We Found the Weapons of Mass Destruction. They’re in Our Backyard. The core component of a nuclear weapon is called the “pit.” A pit is a sphere of plutonium surrounded by conventional explosives. When the explosives are detonated, the plutonium is compressed, which creates a nuclear explosion. This is the type of bomb that was dropped over Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), located 25 miles northwest of Santa Fe, was home to the Manhattan Project, where the first plutonium pits were made. 107 Cienega There has been continuous pit production at LANL since the 1940s. So if you’re Santa Fe, NM 87501 looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction, they’re in our backyard. The (505) 986-1973 Tel Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) (505) 986-0997 Fax has indicated that production will continue there indefinitely. For example, www.nuclearactive.org [email protected] • Pit production was done at LANL when the DOE facility at Rocky Flats, Colorado was shut down several times due to fires. Although pit production at LANL has been primarily research-based since then, in April 2003, LANL produced the nation’s first stockpile certified pit since the closure of Rocky Flats. This means that LANL produced the first pit capable of powering a nuclear weapon since 1989. • Through equipment installation in existing facilities, the pit production facility at Technical Area 55 (TA-55) is expected to have the capacity to produce 20 pits per year by 2007. • In 1996, the final decision for the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program stated that pit production at LANL's TA-55 would be expanded to 50 to 80 pits per year. • In 1999, the final decision for the Sitewide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for LANL agreed that there should be a 50 to 80 pit per year capacity at LANL, but that the 20 pit per year level provides adequate capacity to meet near-term production requirements. The SWEIS therefore caps pit production levels at 20 pits per year. • In 2003, DOE/NNSA proposed a Modern Pit Facility (MPF), to be located at one of five DOE sites around the nation, including LANL and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. DOE/NNSA argued that the increasing age of the nation’s nuclear stockpile may adversely affect the safety or reliability of the plutonium pit. Furthermore, DOE/NNSA argued that the U.S. must be prepared to produce pits to support weapons of new designs, such as the low-yield “mini-nukes,” which would violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1970. Through the NPT, the U.S. agreed to pursue unequivocal nuclear disarmament. Essentially, the MPF would have been able to produce up to 500 new nuclear weapons per year. • The No Action Alternative in the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the MPF supports the Stockpile Stewardship decision of 50 to 80 pits per year despite the 20 pits per year cap that was placed on production in 1999. • In 2004, due to public pressure on state and Congressional decisionmakers by thousands of citizens nationwide, DOE/NNSA delayed the MPF indefinitely. Now that the MPF has been delayed, DOE may try to amend the LANL SWEIS to reflect the Stockpile Stewardship Program decision and the intentions of the MPF and expand production at LANL to 50 to 80 pits per year. Due to U.S. treaty obligations under the NPT and unresolved questions about pit aging, it is CCNS's belief that there is no need for pit production anywhere or at any capacity. New Mexicans must continue to work to ensure that pit production is not expanded at LANL. Contact New Mexico’s Congressional delegation and local decisionmakers and tell them that we are pleased that the MPF has been delayed indefinitely and that New Mexicans are opposed to expanded pit production at LANL. Senator Jeff Bingaman Senator Pete Domenici (505) 988-6647 (505) 988-6514 [email protected] [email protected] Representative Steve Pearce Representative Tom Udall (202) 225-2365 (505) 984-8950 http://www.house.gov/pearce http://www.tomudall.house.gov/ Representative Heather Wilson Governor Bill Richardson (505) 766-2538 (505) 827-3000 [email protected] http://www.state.nm.us/consituentcontact.html For more information, contact: Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety 107 Cienega Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 986-1973 http://www.nuclearactive.org/ [email protected] January 31, 2004 .