and other sites.”

(Click here for George Miller's press release.)

(Click here to watch George Miller's floor statement)

CONTACT:

Marylia Kelley, Executive Director, Tri-Valley CAREs, (925) 443-7148

To speak with Rep. George Miller’s office, Aaron Albright, (202) 226-0853

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Watchdogs Praise Bay Area Congressman George Miller for Nuclear Safety Leadership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 15, 2012

Key Defense Authorization Amendment Will Preserve Independent Oversight and Protect Lives at Livermore Lab and other Nuclear Weapons Sites across the Nation

LIVERMORE – Today, Bay Area Rep. George Miller (D-CA-07) introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to prevent a dangerous rollback of 25 years of safety standards at the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons facilities, including the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  Tri-Valley CAREs, a Livermore Lab watchdog for nearly 30 years, lauded Miller’s leadership.

“The Miller amendment is critical for worker and community safety,” said Marylia Kelley, a Livermore resident and Tri-Valley CAREs’ Executive Director. “Sweeping changes introduced into the National Defense Authorization Act in committee would overturn the ‘adequate protection standard’ that has governed safety for more than two decades.”

Kelley continued, “Moreover, these changes would weaken the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s ability to provide independent oversight at nuclear weapons facilities.  Instead, the contractor ‘foxes’ would be placed in charge of safety at the nuclear ‘henhouse’. Such ill-advised changes take us back to the days of huge accidents, spills and radioactive releases in Livermore and across the country. The Miller amendment would restore current worker and community protections, which is why my group and others consider its introduction today so important and its passage so essential.”

Before introducing his amendment, Congressman Miller said that the committee’s bill, as currently constituted, “…represents a shift to extensive contractor self-regulation, and all but eliminates the government’s role in protecting workers and the public. Such a model is recklessly inappropriate for an industry that uses ultra-hazardous materials and technologies.”

Joining Rep. Miller in introducing the amendment (#167 as assigned by the Rules Committee) are Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-IN-01) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA-47). The Rules Committee is scheduled to decide on Wednesday, May 16 which amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act will reach the “floor” for a full House vote, slated to begin as early as Wednesday evening.

Tri-Valley CAREs’ staff attorney, Scott Yundt, expressed hope that the Miller amendment will be adopted. Yundt facilitates a support group for Livermore Lab and other nuclear workers made ill by on the job exposures. “The Miller amendment is absolutely essential,” he said. “There have been more than 3,000 claims filed by workers at Livermore Lab, or their widows, for illnesses caused by on the job exposures.” Yundt continued, “I am frequently contacted by Livermore Lab workers and others in the weapons complex who have been exposed to toxic and radioactive materials. If anything, current provisions could be made more rigorous. Weakening them will result in even more sick and dying workers at Livermore Lab and other sites.” 

CONTACT:

Marylia Kelley, 925-443-7148, [email protected]

To speak with Rep. George Miller’s office, Aaron Albright, (202) 226-0853

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Formerly Secret Performance Report Reveals Problems with the National Ignition Facility and Security at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 4, 2012

The 2011 Performance Evaluation Report (PER) for Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, the private contractor managing Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, was released yesterday by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in response to a March 28 legal challenge by Nuclear Watch New Mexico. Among other management deficiencies, the Report indicates that Livermore Lab’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) continued to miss milestones and violate accounting practices.

While most of the areas covered by the Report rate performance as excellent, in two cases the Livermore Lab management company was denied full bonus payment based on lesser performance. In the first area, (Program: Performance Objective 4) NIF did not meet all of its promised Fiscal Year 2011 performance milestones (PER pg. 11- 12).  The Report adds that, "the overall number of shots resulting in useful data collection remains below the rate which has previously been communicated to stakeholders as necessary for assuring success of the National Ignition Campaign."

In other words, explained the Livermore-based watchdog group Tri-Valley CAREs Staff Attorney, Scott Yundt “The Performance Evaluation Report shows that NIF is failing to produce the promised results, including actual ignition.”

“The Performance Evaluation Report calls into question the enormous costs of NIF to date, and the value that the American tax payer is getting from this boondoggle,” charged Marylia Kelley, Executive Director of Tri-Valley CAREs. “With around $7 Billion spent so far, and continued projected costs of nearly $500 million per year for the foreseeable future, it is high time Congress take a hard look at this fiscally irresponsible program and put on the brakes.”

The Report also noted that the accounting for the NIF is an area of concern because of "the Contactor's decision not to consistently apply approved forward pricing rates." (PER pg. 19-20) In other words, Livermore Lab’s management company applies increased pricing rates above what was budgeted for and approved by NNSA. This continues a decade of cost accounting practices at the NIF that have violated the law by allowing the facility to shift its overhead costs to other programs at the Laboratory.

“The Report indentifies Livermore Lab’s management company’s continued favoring of the NIF program over all others at the lab, in violation of cost accounting practices. These violations and huge cost overruns have amounted to a direct lie to congressional appropriators who approve a budget for the NIF,” noted Yundt.

Security also continues to be a concern at LLNL, with the Report noting that in June of 2011, 1,659 rounds of armor piercing ammunition were discovered. An incident analysis was conducted that concluded that Livermore Lab’s management company "needs more formality in the governance of its security operations." (PER pg. 18)

While the Performance Evaluation Report is shaded by the simple fact that the Livermore Lab’s management company is involved in reviewing its own operation, it does illuminate areas of concern. Despite this, Livermore Lab’s management company was awarded over $26 million dollars in bonuses for its overall performance. (88% of the total available bonus). (PER pg. 2)

“Prior to yesterday, the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration had sought to keep this information about management failures and high bonus awards from public view,” Kelly noted. “We are grateful to our colleagues at Nuclear Watch New Mexico for their lawsuit pushing for the release of this information. The ratings and bonuses awarded should be a matter of public record.”

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A Copy of the Performance Evaluation Report for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is available here. (PDF)

The Performance Evaluation Reports are available at www.nukewatch.org

The Reports for the Sandia Lab and the Pantex Plant are still undergoing review by NNSA and have not yet been released. Nuclear Watch of New Mexico will post them as soon as they are available.
 
The eight NNSA nuclear weapons sites are the Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico: the Sandia National Laboratories in NM and CA; the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in CA; the Nevada National Security Site (formerly the Nevada Test Site); and the four production plants: the Kansas City Plant for nonnuclear components; the Savannah River Site near Aiken, SC for the radioactive gas tritium used to “boost” nuclear weapons; the Y-12 Plant near Oak Ridge, TN, for nuclear weapons secondaries (which put the “H” in H-bomb); and the Pantex Plant for final nuclear weapons assembly near Amarillo, TX.

CONTACT:

Marylia Kelley, Executive Director, Tri-Valley CAREs, 925-443-7148

Scott Yundt, Staff Attorney, Tri-Valley CAREs, (925) 443-7148

Jay Coghlan, Executive Director, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, (505) 989-7342

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Livermore Nuclear Watchdogs Head to Washington, D.C. to Challenge Nuclear Weapons Projects That Put The Environment and Taxpayer Dollars At Risk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 15, 2012

Group Will Distribute a Major New Report Proposing Cuts to Weapons Budget

Livermore- Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment) will send a delegation to Washington, DC from March 17 through 21 to expose U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) “Nuclear Budget Busters.”  These seven nuclear weapons and nuclear energy projects, including the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will waste billions in taxpayer funds, damage the environment and undermine the nation’s non-proliferation goals.

In approximately 80 meetings, the Tri-Valley CAREs delegation will be working with colleagues from a dozen other states who are participating in the 24th annual Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) "DC Days." The activists expect to meet with Senators and Representatives from California, leaders of congressional committees that oversee nuclear issues, and key federal agency staffers.

ANA is a 25-year old network of several dozen local, regional and national organizations, including Tri-Valley CAREs, who represent the concerns of communities downwind and downstream from U.S. nuclear weapons complex and radioactive waste disposal sites.
Tri-Valley CAREs, the Livermore-based nuclear weapons “watchdog” organization, will bring its detailed knowledge of Livermore Lab, the U.S. nuclear weapons complex and the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) weapons activities to share with decision-makers.

Additionally, Dr. Robert Civiak, former Program Examiner for DOE nuclear security activities at the White House Office of Management and Budget, has prepared a detailed report for the group entitled, “Fewer Warheads, More Spending: An Analysis of the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request for Nuclear Weapons Activities.” The report debunks the myths put forth by NNSA to justify the rise in recent and projected spending on our nuclear weapons program and identifies $1.540 billion in potential savings in the NNSA Fiscal Year 2013 nuclear weapons budget. The Tri-Valley CAREs delegation will bring this hot-off-the-press report to DC and advocate for its recommended cuts to members of Congress.

The group’s Staff Attorney, Scott Yundt, noted, “I am looking forward to presenting our group’s new report challenging the NNSA’s rhetoric about why Congress should authorize billions for new nuclear weapons and enormous new weapons complex facilities to produce them. We will use the report to recommend a series of specific cuts to unneeded facilities and ill-advised changes to the stockpile. Overall, we will recommend huge potential savings, including an $84 million in savings at the nearby National Ignition Facility at Livermore Lab.”

Tri-Valley CAREs’ Executive Director, Marylia Kelley, added, “DOE is pursuing many unnecessary projects that will waste taxpayer dollars and fuel proliferation, while also putting the environment and human health of the communities surrounding DOE facilities, like Livermore, at risk. We will point out these concerns and encourage policy-makers to cut programs that fund dangerous new weapons and subsidize nuclear reactor construction. Then, we will urge Congress to use the savings to reduce long-term liabilities by cleaning up the huge toxic and radioactive legacy of nuclear weapons research, design, testing and production.”

Tri-Valley CAREs is a 29-year old group made up of local citizens who monitor activities at Livermore Lab (one of two nuclear warhead design labs in the U.S.) and the nuclear weapons complex. Tri-Valley CAREs’ 2012 DC Days delegation includes longtime Livermore resident and Executive Director, Marylia Kelley, legal intern, Toshimi Barks, and Staff Attorney, Scott Yundt.

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• a briefing kit including ANA’s “Nuclear Budget Busters” report is available on request

• Tri-Valley CAREs’ latest report, “Fewer Warheads, More Spending: An Analysis of the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request for Nuclear Weapons Activities” is also available on our website www.trivalleycares.org. (PDF)

CONTACT:

Scott Yundt, Staff Attorney, Tri-Valley CAREs, (925) 443-7148 (office)

Marylia Kelley, Executive Director, Tri-Valley CAREs, (925) 443-7148 (office)

Nuclear Weapons Budget: Tri-Valley CAREs reacts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 13, 2012

TRI-VALLEY CARES RESPONDS TO THE PRESIDENT'S FISCAL YEAR 2013 BUDGET REQUEST FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS

See below for 7 key items, including 3 that are specific to Livermore Lab...

1. THE TOP LINE for Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration Nuclear Weapons Activities:

The President's budget requests $7.577 Billion for nuclear weapons activities, compared with last year's appropriated level of $7.214 billion, an increase of more than $363 million.

Said Tri-Valley CAREs executive Director, Marylia Kelley, "We find this number excessive and encourage Congress to sharpen its budget ax as the budget request wends its way through the FY13 appropriations process."

2. THE KUDOS: CMRR-NF to Zero

Said Marylia Kelley, "We note with approval that the Obama Administration budget request for Department of Energy nuclear weapons activities zeroes out the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF), slated for construction at the Los Alamos Lab in New Mexico.
This facility, intended to enable a four-fold increase in the U.S. production of new plutonium bomb cores, was never needed for maintenance of existing weapons in the U.S. arsenal, and we are glad that Obama's latest budget request reflects that reality. Moreover, the budget request notes that CMRR-NF will be delayed at least 5 years (with no exact date for resumption given). We believe it can and should be canceled outright."

3. NOW THE BAD: UPF more than doubles; from $160 million appropriated for 2012 to $340 million requested for 2013.

"However," Kelley continued, "We oppose the accelerated funding and construction schedule for the Uranium Processing Facility contained in this budget request. Tri-Valley CAREs supports a smaller facility focused on dismantlement of retired secondaries and downblending of highly enriched uranium rather than the currently-missioned UPF, which is focused on increasing U.S. production of nuclear weapons secondaries at a rate of up to 80 each year."

4. THE BAD CONTINUES.

For warhead Life Extensions Programs (LEPs), the budget request is $543 million (an increase of 13% over last year's appropriated level), with the B61-12 requesting a whopping 66% more.

Marylia Kelley said, "Life Extension is a misnomer for a nearly complete rebuild and upgrade to each of DOE's seven nuclear warhead systems. The need for these rebuilds is doubtful considering that these systems are nowhere near the end of their life and the costs continue to skyrocket. In a typical LEP, NNSA makes hundreds of changes to the weapons, adding new components and modifying their military characteristics. The most expensive LEP so far is for the B61-12 family of bombs, for which the NNSA has requested $369 million for FY2013 (an increase of 66% over last year's appropriated level) is especially unnecessary given that the European-based B61s may all be retired before or soon after the LEP is completed.

5. AND, THE WASTEFUL: ICF/NIF holds steady with the request at $460 million for 2013, down a miniscule 3% from the appropriated level.

Kelley stated, "Within the DOE's stockpile stewardship program, one of the biggest boondoggles is the inertial confinement fusion program, intended to produce thermonuclear ignition at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Livermore Lab. Ignition was first promised in 2003, then fiscal year 2010 and now fiscal year 2012. Although it is widely acknowledged within the government and the scientific community that ignition at NIF is highly unlikely to occur in 2012, the fiscal year 2013 budget request continues to throw good money after bad at the effort by dedicating $460 million next year to this failed effort."

6. LIVERMORE CLEANUP: The monies for the Superfund cleanup of contaminated soil and groundwater at Livermore Lab hold steady in the budget request at about $23 million.

Said Kelley, "We note that the Livermore Lab main site and site 300 receive about the same amount of funding in the FY2013 request as has been appropriated in years past. We do see, and applaud, a small increase in the funding that DOE's Environmental Management program is contributing. The funds that come directly from NNSA for cleanup do not appear to be going up, thus keeping the overall cleanup budget at "steady," but barely so. We call on DOE to reprogram monies being wasted elsewhere in the nuclear weapons budget to clean up toxic and radioactive contamination at Livermore Lab. And, we call on Congress to shift monies to this task in FY2013."

7. LIVERMORE'S BIG QUESTION MARK.

Save $52 million? The budget request notes that the Livermore Lab plutonium facility will go from Category 1 to Category 3 (housing less than nuclear bomb usable quantities of plutonium and highly enriched uranium). Is a celebration in order?

Kelley explained, "The budget request states that the Livermore Lab plutonium facility, which has proven vulnerable to attack in mock terrorism drills, will drop from Category 1 to Category 3 in fiscal year 2013, enabling a drop in the request for nuclear security monies of $52 million, or 7.5% complex-wide. The budget request also notes that Livermore Lab has repackaged 91% of the plutonium and highly enriched uranium slated to be de-inventoried, with 84% of it shipped to more secure locations. This is cause for celebration.

"However, the budget request also states that 'in place of the CMRR-Nuclear Facility NNSA has options to share workload between other plutonium-capable facilities at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.' This statement mirrors what sources inside the DOE and other government agencies have told Tri-Valley CAREs. These sources say that the Livermore Lab plutonium facility may receive Category 1 & 2 nuclear bomb usable quantities of plutonium in the form of bomb cores from Los Alamos Lab. We call on DOE to clarify the potential use of the Livermore Lab plutonium facility for continued plutonium bomb activities, and call on Congress to enact language that would specifically prohibit Los Alamos Lab, or any other site, from sending Category 1 & 2 quantities of plutonium to Livermore Lab."

CONTACT:

For more information, contact Marylia Kelley, Tri-Valley CAREs' executive director, at (925) 443-7148 or [email protected]. Or, call or email Tri-Valley CAREs' staff attorney, Scott Yundt at [email protected].

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Questions for the U.S. Department of Energy's FY 2013 Nuclear Weapons and Cleanup Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 10, 2012

The overriding issue for the Monday, Feb. 13 budget release is: "Will the Obama Administration continue to increase funding for unnecessary nuclear programs in light of current fiscal constraints?"

The Livermore, CA-based Tri-Valley CAREs noted that "We do expect the budget request will reveal modest progress toward reducing profligate spending on nuclear weapons. The Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement - Nuclear Facility, intended to increase U.S. capacity to produce plutonium bomb cores four-fold, is rumored to take a major budget hit in the FY13 request, coupled with a decade-long delay in construction." The group also noted, however, that "other ill-conceived nuclear weapons projects are rumored to move 'full steam ahead.'"

The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA), a national network of communities downwind and downstream from U.S. nuclear facilities, is likewise concerned that out of control spending on nuclear weapons and nuclear facilities will divert resources from legally required environmental cleanup, sustainable energy programs, and critical nonproliferation efforts.

HERE ARE SOME KEY QUESTIONS THAT THE DOE BUDGET SHOULD ADDRESS:

QUESTION: At a time when nuclear stockpiles are being cut, why does the U.S. need expanded production capacity for plutonium pits (the fissile cores or "triggers" of nuclear weapons) and highly enriched uranium (secondaries)?

The Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-Nuclear Facility would directly support production of plutonium pits, yet the JASONs determined that plutonium pits have a shelf life of 85+ years. If the rumored delay for CMRR-NF is reflected in the FY13 budget request, do the budget expenditures accompanying that delay make sense or are they excessive? Will there be a move to "reopen" the Livermore Lab plutonium facility to weapons usable quantities of fissile material despite its security vulnerabilities? Moreover, the Uranium Processing Facility as planned is oversized and should be redesigned to dismantle warheads and down-blend uranium.

QUESTION: Will funding for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) remain around $400 million even if it fails to achieve ignition in FY12?

What can the administration do to salvage what science they can from the taxpayers' cumulative $7 billion investment in NIF? Will the DOE consider removing the NIF from National Nuclear Security Administration control in favor of housing it in the Office of Science, with a more modest operating budget? Will Congress consider this or other options?

QUESTION: Are Stockpile Stewardship programs funding new capabilities for nuclear weapons?

If the DOE has decided to stay with a tested pit design, then why has the overall cost of the B-61 program increased? Is the DOE still considering a dramatically overhauled design for the W78 that would include interoperability between submarines and intercontinental ballistic missiles?

QUESTION: Will the largest share of nonproliferation funding continue to be spent on the Mixed Oxide Plutonium Fuel (MOX) Program?

With huge cost increases, schedule delays, unanswered technical questions, and a lack of customers willing to use MOX, will this program ever be viable? Why are other nonproliferation programs that effectively safeguard highly enriched uranium and prevent fissile materials smuggling facing cuts?

QUESTION: What are the consequences of failing to fund legally mandated nuclear cleanup projects?

Is DOE inviting lawsuits brought by states and citizens left stranded by chronic federal underfunding of cleanup projects mandated by previous legal decisions? Won't delays lead to more contamination, higher costs, and increased health and environmental problems? Won't new weapons production and the MOX program create new waste streams while Cold War nuclear waste still threatens the environment and human health?

DOE's budget request: http://www.cfo.doe.gov/crorg/cf30.htm

CONTACT: