Just a few days ago, on May 9^th, the Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Nuclear Security Administration announced that virtual public “scoping” meetings would be held next week about their plans to prepare a nationwide Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Plutonium Pit Production (PEIS). DOE and NNSA are working to turn Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) into a manufacturing facility for plutonium triggers, or pits, for nuclear weapons.  DOE’s Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Plutonium Pit Production, published in the Federal Register.  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/05/09/2025-08140/notice-of-intent-to-prepare-a-programmatic-environmental-impact-statement-for-plutonium-pit

You have the opportunity to learn more about the DOE’s plans TODAY, May 22^nd, from 4 pm to 5:30 pm Mountain Time.  Our colleagues at Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Savannah River Site Watch, Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (Tri-Valley CAREs) and the Union of Concerned Scientists will present DOE’s plans and what you can do about it.  The virtual workshop will be held on zoom at https://tinyurl.com/3tta9vey

The virtual workshop will feature:

• Talking points


• Suggested scoping comments


• Explanation of the procedural process


• Questions and answers with subject matter experts.

With this information, you can speak your mind at one or both of the upcoming meetings on the government’s plan to produce up to 120 new plutonium pits per year for nuclear weapons for the next 50 years.

The May 27^th and May 28^th public meetings are important because this is the first time since the 2006 to 2008 timeframe when the public will have the opportunity to comment on DOE’s nationwide plans for pit production. Over 100,000 public comments were submitted then.

Generally, the public has the opportunity to provide comments on DOE’s plan at the site level.  A recent example is the LANL Draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement.

Here’s some background on this process.  Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act – https://www.energy.gov/nepa/nepa-documents, Nuclear Watch New Mexico – https://nukewatch.org/home/ , Savannah River Site Watch –  https://srswatch.org/ and Tri-Valley CAREs – https://trivalleycares.org/ successfully sued the NNSA over its failure to complete a required nationwide PEIS for its most costly program ever, the expanded production of plutonium “pit” bomb cores.  https://nukewatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Lawsuit-Compels-Nationwide-Public-Review-of-Plutonium-Bomb-Core-Production.pdf

PLEASE NOTE:  No future production is to maintain the safety and reliability of the existing nuclear weapons stockpile. Instead, all pit production will be for new design nuclear weapons.

To meet its enforced legal obligation, the DOE is holding two virtual “scoping” meetings on Tuesday, May 27^th from 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm Mountain Time and Wednesday, May 28^th from 5 pm – 7:30 pm Mountain Time.

The current deadline for comments is Monday, July 14, 2025.  According to the Federal Register notice, these dates and times may change.

1. Join us on Friday, May 23^rd from noon to 1 pm at the intersection of East Alameda and Sandoval for the weekly one-hour peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament and against expanded plutonium pit production at LANL. Join the weekly peaceful protest with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners in support of nuclear weapons disarmament.

1. STREAMING FREE ON PBS – THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA wit