If You Want To Stop Nuclear Bomb Production in NM: We Need Your Vote

From Citizen Action NM:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, located just 60 miles (as the crow flies) north of Albuquerque, is seeking to quadruple its nuclear bomb production from 20 to 80 plutonium “pits” per year  A pit is the heart or “trigger” of a nuclear weapon. The cost of increased pit production at Los Alamos will cost taxpayers upwards of 1 billion dollars.

If a bigger and better nuclear bomb factory is built in northern New Mexico the amount of radioactive bomb wastes will almost double. This will also result in increased radioactive wastes traveling on our highways bound for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico, the world’s only permanent dump for such wastes. What impacts will a bigger and better nuclear bomb factory have on the Land of Enchantment’s surrounding communities and environment? Moreover, what will the implications be of increased nuclear bomb production on international peace treaties?

Which of our state representatives support this bomb factory? Senator Pete Domenici supports a bigger and better nuclear bomb factory at Los Alamos. Senators Bingaman and Congressmen Tom Udall and Heather Wilson have yet to weigh in on this issue. Nor has Governor Richardson.

What can you do to stop increased nuclear bomb production in New Mexico? Attend public hearings in Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Espanola and make your voice heard! The public comment period coincides with the 61st anniversary of the destruction of Nagasaki which killed some 75,000 human beings.

Public Hearings will be held at the following locations:

Public Hearing 1: Tuesday, August 8, 2006, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Fuller Lodge, Pajarito Room, 2132 Central Avenue, Los Alamos, NM

Public Hearing 2: Wednesday, August 9, 2006, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Northern New Mexico Community College, Eagle Memorial Sportsplex, 921 Paseo de Onate, Espanola, NM

Public Hearing 3: Thursday, August 10, 2006, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Santa Fe Community College, Main Building, Jemez Rooms, 6401 Richards Avenue, Santa Fe, NM

Will my comments really make a difference?  Yes, it makes a difference. Because of widespread opposition to a previous nuclear bomb factory (also known as a “modern pit facility”) proposed for New Mexico, Congress eliminated funding for the project. However, now Los Alamos is gearing up for the indefinite preservation of nuclear weapons including developing new designs for nuclear bombs. Is this the kind of world you want your children and grandchildren to inherit?

Want to comment, but don’t know quite what to say? The document that contains the information on increased pit production at Los Alamos is called the Los Alamos Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (LANL SWEIS). There will be 3 public workshops held at various locations in New Mexico where members of the public can attend to ask questions about the SWEIS and get answers concerning the increased production of new nuclear bombs at Los Alamos:

Workshop 1: Wednesday Aug. 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative Board Room, 118 Cruz Alta Road, Taos. Information (505) 751-3634.

Workshop 2: Thursday, Aug. 3, at 7 p.m. at the Embudo Valley Community Center, (next to the Co-Op), Dixon. Information: (505) 579-4076.

Workshop 3: Saturday, Aug. 5, at 3 p.m. at the El Dorado Community Center, 1 Hacienda Loop, (approximately one mile down Avenida Vista Grande after Highway 285 intersection), El Dorado.  Information: (505) 989-4812.

Can’t make the hearings, but still want to submit comments? You have from July 7, 2006 through September 5, 2006 to submit your comments via the following:

E-mail your written comments to LANL_SWEIS@doeal.gov

Send your written comments by snail mail to:  U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos Site Office, Attn: Ms. Elizabeth Withers, Office of Environmental Stewardship, 528 35th Street, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87544.

Fax your comments to: (505) 667-5948.

Leave a message on the LANL SWEIS Hotline (toll free) at: 1-877-491-4957. The Hotline will have instructions on how to record your comments.

Remember to mark all envelopes, faxes and e-mails: "Draft LANL SWEIS Comments." Comments must be postmarked by 5 p.m. on Sept. 5, 2006.

To get a copy of the LANL SWEIS with information on increased nuclear bomb production at Los Alamos:

You can pick up a copy of the LANL SWEIS at:  The Los Alamos Outreach Center, 1619 Central Avenue, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87544; the Office of the Northern New Mexico Citizens Advisory Board, 1660 Old Pecos Trail, Suite B, Santa Fe, New Mexico; and the Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131.

Or to download a copy onto your own computer: https://www.doeal.gov/laso/nepa/sweis.htm.

The Draft SWEIS will be available on the Department of Energy Los Alamos Site Office's website at: https://www.doeal.gov/laso/nepa/sweis.htm.

Local groups you can contact for additional information:
Stay posted to Nuclear Watch of New Mexico’s website at www.nukewatch.org for updates and sample citizen comments. Additionally, citizen groups are pressuring the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to extend the deadline for public comment to October 5, 2006.

Got more questions? Call Dave McCoy at Citizen Action New Mexico at: (505) 262-1862 or dave@radfreenm.org.

Citizen Action New Mexico is a project of the New Mexico Community Foundation, Santa Fe, New Mexico.