As you may know, the recent federal reconciliation bill increased the budget for expanded plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site, located in South Carolina, by one billion dollars.  Yes, one billion dollars in one year!  A “pit” is the plutonium core of a nuclear weapon.  The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to fabricate 50 plutonium pits per year there.  https://www.srnl.gov/research-areas/national-security/plutonium-pit-production-program/

The nuclear weapons budget for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has increased to over five billion dollars!  LANL is tasked with the fabrication of  30 pits per year, but has never fabricated more than 11 in a year since its founding in 1943.

Both DOE sites would fabricate the pits, consume lots of water and electricity, and challenge surrounding communities with increased emissions into the air, ongoing storage and disposal of radioactive and hazardous waste, as well as continuing toxic contamination and worker exposures.

Four non-governmental organizations challenged the proposed expansion in federal court.  In 2024, the federal judge ordered that DOE is required to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, or PEIS, to examine the interconnections of the site operations, transportation, waste, etc.  https://nuclearactive.org/today-virtual-workshop-about-does-plans-for-expanded-plutonium-pit-production-at-lanl-for-the-next-50-years-public-meetings-next-week/

The first steps require DOE to provide a public notice, an opportunity for the public to tell DOE what the “scope” of the statement should be and to describe its concerns.  Surprisingly, DOE has stated in the public notice that, “For analytical purposes, this PEIS will evaluate potential impacts over a fifty-year period, through approximately 2075.”  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

What are your concerns about 50 more years of LANL operations?  You have the opportunity to express them now and ask DOE to fully respond to your comments in the draft PEIS that is scheduled for release in February or March 2026.

You could ask questions such as:  Does DOE plan to use the PEIS to cover fifty years of continuing operations?  If so, what is DOE’s vision for LANL over the next fifty years?  Will it be cleaned up by 2075?  Will the buried waste be removed from the volcanic tuff?  When will the groundwater and surface water be clean? When will the contaminated soils in the Rio Grande and Cochiti Lake be removed?

If you need to get your comments in earlier, please visit CCNS colleagues’ websites listed below for sample public comments and additional information.

Nuclear Watch New Mexico – https://nukewatch.org/home/

PeaceWorks KC Opinion by Ann Suellentrop, a member of the Physicians for Social Responsibility, in The Kansas City Star – https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article310244080.html

Savannah River Site Watch –  https://srswatch.org/please-submit-comments-by-july-14-2025-on-environmental-review-of-new-plutonium-bomb-factories/

Tewa Women United – https://tewawomenunited.org/2025/07/action-alert-july-14-deadline-to-submit-comments-on-lanl-plutonium-pit-production

Tri-Valley CAREs – https://trivalleycares.org/2025/public-comment-period-open-and-virtual-hearings-scheduled-in-the-court-ordered-plutonium-pit-production-plan-programmatic-environmental-review

Union of Concerned Scientists – New Report:  Plutonium Pit Production: The Risks and Costs of US Plans to Build New Nuclear Weapons –  https://www.ucs.org/resources/plutonium-pit-production

1. Friday, July 11^th from noon to 1 pm – Join your neighbors and friends 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 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. Watch the “Television Event” 2:13 minute trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S5RGRsTwjM It is about the television movie of the week during about nuclear war during the Reagan administration.

1. Friday, July 11^th from 6 pm to Saturday, July 12^th at 6 pm Mountain Time, World Beyond War will host the Fourth Annual 24-hour Peace Wave, which addresses the need to abolish nuclear weapons. Peace Wave is a 24-hour long Zoom that moves around the globe with the sun and features live peace actions in the streets and squares of the world, including rallies, concerts, production of artworks, blood drives, installations of peace poles, dances, speeches, and public demonstrations of all variety. To sign up, visit org

1. On Saturday, July 12^th from 6:30 to 8 pm Mountain Time, <img alt="" class="alignright wp-image-7845" height="200" src="http:/