CCNS Update

Under the President’s Executive Order, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, is at it again. This time, during a 30-day comment period, the NRC is proposing a multitude of exemptions to an existing rule in order to deregulate or decontrol nuclear waste and nuclear materials. Recall its previous efforts to deregulate nuclear waste and materials under terms such as “below regulatory concern,” B...

On Wednesday, October 21 st , the public learned, with just one day’s notice, that the New Mexico State Emergency Response Committee (SERC) meeting was canceled. No reason was given. As a result, no public comments about Project Ranger, a 1,000-acre hypersonic missile motor manufacturing and static firing testing complex – the largest in the United States – under construction on the West Mesa near...

Did you know that this week Tessa Snyder, the Hazardous Materials Coordinator, confirmed in writing that she recently met privately with Castelion Corporation about their Project Ranger, a 1,000-acre hypersonic missile motor manufacturing and static-firing testing complex on the West Mesa near Rio Rancho, New Mexico?

The U.S. Navy has ordered 444 fully functional Blackbeard hypersonic missiles from Castelion Corporation. The government has assigned 80% of the contract work to be done in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, where Project Ranger is nearing completion. Project Ranger is a 1,000-acre hypersonic manufacturing campus, designed to support production of solid rocket motors, static testing of those motors and final...

From Saturday, October 3 rd through Saturday, October 10 th , people around the world are organizing local events to bring outer space to greater public attention by proclaiming “Keep Space for Peace.” However, on Monday, September 14 th , the Trump administration announced it had placed weapons in orbit around the Earth in a major effort to militarize space. U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink fo...

On Monday, September 14 th , Veterans for Peace lit their new electronic billboard featuring Uncle Sam pointing his finger at the reader and saying, “I want you to refuse unlawful orders.” The billboard is located on the south side of the I-40 exit at Wyoming Boulevard in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Last week residents of Ypsilanti Township expressed their anger over a proposed high-performance computing facility near the Huron River in a partnership between the University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Residents are concerned that the proposed project would fuel research into the nuclear arms race.

From 1946 to 1969, the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was used as the station for top-secret nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean. It was also the place where decontamination was done on the ships used in hydrogen bomb tests. Radioactive and toxic waste was disposed there.

Why does it matter whether plutonium pits are “aging” before their time? We all age. We get old and we die. But that’s not what the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) want for their plutonium pits. They want to make sure that they will “live” forever.

After working for nearly five years, Los Alamos County and the Department of Energy updated their original 1985 Electric Coordination Agreement (ECA) for the interconnected electric system that has powered homes, businesses and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for over 40 years. After months of painstaking work, the ECA was approved by the Los Alamos County Council on Tuesday, August 25th. DO...

Once again, the Department of Energy and its semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration has denied the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board access to nuclear weapons facilities, including at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). At a time when LANL is ramping up production of plutonium pits, the triggers for nuclear weapons, the DOE is restricting access to the Board and its resi...

In compliance with the Trump administration Executive Orders 14300 and 14154, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to scrap long-standing radiation exposure standards for the general public and nuclear workers. The proposed rulemaking is called “Reforming and Modernizing the NRC’s Radiation Protection Framework,” which will result in more radiation exposures, not less. With cu...

Did you know that the nuclear bomb the United States of America dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9th, 1945 was fabricated at Los Alamos National Laboratory? Or that the radioactive waste from that fabrication remains buried at LANL? This is a circle that needs to be closed by removing the waste to a place where it can do no harm.

Roger Kent Snodgrass passed peacefully in his sleep very early on Saturday, July 18th with his partner, Myra, at his side. Roger was a great friend and colleague of CCNS. We met Roger when he was a reporter, then assistant editor and finally the editor of the Los Alamos Monitor. We had mutual respect for the work we each did to inform the public about Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) operatio...

On Sunday, July 19th, the Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department, James C. Kenney, was the keynote speaker at the 81st Anniversary of the Trinity Atomic Bomb Test in central New Mexico. The event took place at the St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe.

There are two opportunities to commemorate historic events in New Mexico this weekend. On Saturday, July 18 th , the Commemoration of the Church Rock Uranium Mill Tailings Spill begins at 6 am, and on Sunday, July 19 th , the Commemoration of the Trinity Test begins at 2 pm. Details included.

On Monday, July 6 th , a South Carolina Environmental Law Project lawyer made a needed request for three Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) documents that should have been available at the start of the current public comment period for the draft Plutonium Pit Production Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). Public comments about the draft PEI...

Mark your calendar for some important upcoming events: the PEIS comments are due on Thursday, July 16 th , then on Saturday, July 18 th , the Commemoration of the Church Rock Uranium Mill Tailings Spill, and on Sunday, July 19 th , the Commemoration of the Trinity Test. Details for each of these follows.

By June 22 nd , hundreds of New Mexicans submitted comments in support of the New Mexico Environment Department’s strong stand to protect the People of New Mexico by requiring Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to remove plutonium- contaminated waste “Off the Hill.”

The New Mexico Environment Department has taken a strong stand to protect the People of New Mexico by requiring Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to remove plutonium-contaminated waste “Off the Hill.” On April 23rd, the Environment Department released an essential modification to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Permit requring the cleanup of legacy waste stored at LANL in fabric tents o...

On Monday, May 8th, 2026, at a press conference in front of La Cieneguilla Petroglyphs, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and co-founder of the U.S. Senate Stewardship Caucus, and U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández, Ranking Member of the U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs, unveiled the...

Dr. Ghassan Shahrour, a medical doctor and human rights advocate, considers the need to choose limits over expansion of new weapons systems and provides historical examples.

On April 23rd, the New Mexico Environment Department issued an important permit modification to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in order to speed up cleanup of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and focus on the disposal of legacy waste at WIPP. The draft Hazardous Waste Act permit modification proposes to require a minimum percentage of legacy waste shipments from LANL to WIPP during sp...

A newly released independent review of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s 2025 tritium venting raises serious concerns about radiation risks to children and infants and highlights major gaps in LANL’s public reporting and decision-making process.  The review also questions LANL’s decision to proceed with venting despite no measurable pressure buildup in the waste containers — meaning the explosion r...

On Thursday, April 23rd, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) issued a draft permit modification to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in order to speed up cleanup of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and focus on the disposal of legacy waste at WIPP. The draft Hazardous Waste Act permit proposes to require a minimum percentage of legacy waste shipments from LANL to WIPP during spe...