Article Author:
Associated Press
Susan Montoya Brian
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. government is concerned about the environmental impact of operations at one of the nation's prominent nuclear weapons laboratories. are planning to reconsider. But that notice, issued Friday, ruled out the federal goal of increasing production of plutonium cores for use in the country's nuclear weapons.
The review, which is being conducted to comply with the law, will examine the potential environmental impacts of alternatives to operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory over the next 15 years, it said.
That work will include preventing the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons around the world and other projects related to national security and global stability, the notice said. ing.
The Watchdog Group claims that regardless of the review, NNSA will proceed with its plan to produce plutonium cores at Los Alamos.
A laboratory in northern New Mexico — part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II and birthplace of the atomic bomb — has a lucrative mission to manufacture plutonium cores. It is one of his two sites used for Another is his site in Savannah River, South Carolina.
Democrats in New Mexico's congressional delegation fought to make Los Alamos a beneficiary of the billions of dollars and thousands of jobs generated by the mission.
The U.S. Department of Energy had set deadlines for ramping up plutonium core production to 2026 and 2030, but given the billions of dollars in infrastructure improvements needed, it is doubtful that the deadlines will be met.
A watchdog group that was critical of Los Alamos said the NNSA would not seriously consider the increased cost of production preparation, its future impact on the federal budget, and its potential environmental impact. Instead, they accused him of processing the motion. For neighboring communities and native his American tribes.
"This is too late. It's a bogus process designed to evade citizen enforcement of the National Environmental Policy Act," said Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico. said. "A key sentence in NNSA's announcement is that unless there are new decisions in the site-wide environmental impact statement, the agency will continue to implement decisions previously made behind closed doors."
The Los Alamos Research Group, an organization that monitors the activities of another New Mexico-based laboratory, said there were no signs that NNSA would pause its preparations to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act. Stated. , mandates some scrutiny before proceeding with any major federal project.
The group aims to reduce the cost of new construction and operation of a new plutonium core production mission at Los Alamos to $190 by fiscal year 2033. They noted that the price tag is expected to increase.
According to planning documents related to the sprawling Los Alamos campus, lab staff will focus on key technology areas. indicates that more than 4 million square feet (371,612 square meters) of new construction is needed to strengthen one of the This is where the lab's plutonium operations take place. Thousands of new staff will also be needed.
"This is a completely bogus process by which the NNSA feigns legitimacy and public support for its reckless plans," says Ross of his Alamos research group. Director Greg Melo said.
NNSA focused on improving the infrastructure and capacity required for the laboratory to produce 30 plutonium cores per year. He pointed out that it was implemented in 2020.
Toni Chiri, a spokeswoman for NNSA's field office in Los Alamos, announced a new review covering alternative activities to meet what she described as a "complete suite" of the lab's mission.
"NNSA looks forward to engaging with the public, governments and other stakeholders to receive their input on the process and results," she said on the e-mail. I emailed you.
