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Plutonium at Livermore Lab
published Tuesday, October 06, 2009  2031 Views :: 3 Comments
Nuclear material stockpile dwindling at Livermore lab

By Suzanne Bohan
Contra Costa Times 10/02/2009

Two-thirds of the plutonium and weapons-grade uranium stored at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory has been removed, the agency overseeing the
lab announced this week.

The removal of the "special nuclear material" marks a milestone in the
National Nuclear Security Administration's goal of "denuking" the Livermore
lab by 2012, two years ahead of its original target of 2014. To save costs,
the dangerous radioactive materials will be consolidated at five sites -
none in California - down from 10 sites nationwide listed in a 2007
Government Accountability Office report.

"The removal of two-thirds of LLNL's nuclear material demonstrates real
progress and is the result of some very hard work," said Thomas D'Agostino,
administrator of the nuclear security agency. "NNSA continues to make
tremendous strides in transforming a Cold War nuclear weapons complex into
a 21st-century nuclear security enterprise that is smaller, safer, more
efficient."

But 2012 isn't soon enough for Marylia Kelley, executive director of
Tri-Valley CAREs, a Livermore watchdog group.

While she said the group applauds the reduction, it wants it all removed by
the end of 2010 due to security concerns.

The 2008 failure by the lab's protective forces, during a mock terrorist
attack, to secure a store of pretend nuclear material leaves Kelley worried
that the lab is vulnerable to a bona fide attack and release of the
material. Such a release "would make our communities uninhabitable for
generations," she said.

The GAO report noted that the plutonium and highly-enriched uranium at the
Livermore lab could be the target of theft for use in an "illegal nuclear
weapon," dispersed during an act of sabotage, or released in a "dirty
weapon." A release of the radioactive materials would have "devastating
consequences for the site and its surrounding communities," the report
stated.

Jennifer Wagner, a spokeswoman with the nuclear security agency, however,
said that the lab succeeded in its last security drill for protecting the
nuclear material, conducted in April 2009. "We take our responsibility to
nuclear security and this community very seriously, and we are committed to
the removal of special nuclear material from Livermore as quickly as
logistically possible. This latest milestone reaffirms that commitment,"
Wagner said.

Kelley added that a small amount of plutonium and highly enriched uranium
will remain at the lab indefinitely, posing an ongoing security risk.

Wagner confirmed that a small amount of the materials, which she said would
be comparable to amounts kept at other research facilities around the
country, will be retained for scientific research.


 



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