CCNS Update

On Wednesday, September 21 st , the International Day of Peace, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use nuclear weapons in the Ukrainian

War. His threats to use nuclear weapons surpass Russia’s official nuclear doctrine. As posted on en.kremlin.ru, Putin said, “In the event of a threat to the

territorial integrity of our country and to defend Russia and our people, we will certainly make use of all weapon systems available to us. This is not a bluff.”

The privileges of the rich and powerful Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and its plans to expand the fabrication of plutonium pits, or triggers, for

nuclear warheads continue. After 115 non-governmental organizations and individuals requested a two-month extension of time for preparation of informed

scoping comments for a long-delayed draft sitewide environmental impact statement (SWEIS), LANL granted a whopping 15-day extension. Scoping

comments are now due by Tuesday, October 18 th . If you plan to email your comments, submit them before 11:59 pm Mountain time.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will host two virtual meetings to gather public comments about the scope of a draft

environmental impact statement for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). If you think these scoping meetings are not important, please check out the

recently released 2021 LANL Campus Master Plan. The plan was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

This week 63 non-governmental organizations and 52 individuals requested that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant a two-month

extension of time to provide informed public comments about the scope of the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Operations of Los

Alamos National Laboratory (LANL SWEIS). On August 19 th , DOE announced a 45-day comment period. Currently, comments are due on Monday, October 3rd , 2022.

Taos ceramic artist Serit Kotowski’s beautiful Sacred Trust: BROKEN is an educational installation that focuses on the impact of the nuclear weapons

industry in New Mexico. Using a traditional potter’s repertoire Kotowski created two sets of dinnerware to demonstrate that, if ingested, radioactive 

substances are harmful, if not deadly. The plates and cups are labeled “NOT FOOD SAFE.”

New scientific work demonstrates that even a “limited” nuclear war would cause abrupt climate disruption and global starvation. A limited nuclear war is

defined as a conflict confined to one region and involving a small fraction of the world’s nuclear arsenals. But such a conflict would be neither limited nor

regional and despite statements to the contrary, it would be an event on a planetary scale of death and destruction.

Did you know that the current hazardous waste permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) states that waste disposal operations will end in

2024, followed by a ten-year period to close the underground waste disposal site?

On Tuesday, August 9 th the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission will hear virtually a petition for review of the groundwater discharge permit, DP-1132, filed by non-governmental organizations CCNS and Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE). DP-1132 allows Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to handle, store and discharge treated radioactive and hazardous waters from the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility into Effluent Canyon, a tributary of Mortandad Canyon.

August 6 th and 9 th were the days in 1945 when the U.S. bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs 77 years ago. Every year community members gather at to commemorate those events, to recognize the harm done, and to recommit to working for peace. You are invited to participate in these commemoration events.

Did you know the hazardous waste permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is up for its ten-year renewal? In August, the New Mexico

Environment Department may release a draft permit for public review and a 60-day comment period.