Nuclear Weapons
Beyond Nuclear advocates for the elimination of all nuclear weapons and argues that removing them can only make us safer, not more vulnerable. The expansion of commercial nuclear power across the globe only increases the chance that more nuclear weapons will be built and is counterproductive to disarmament. We also cover nuclear weapons issues on our international site, Beyond Nuclear International.
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Entries by admin (581)
Commemorating the Fermi 1 meltdown, 50 years later
Next Wednesday, Beyond Nuclear is joining with grassroots environmental allies in southeast Michigan to mark the 50th anniversary of the Oct. 5, 1966 partial meltdown of the infamous Fermi Unit 1 plutonium breeder reactor located on the shore of Lake Erie. In the form of our "Freeze Our Fukushimas" and "Got KI?" campaigns, the lessons that should have been learned from this close call with catastrophe, that endangered the Great Lakes, and countless numbers of people downwind and downstream, will be applied to resisting ongoing operations at Fermi 2 (a Fukushima Daiichi twin design), as well as seeking to block the proposed new Fermi 3 reactor.
Shockingly, Fermi 1 was originally under serious consideration, by both private corporations (such as Dow Chemical, which went on to found and manage the Rocky Flats, CO plutonium trigger factory), as well as the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, as a source for fissionable materials for nuclear weapons, and even fission products for radiological weaponry (a.k.a. dirty bombs). More
Congressman Lieu & Senator Markey Introduce The Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act
As posted on the website of U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA):
Washington (September 27, 2016) – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-CA-33) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the “Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2016”. This legislation would prohibit the President from launching a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war by Congress. The crucial issue of nuclear first use – discussed in last evening’s Presidential Debate – is all the more urgent given the fact that a majority of Americans do not trust Republican Nominee Donald Trump with our nation’s nuclear arsenal.
“Nuclear war poses the gravest risk to human survival. Unfortunately, by maintaining the option of using nuclear weapons first in a conflict, U.S. policy increases the risk of unintended nuclear escalation,” said Senator Markey, co-founder of the Congressional Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation. “The President should not use nuclear weapons except in response to a nuclear attack. This legislation enshrines this simple principle into law. I thank Rep. Lieu for his partnership on this common-sense bill during this critical time in our nation’s history.”
More.
Kamps' prepared statement for press conference re: highly radioactive liquid waste truck shipments from Canada to U.S.A.
(Please note: these shipments would contain weapons-usable Highly Enriched Uranium.)
Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear's Radioactive Waste Watchdog, delivered a statement to members of the news media on a press conference call sponsored by NIRS. An environmental coalition, including Beyond Nuclear, has filed a lawsuit seeking to block up to 150 unprecedented truck shipments of highly radioactive liquid wastes, from Chalk River Nuclear Labs in Ontario, Canada through multiple states, to Savannah River Site nuclear weapons and radioactive waste complex in Aiken, South Carolina, U.S.A.
See the press release and invitation to a NIRS-hosted press tele-briefing here. (The audio recording from the tele-briefing is available online. See below in the Update.*)
See the environmental coalition's lawsuit (Complaint), and associated exhibits, here.
See additional background documents here.
(Full size, legible route map -- see above left -- linked here.)
*Diane D'Arrigo of NIRS, who hosted and facilitated the press briefing, has posted the following instructions for accessing the audio recording:
The press briefing from earlier today is available on my Google drive – sharing with everyone…
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3nMrAEZqvOUaVk1NFpwNkluWXM/view?usp=sharing
It will say
WHOOPS
There was a problem playing this audiofile.
BUT CLICK either
at top OPEN WITH MUSIC PLAYER FOR GOOGLE DRIVE
OR
DOWNLOAD in the blue box
We will get it up on our website in a few days without the WHOOPS message.