What’s New
Momentous Change Enables More Plutonium at Livermore Lab
National Nuclear Security Administration Decision Circumvents Public Environmental Review, Increases Radiation Doses, and Must Be Retracted
Our Members and Staff Participate in Lab Site 300 and Main Site Superfund Tours, Press for Accountability and Cleanup
Tri-Valley CAREs’ staff and members recently attended public tours of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Site 300 high-explosives testing range near Tracy, California and its Main Site in Livermore.
USA Today Features Excellent Analysis and Visual Maps on the U.S. Nuclear Sponge
The series of articles from the January 6 USA Today examines the costs – financial and human – of upgrading U.S. land-based nuclear missile silos, of which there are 450 located in the Midwest. The concept of the nuclear sponge is that this leg of the nuclear triad, which is uniquely vulnerable to a strike because the silos can be seen easily from space, is “useful” because it will “absorb” the initial nuclear strike on the U.S., making the Midwest a sacrifice zone.
Article highlights Tri-Valley CAREs’ concerns about Lab canceling public engagement efforts – Join our 1/15 meeting for more!
In a January 7th article, Livermore Vine reporter Jude Strzemp discussed the National Security Administration’s decision to retract its intention to publish a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for public comment for “Enhanced Plutonium Utilization”
Year End Report: Tri-Valley CAREs Celebrates our 2025 Accomplishments
Take a look at Tri-Valley CAREs’ 2025 accomplishments through our end of the year report!
Your Year-End Donation to Tri-Valley CAREs – Now Doubled!
Tri-Valley CAREs had an amazing 2025! In a time when the risks posed by nuclear weapons are growing, Tri-Valley CAREs work is more important than ever. Our staff, board and volunteers have made great strides in 2025 (click here for staff highlights). To read more about our year, here’s a letter from our Executive Director Scott Yundt.
Livermore Lab Uses Trump Executive Order Gutting Environmental Laws to Push Through Enhanced Plutonium Utilization without Public Input
A November notice from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) erases the previously announced public involvement requirement and thereby fast-tracks increased plutonium use at its Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory after decades of limits protected the public from potential risks.
Tri-Valley CAREs Traveled to Nevada to Oppose Potential Resumption of Nuclear Testing
On November 21st, Scott Yundt and Tanvi Kardile from Tri-Valley CAREs gathered at “Peace Camp” at the gates of the Nevada National Security Site (formerly known as the Nevada Test Site) to join other experts and activists from around the country in a display of opposition to Trump’s recent statement suggesting the US could conduct explosive nuclear tests at the site.
Site 300 Hazardous Waste Permit Renewals Need Your Input
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Site 300, the high-explosives testing range in the hills near Tracy, is once again at a crossroads, and your participation is needed!
U.S. Tests ICBM Nuclear Warhead Delivery System from Vandenberg After Trump Amps Up Nuclear Testing Rhetoric
In the early morning hours of November 5, 2025 as election results dominated the news, Vandenberg Space Force Base launched a Minuteman III missile. This intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is the current US ground-based nuclear warhead delivery system that sits in roughly 400 underground silos across five states. It would target US adversaries in a full-scale nuclear war.
Trump’s Vague Call for New Nuclear Testing, Livermore Lab’s Potential Role, and the Burgeoning Opposition
On October 29th, the President used his social media platform, Truth Social, to make a confusing, but potentially very serious announcement: “Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis.”
Just 100 Days Until US – Russia Nuclear Weapons Limits Agreement Expires
In just 100 days, the 2010 New Strategic Arms Control Treaty (New START), the last remaining arms control treaty between the US and Russia, the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals, is set to expire. New START limits US and Russian nuclear forces to 1550 strategic...
Critical Analysis of LLNL’s 2024 Annual Site Environmental Report
Executive Summary The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) 2024 Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) describes effective groundwater remediation, shrinking contaminant plumes, and proactive protection of endangered species on its sites. However, a closer...
A Conversation about A House of Dynamite
Tri-Valley CAREs hosted a virtual watch party for the new Netflix thriller A House of Dynamite on October 27! We had important conversations about topics the movie brought up, such as missile defense, the fallacy of deterrence, and the importance for arms control...
Celebrate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on September 26!
September 26th is the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, known as Nuclear Abolition Day. This day serves to increase public awareness and education on the threats posed by nuclear weapons and the necessity to pursue nuclear disarmament,...
Special Hybrid Meeting in Tracy & Zoom 9/18
Tracy Environmental Advisory Committee Tri-Valley CAREs Meeting WHEN: September 18 at 7:30 PM LOCATION: Workvine 209, 2311 North Tracy Blvd. Tracy, CA VIRTUAL MEETING LINK: http://bit.ly/4mMiGBD We will be proudly launching the Environmental Contaminant Map of the...
Tri-Valley CAREs Launches New Environmental Mapping Tool of the Tracy Area
In March of 2024, Tri-Valley CAREs was an inaugural recipient of the Environmental Justice Action Grant from the California Environmental Protection Agency (“CalEPA”) to support community member involvement in environmental and climate decision-making in San Joaquin...
Nuclear Safety Oversight Under Threat!
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB or Board) has safety oversight authority over the nuclear facilities at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), including Livermore Lab’s plutonium and tritium facilities. Without urgent action in the...
Bay Area Representative Has Co-Sponsored House Resolution 317! Let’s keep up the momentum…
A team of Tri-Valley CAREs staff members, Scott Yundt, Tanvi Kardile, and Dash Orel (who is a constituent) teamed up with our colleague Maylene Hughes at Physicians for Social Responsibility to meet with Bay Area Representative Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10 Walnut Creek). ...
Lawrence Livermore Lab Main Site: Critical Environmental & Health Concerns (2022 Five-Year Review)
Overview: A Legacy of Contamination in a Community’s Backyard Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s main site in Livermore, CA has a decades-long legacy of toxic and radioactive pollution. Past operations, from a Naval air station in the 1940s, plus decades of...
Plutonium Pit Lawsuit Recognized by the Nobel Peace Center! Check Out Our Video!
Tri-Valley CAREs, South Carolina Environmental Law Project, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Savannah River Site Watch, and the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition were honored to be featured at the Nobel Peace Conference held in Oslo, Norway on August 6th, the...
Solemn and Powerful Gathering at the Livermore Lab Gates on the 80th Anniversary of the US Bombing of Hiroshima
Around 100 people gathered at the Westgate entrance to Livermore Lab on the morning of Tuesday, August 6, 2025 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. The theme of the event was, 80 Years of Nuclear Devastation: Remember our History, Reshape...
Fire at LLNL Sparks Community Concern Over Safety, Climate Risk
On Monday, July 21, a grass fire broke out around 1:00 p.m. near the intersection of Greenville Road and Patterson Pass Road on the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Main Site in Livermore, CA. According to the Watch Duty app, the fire spread across five...
Report Out: Tri-Valley CAREs Meets with Livermore Lab Cleanup Staff and Regulatory Agencies
In early July, Tri-Valley CAREs convened a meeting that brought together the Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. EPA, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, contractors, and community members from Tri-Valley CAREs. These meetings are about the Superfund cleanup at the...
Stand with the Hibakusha and Stop Nuclear Weapons on August 6th at Livermore Lab
On August 6, the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, we invite you to Livermore to stand with the Hibakusha (survivors) to say “Never Again.” This is an historical moment - the last living witnesses of the Hiroshima bombing on August 6, 1945 and...
Tri-Valley CAREs’s Comments on Scoping of Plutonium Pit Production Plan Programmatic Environmental Review
After several years of litigation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Tri-Valley CAREs and our co-plaintiffs (Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Savannah River Site Watch, and the Gullah Geechee Sea Island Coalition) were victorious in winning a full,...
90% of Livermore Lab Budget Now for Nuclear Weapons Activities; Renewable Energy Program Abolished – $0 Requested
The Trump Administration’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) for Livermore Laboratory has been released and it tops $2.9 billion for the first time! The Lab’s overall budget is up 16% from last year. Tri-Valley CAREs has long been advocating for Livermore...
LLNL 2024 Groundwater Cleanup Report Analysis
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been cleaning up volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in groundwater for over three decades, and the 2024 Annual Report shows steady but gradual progress. In 2024, the cleanup efforts removed about 31.3 kilograms of...
Tri-Valley CAREs Heads to DC! Take action to support our team…
Dear Tri-Valley CAREs member, We are on our way to make "good trouble" in Washington, DC and the timing is... critical! The White House is seeking a TRILLION DOLLARS for so-called national "defense" in the coming year! Yes, you read that right, for just one year! And...
“Scoping” Public Comment Period in First Step of the Court Ordered Plutonium Pit Production Plan Programmatic Environmental Review Now Complete
Opportunity to offer alternatives and comment on the plutonium pit support work planned at Livermore Lab and elsewhere! Plutonium pits are the radioactive cores of every nuclear weapon…
Confronting the Call to Resume Nuclear Testing
The United States conducted 1,032 explosive nuclear weapons tests, with its last being conducted underground at the Nevada Test Site in 1992. Four years later, President Clinton signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and despite never ratifying the treaty,...
Tri-Valley CAREs is excited to invite you to our upcoming Tracy Environmental Advisory Committee Meeting May 27 at 5:30 PM
📍 Location: Tri-Valley CAREs Tracy Office, Workvine 209, 2311 North Tracy Blvd. Tracy CA 📍 Virtual Meeting Link: https://bit.ly/3YxKT5b TEAC is a space for Tracy residents to raise concerns about pollution and environmental health — and take action. Do you know about...