New Mexico´s history and economy are intertwined with nuclear energy. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is the birthplace of the atomic bomb. Southern New Mexicans are getting national attention directed toward the aftereffects of the Trinity Site detonation only 70 years later. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) has been housing transuranic waste since the late 1990s. We have learned over the years that LANL has been careless with the nuclear materials in its care, repeatedly violating safety protocols. A ruptured drum from LANL stored at WIPP caused a leak in 2014 that shut down the underground storage facility for nearly three years.
The Green Party of Taos County has revised a resolution from Santa Fe regarding clean-up activities at LANL. The final language should be available soon, but here is a recent draft–the list of known violations is eye-opening. GPAMA crafted a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding the proposed Holtec Consolidated Interim Storage Facility in Lea County. This proposed facility would store spent-fuel waste from commercial and military reactors from across the country. The deadline for public comment on the scope of the required Environmental Impact Study (EIS) is Monday, July 30, 2018. Please read and use the GPAMA letter to send your own comments to Holtec-CISFEIS@nrc.gov.
Green Party of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area 