Los Alamos Study Group

These summarize & link to the most important information needed by most website visitors.
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• Press releases

DOE/NNSA planning & budgeting

Plutonium disposition

Nuclear Weapons Modernization: Current Articles and Issues

What You Can Do

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Additional Resources

LASG's YouTube channel

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

UKRAINE WAR: RECENT NEWS & VIEWS

WE CALL FOR SANITY, NOT NUCLEAR PRODUCTION, an LASG campaign for businesses, organizations, religious institutions, & individuals to endorse. Let's build the momentum! Share this campaign with your lists! • Endorsers 1,085 Individuals & 244 orgs & businesses, 12 Dec 2024

Public outcry stopped a huge LANL expansion before. It can happen again! See our Feb 1994 memo, Sep 1994 bulletin, & CMRR 2002 - 2014.

2023
• Bulletin 338: If you haven't done so, please consider a one-time or monthly donation to the Los Alamos Study Group!, Dec 31, 2023
• Bulletin 337: Please oppose producing new-design ICBM warheads and the new arms race, by (at least) endorsing the "Call for Sanity, Not Nuclear Production", Dec 21, 2023
• Plutonium warhead factory: it's about new missiles, an arms race, greed, & domination, LASG double-page ad in the Santa Fe Reporter, Dec 20, 2023
• Plutonium warhead factory under construction near Santa Fe, LASG double-page ad in Santa Fe Reporter, Dec 13, 2023
• Bulletin 336: Precis on pit production for NM newspaper; Zoom seminars last week (video) and next week (scheduled); Sentinel missile warheads; Santa Fe resolution against pit production; impeachment, Dec 12, 2023
• Virtual seminar on issues (and misconceptions) in plutonium warhead core ("pit") production today, 11 am MST, press release, Dec 7, 2023
• Bulletin 335: Zoom seminar on plutonium pit production, December 7, 11 am MST; trainings; the Year of Resistance is coming; help us financially if you can (thank you), Dec 4, 2023
• Bulletin 334: Thank you for your support, please help support our work in 2024; please join our NM activist mailing list if local or interested; quick note on events & developments, Nov 28, 2023
• Ramblin’ along the Jornadadel Muerto, presentation to Red Ants Collective, Nov 28, 2023

• Posturing Ourselves to Death So Contractors can Thrive, Greg Mello, presentation slides, Nov 16, 2023
• Planning for Doomsday, Steven Starr, presentation slides, Nov 16, 2023
• YouTube video of the zoom presentations

• Bulletin 333: In-person & webcast discussion this Thursday 11/16/23 of the new plan being briefed on Capitol Hill to increase U.S. nuclear forces, Nov 12, 2023

Santa Fe City Council meeting Nov 8, 2023, petitions from the floor requesting a resolution against plutonium pit production at LANL, video1; video 2; video 3; video 4
City of Santa Fe draft resolution against plutonium pit production

• Bulletin 332: Mark your calendars: Nov. 16 forum on the proposed U.S. program to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal, centrally reliant on LANL's proposed "pit" factory, Oct 26, 2023
• Bulletin 331: NNSA plutonium warhead core ("pit") production update; Stumbling along, early-to-need, sans schedule and cost estimates, maximizing cost, jeopardizing other programs, Oct 20, 2023
• Letter from Jean Nichols, Llano, NM to Santa Fe City Council, Oct 11, 2023
• Organizations, businesses seek Santa Fe City resolution opposing plutonium warhead ("pit") production at LANL Press conference and rally outside Santa Fe City Hall Wednesday, October 11, at noon, press release, Oct 10, 2023
• Plutonium Pit Factory at LANL: Dead End for New Mexico and the U.S., presentation, Sep 27, 2023
• "War-life and peace in the U.S. post-democratic decline", Greg Mello, presentation, Sep 24, 2023  – audio here
• Opposition to Los Alamos nuclear factory grows, building on enduring moral foundations; Meanwhile costs rise, schedules lengthen; waste, safety, transportation issues unresolved, among others, press backgrounder, Aug 23, 2023
• It is time to request a halt to plutonium pit production at LANL, Greg Mello presentation to NM RHMC, Aug 21, 2023
• GAO assessment of major NNSA projects finds major cost, schedule overruns, press release, Aug 17, 2023
• Video (rough cut): "'The real purpose in making the bomb was to subdue the Soviets.'* Now it's happening again, on a vast scale. WHY?" A conversation with acclaimed historian Peter Kuznick and Greg Mello in Los Alamos, July 22, 2023
   — Pit production update slides posted here separately, Jul 22, 2023
• Los Alamos to metastasize as weapons mission outgrows site; Lab management to present before local government Tuesday 7/18/23, 6 pm MDT, press release, Jul 17, 2023
    — Of interest: DOE/NNSA Proposal for an Innovation Campus, Midtown Santa Fe, Oct 31, 2019
• "'The real purpose in making the bomb was to subdue the Soviets.'* Now it's happening again, on a vast scale. WHY?" A conversation with acclaimed historian Peter Kuznick, Greg Mello, and community members in Los Alamos, July 22, 6:30 pm, press release, Jul 17, 2023
• Bulletin 330: "'The real purpose in making the bomb was to subdue the Soviets.'* Now it's happening again, on a vast scale. WHY?" A conversation with acclaimed historian Peter Kuznick and Greg Mello in Los Alamos, July 22, Jul 7, 2023
    – Zoom meeting, Jul 22, 2023, 6:30 PM Mountain Time, Register here in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
• Journalists to tour LANL plutonium facility, "ground zero" for proposed interim pit manufacturing, press release, Jun 21, 2023
• Bulletin 329: Russia rules out nuclear disarmament negotiations; second week of Ukrainian offenses fail; what will US and NATO do? Build 60 projects in LANL's Pajarito Corridor?, Jun 17, 2023
• Bulletin 328: Toward a better pit production policy, part 2 (of interest to some); Zoom discussion on pits tomorrow 6/15/23 5 pm MDT, Jun 14, 2023
• Bulletin 327: Virtual presentation and discussion this Thursday 5 pm MDT; fundraising; new publications, Jun 12, 2023
• Toward a viable plutonium pit production plan: part 2, LASG Letter to Congress, Jun 9, 2023
• NNSA cites Los Alamos National Laboratory for multiple "serious" plutonium safety violations in 2021, press release, May 31, 2023
   — Preliminary Notice of Violation - TRIAD National Security, LLC, May 18, 2023
• NNSA's effort to restart plutonium warhead "pit" production will cost more than the Manhattan Project. Why is NNSA trying to build two pit factories at once -- one that is adequate, and one that is not?, press backgrounder, May 27, 2023
• Toward a viable plutonium pit production plan: part 1, LASG Letter to Congress, May 18, 2023
• Pit Production Startup Costs By Site and Year, May 11, 2023
• Bulletin 326: Update, fundraising, town hall, Ukraine, pit production now to cost more than the whole Manhattan Project, Apr 26, 2023
• Schedule for Nuclear Warhead Core ("Pit") Production Slipping, Costs Increasing: NNSA's Strategy is Failing, Mar 22, 2023
• Warhead agency grades its contractors "very good" to "excellent," as schedules slide and cost overruns mount, press release, Mar 9, 2023
• Nuclear Famine, The Deadly Consequences of Nuclear War, Steven Starr, Mar 2023
• Ukraine news and views; Antiwar rally March 18; pending guest editorial; pit production precis, LASG friends ltr, Mar 3, 2023
• Bulletin 325: Understanding the Nordstream sabotage and punishing those responsible, Feb 18, 2023
• Bulletin 324: Opposition to Ukraine war gains visibility in New Mexico and via our web site, more broadly, Feb 6, 2023
• Bulletin 323: "Nuclear Hotseat" interview / Ukraine war updates, Feb 4, 2023
• Installation of "Base" Capability to Produce 30 Plutonium Warhead Cores ("Pits") at Los Alamos To Be Delayed 4 Years, to 2030, press release, Feb 3, 2023
    – Approval of Critical Decision-2/3 for Los Alamos Plutonium Pit Production Project 30 Base Equipment Installation Subproject and Approval of Project Execution Plan, DOE memo, Jan 19, 2023
• Bulletin 322: Right and Left To Join in D.C. Protest: ‘Not One More Penny for War in Ukraine’ / Bulletin of Atomic Scientists resets clock, blames Russia, Jan 25, 2023
• GAO: NNSA's Huge Program to Build New Warhead Cores ("Pits") Lacks Detailed Schedule, Budget, and Scope of Work, press release (2 of 2), Jan 12, 2023
• Considerations in warhead core ("pit") production policy, briefing for a House member -- updated, Jan 12, 2023
• First of two press releases: GAO to Release Year-Long Review of NNSA's Largest Warhead Endeavor: Plutonium Pit Production, Jan 11, 2023

Plutonium Bomb Core "Pit" Production

Related news media
2024
• For science, keep it subcritical, NNSA defense programs head says, Exchange Monitor, Dec 15, 2024
• Antis tells court that federal review of Los Alamos pits no good, legal mandate no substitute, Exchange Monitor, Nov 22, 2024
• NNSA head defends weapons program post-election, says agency ‘not just sitting on our hands’, Exchange Monitor, Nov 14, 2024
• Delays, negotiations ongoing in environmental lawsuit over pit production, with published comments by Greg Mello, Santa Fe New Mexican, Nov 4, 2024
• New Mexico anti proposes solution for dispute in pit lawsuit: cancel Los Alamos factory, Exchange Monitor, Oct 31, 2024
• How to Make a ‘War Reserve’ Nuclear Bomb, The Progressive Magazine, Sep 5, 2024
• July 22 NNSA Townhall: The Question of Need, Suzie Schwartz, La Jicarita, Aug 3, 2024
• An artist's nuclear reaction, Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug 1, 2024
• Recent lawsuit highlights city's struggle to respond to records requests in a timely manner, Santa Fe New Mexican, Aug 1, 2024
• New Mexicans and Fed Clash over LANL Weapons Plan, KSFR, Jul 23, 2024
• Anti-nuclear advocates decry LANL pit production plans, Santa Fe New Mexican, Jul 22, 2023
• Anti-nuclear group sues Santa Fe for slow records response, Santa Fe New Mexican, May 6, 2024
• US nuclear agency struggles with production and costs, Physics Today, May 1, 2024
• At S.C. meeting, some head-nodding over anti's stance that SRS should make all pits, Exchange Monitor, Apr 30, 2024
• Reports: 2 mishaps at LANL in one day, Santa Fe New Mexican, Apr 8, 2024
• Los Alamos National Lab's budget could grow to a record $5 billion in next fiscal year, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comments by Greg Mello, Mar 12, 2024
• Global Warfare “Summit” Summons National Priority, Pressenza, Mar 2, 2024
• Belly of the Beast: LASG's Greg Mello at DC Nuclear Deterrence Summit, Nuclear Hotseat, Feb 27, 2024
• LANL's prototype plutonium bomb core passes key tests, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comment by Greg Mello, Feb 19, 2024
• Veterans for Peace on the dangers of the Nuclear Industrial Complex, Feb 15, 2024
• Los Alamos National Laboratory logs two more skin-contamination incidents, Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb 5, 2024
• US nuclear agency isn't consistent in tracking costs for some construction projects, report says, Associated Press, Jan 25, 2024
• Report: Another LANL worker's skin contaminated, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comment by Greg Mello, Jan 16, 2024
• Report: Radioactive contaminants found on Los Alamos National Lab worker's skin, Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan 9, 2024
• Santa Fe city councilor pulls resolution opposing plutonium pit production at LANL, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comment by Greg Mello, Jan 4, 2024
• Nuclear Option, Santa Fe Reporter, Jan 3, 2024

2023 - media
• Energy officials grant more time to comment on LANL power line plan, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comment by Greg Mello, Dec 28, 2023
• LANL restricted for now from plan to dilute, dispose of plutonium, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comment by Greg Mello, Dec 28, 2023
• Glovebox fire closed part of LANL plutonium facility in November, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comment by Greg Mello, Dec 19, 2023
• Glovebox Fire shuts portion of LANL plutonium lab for nearly a month, Exchange Monitor, Dec 12, 2023
• Workers Are Getting Paid to Do Nothing at Los Alamos National Laboratory, The Nation, Nov 9, 2023
• Chess, cards and catnaps in the heart of America’s nuclear weapons complex, Searchlight New Mexico, Nov 8, 2023
• Lab contractor cited for 2022 glove box breach, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comment by Greg Mello, Nov 3, 2023
• Amid current upgrades, commission foresees replacing LANL plutonium facility, Santa Fe New Mexican, with Greg Mello's published comments, Oct 20, 2023
• Wrap up: ...Antis denounce LANL pit production, Exchange Monitor, Oct 13, 2023
• Anti-nuclear activists push City Council to oppose LANL pit production, Santa Fe New Mexican, Oct 11, 2023
• Eight workers exposed to beryllium dust at LANL, a recurring problem, Santa Fe New Mexican, Sep 27, 2023
• Birthplace of the atomic bomb braces for its biggest mission since the top-secret Manhattan Project, Associated Press, Sep 23, 2023
• Plutonium Pits, New Bombs, Los Alamos Never Learns – Greg Mello, Nuclear Hotseat, Sep 5, 2023
• LANL's plutonium facility appears seismically sound, safety board say, Santa Fe New Mexican, Sep 5, 2023
• GAO: Lab faces four-year delay, cost growth for making nuclear bomb cores, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comment by Greg Mello, Aug 18, 2023
• LANL exploring mini-campus for Santa Fe or Bernalillo County, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comments from Greg Mello, Aug 5, 2023
• Oppenheimer: The Real Plan for U.S. Nuclear Domination, Then and Now, Brian Becker, BreakThroughNews, Jul 27, 2023
• CovertAction Bulletin: “The Past Is Not Past” – Oppenheimer and the U.S. Nuclear Program Today, Covert Action Magazine, Jul 26, 2023
• In the Lab Oppenheimer Built, the U.S. Is Building Nuclear Bomb Cores Again, W.J. Hennigan, TIME, Jul 24, 2023
• ‘The Real Purpose In Making The Bomb Was To Subdue The Soviets.’ Now It’s Happening Again, On A Vast Scale. Why? – July 22 At Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos Reporter, Jul 19, 2023
• Los Alamos workforce will level off at about 20,000 by 2025, Triad official says, Exchange Monitor, Jul 19, 2023
• Wester says New Mexico has to lead on nuclear weapon disarmament, Santa Fe New Mexican, Jul 16, 2023, with published comment by Greg Mello
• Safety Lapses at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Searchlight New Mexico, Jul 13, 2023
• Archbishop to denounce nuclear arms on Trinity test's 78th anniversary, Santa Fe New Mexican, Jul 10, 2023, with published comment by Greg Mello
• Los Alamos Plutonium Pit Production, Laura Paskus, New Mexico in Focus, Jun 30, 2023 (second half of this episode)
• Lawmakers seek clearer picture of nuclear command and control, Colin Demarest, C4ISRNET, Jun 12, 2023
• The ABCs of a Nuclear Education, Searchlight New Mexico, Jun 7, 2023
• Los Alamos National Lab contractor cited for 2021 violations, with published comments by Greg Mello, Santa Fe New Mexican, Jun 2, 2023
• Triad Hit By DOE With Preliminary Notice Of Violation For 5 Nuclear Safety Issues At Plutonium Facility PF4 In 2021, Los Alamos Reporter, May 31, 2023
• `Oppenheimer': The retelling in the movies has promise, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comments by Greg Mello, May 22, 2023
• New Mexico shouldn't be the nation's nuclear dump, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comments by Greg Mello, May 13, 2023
• US nuclear weapons modernization plan spurs cost questions, Associated Press, Apr 26, 2023. Also in: The Hill, U.S. News & World Report, Santa Fe New Mexican, Albuquerque Journal, The Washington Post, The Seattle Times, South Carolina Public Radio, NewsNation, CTV News, WSB Radio, National Post, The Independent (UK), & many others.
• Uncontaminated water accidentally released into basement of LANL plutonium facility, Santa Fe New Mexican, Apr 24, 2023
• Despite unknowns, NNSA plunges ahead on plutonium pits, Physics Today, Apr 2023
• Oppenheimer in a new light: Documentary arrives ahead of feature film, Santa Fe New Mexican, with published comments by Greg Mello, Apr 12, 2023
• NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby Offers Frank Answers On LANL Plutonium Pit Production And More During Hybrid Town Hall Meeting In Santa Fe, Los Alamos Reporter, Apr 11, 2023
• 'Stop making nuclear weapons': Activists press federal chief on LANL pit push, Santa Fe New Mexican, Apr 4, 2023
• Los Alamos National Lab operator gets good review, but safety, production concerns remain, with published comments by Greg Mello, Santa Fe New Mexican, Mar 13, 2023
• LANL still has responsibility to monitor Russian nukes after treaty suspension, lab head says, (with published comment by Greg Mello), Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb 27, 2023
• US takes another step toward gearing up nuclear pit factory, AP, Feb 10, 2023
• Anti-nuclear activist opposes helping Ukraine, encourages peace, Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb 5, 2023
• Deputy Secretary Of Energy Approves CD2/3 For Los Alamos Plutonium Pit Production Project 30 Base Equipment Installation Subproject, Los Alamos Reporter, Feb 3, 2023
• Los Alamos will have equipment to make 30 nuke cores by 2030, according to DOE memo, Exchange Monitor, Feb 3, 2023
• Greg Mello of Los Alamos Study Group takes on Nuclear Deterrence Summit Warmongers!, The Nuclear Hotseat, Jan 31, 2023
• US nuclear agency falls short on scheduling, cost estimates, Associated Press, Jan 12, 2023
• GAO: Cost, time estimates for making nuclear bomb cores flawed, Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan 12, 2023
• NNSA Has No Reliable Schedule, Cost Estimates For Pits, GAO Says, Defense Daily, Jan 11, 2023
• $10 Trillion for Nuclear War: Racing to the Nuclear Cliff, The Socialist Program with Brian Becker, Jan 10, 2023
• LANL's record $4.6B budget will still mostly fund nuclear weapons, Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan 4, 2023

Previous year archive of LASG products & media here
Full archive here

Los Alamos Study Group • 2901 Summit Place NE • Albuquerque, NM 87106 • ph 505-265-1200

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