Tri-Valley CAREs Citizens Watch Newsletter Nov. 1997



	*Tri-Valley CAREs November, 1997*
	*Citizen's Watch...*
	*Citizen's Watch...*
			Stop "Stockpile Stewardship"
	Judge Orders NIF Review		Stop "Stockpile Stewardship"

	To settle a legal action brought by a coalition of 39 environmental and peace groups, including Tri-Valley CAREs, the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) agreed to prepare a supplement to its Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SSM PEIS), which will evaluate the impacts of continuing to construct and operate the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Livermore Lab. At the same time, Federal District Court Judge Stanley Sporkin urged plaintiffs to file an "order to show cause" why DOE should not be held in contempt and subject to sanctions for its failure to honor a prior commitment to complete a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on cleanup standards and intersite transportation of wastes from its environmental restoration program. In the NIF case, plaintiffs claimed DOE had failed to adequately analyze and disclose the risks of building the NIF in an area that may contain buried hazardous, toxic or radioactive wastes. Last month NIF construction workers unearthed over 100 microwave-sized capacitors contaminated with toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 75 corroded waste drums marked "radioactive." About 784 tons of soil contaminated by PCBs, chromium, mercury, molybdenum, and other toxic chemicals were removed. The agreement, which was signed by Judge Sporkin and includes a continuing oversight role for the Court, requires DOE to review documents and interview employees regarding possible contamination at the site and, as necessary, conduct additional investigations using such technologies as ground-penetrating radar, soil borings and groundwater monitoring wells. DOE will then prepare and circulate for public review and comment a supplement to the SSM PEIS "which evaluates the reasonably foreseeable significant adverse environmental impacts of continuing to construct and of operating NIF at [the Lab] with respect to any potential or confirmed contamination by hazardous, toxic and/or radioactive materials or contaminated groundwater." *Details and documents on request. Stay tuned...*		The Military Production Network (MPN), an alliance of grassroots and national organizations working on issues of nuclear weapons production and nuclear waste, has designated November as nation-wide Redefining Stockpile Stewardship Month. Locally, Tri-Valley CAREs is a member group of the MPN. We ask you, our readers, to join us in challenging the current Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program as defined by the Dept. of Energy, and to work with us to make the program one of passive curatorship of the nuclear arsenal as it awaits dismantlement. We have developed a series of simple actions for you and other activists around the country to complete this month. By working together, all our efforts will become magnified. The DOE has created a new name for old worknuclear weapons development and design. Called the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program in order to make it sound reasonable, it is a plan to construct new facilities and develop computer simulations to continue the work of the past fifty years. This "nuclear weapons forever" program will cost more than $60 billion over the next thirteen years. It is vital that we work to change the direction of the U.S. nuclear weapons program. We are asking you to take a little time this month to help educate lawmakers and the public about the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program. We have developed a "menu of activities" from which you can choose one or more actions that are appropriate for you. Inside this issue of Citizen's Watch is a fact sheet. We can also provide sample letters to the editor and Congress, postcards, and more. Or, feel free to create your own messages. Or, phone President Clinton at (202) 456-1111. The key thing is to take action this month. If you have any questions about what actions to take, what materials you need or about the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program, please come to our meeting on Thursday, November 20, or give us a call.

	Tri-Valley CAREs u 5720 East Avenue #116 u Livermore, CA 94550 u (510) 443-7148 (510) 449-6603



	About our Future		New Nuclear Weapons Revealed
By Roxanne Johnson. This is the tenth in a series of vignettes on how and why folks became involved in Tri-Valley CAREs. In the fall of 1996 I began my studies at San Francisco State University in the Urban Studies Department. The following spring I enrolled in a class titled Race, Poverty and the Urban Environment. The first assignment was for each of us to describe an environmental hazard in the community in which we live. Since I had just recently moved to Livermore, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory immediately came to mind. My search to find out what those environmental hazards were led me to Tri-Valley CAREs. Folks were very patient in answering all my questions and helping me find the right literature to use for my paper. Later in the same class, we were assigned to profile a community-based organization so I decided to focus on Tri-Valley CAREs. After these assignments, I knew Tri-Valley CAREs was an organization in which I would really like to play a part. I started out coming to the "mailing parties," and then I demonstrated against the National Ignition Facility. The Urban Studies major at SFSU requires students to do an internship, and I decided to try and do one at Tri-Valley CAREs. To my happiness, the group was inclined to have me. I began interning in September and am pleased that I have not only learned so much more about the Lab, but also about how a grassroots community-based environmental organization is run. Tri-Valley CAREs has given me a feeling of hope about our future. As a young person who finds herself completely overwhelmed with the problems of the world, Tri-Valley CAREs has helped me find a way to work on these problems. In the group I have met many people who are working for peace, and it is a great relief to know there are people who believe in their cause and will work to succeed.		"Despite pledges to the contrary, a wide variety of new nuclear weapons are under development in the United States," says defense analyst William Arkin in an article published this month in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The article reveals new details about nuclear weapons design activities underway at the Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories under the guise of "Stockpile Stewardship," along with new Department of Defense (DoD) programs geared toward advanced delivery systems. According to Arkin, "Forget the notion that stewardship is about protecting a force adequate for deterrence in a post-Cold War world. Unreformed nuclear war planningcalling for many new nuclear weaponscontinues in secret..." Arkin's article includes information previously released by Natural Resources Defense Council, Tri-Valley CAREs and the other 37 plaintiffs challenging the Department of Energy's (DOE) "Stockpile Stewardship" program. The detailed article warns that these large, unregulated DOE and DoD programs, which proceed despite numerous U.S. assurances to the contrary, undermine U.S. credibility in attempting to rein in nuclear proliferation around the globe. New nuclear weapons projects l a replacement for current Trident submarine-launched warheads, the Trident missile itself, plus development of a new submarine; l an upgrade to MX warheads and strategic bombs; l nuclear glide bombs to make up for B-2 stealth inadequacies; l an earth-penetrating bomb capable of ultra-low yields (recently deployed); l a high-powered radio-frequency warhead to be used to take out a nation's electronic systemsa "black" or off- budget program; and l a nuclear warhead for theater defense missiles, designed to intercept and incinerate non-nuclear warheads. The new warhead and bomb programs are proceeding despite the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the stated purpose of which is to stop such developments. Until recently, many arms control groups close to the Clinton Administration did not believe that U.S. labs would or even could design and certify new weapons without nuclear testing. It is now clear that these hopes were naive. As Arkin concludes: "Bill Clinton says that 'advanced new types of nuclear weapons' are not being developed. He may want to check that out." These nuke lab programs are being funded by a dramatic expansion in annual U.S. weapons budgets, which, after their initial post-Cold War decline, are now expected to rise by 33% in current dollars over the FY1995 - FY1999 period. The program is currently projected to cost $60 billion over a 13-year period, including some $19 billion in new construction and equipment acquisitions. Copies of the Bulletin article and background information are available upon request.


*2.............................................Tri-Valley CAREs Citizen's Watch*



	Citizen's Alerts ,	ship" program, also known as the "nuclear weapons forever" program. Call Clinton, write Senators Boxer and Feinstein or your favorite newspaper. We have sample letters and other materials if you want them. By adding your voice to hundreds across the country this month, you can make a difference. And, please, let us know which activity you completed. Tuesday, December 9 Public comment deadline on Livermore Lab toxic waste permit Send letters to: James Stettler, Dept. of Toxics 700 Heinz Ave. #300 Berkeley, CA 94710 Demand that the State Dept. of Toxic Substances Control conduct a full Environmental Impact Report *before* giving Livermore Lab a permit to store and treat hazardous and mixed radioactive wastes. Call us today for a free six-page fact sheet and talking points. Your letter is important to help us safeguard our community from future accidents at the Lab. Thursday, December 11 Tri-Valley CAREs' tour 9:45 AM, Livermore Lab Visitors Center, Greenville Rd. (510) 443-7148 for details Join us for a tour inside the Livermore nuclear weapons lab. We will visit one of the so-called "Stockpile Stewardship" facilities, the Nova laser, predecessor to the National Ignition Facility. We will "drive by" and see the NIF construction. We will also do quick stops outside the plutonium and tritium facilities. We will see a nuclear waste storage area and one of the polluted groundwater cleanup sites. The tour will be officially conducted by one or more LLNL personnel, and Tri-Valley CAREs will provide a helpful counterpoint commentary along the tour route. To conclude, we will all return to the Visitors Center, order pizza, and debrief while we eat lunch. To participate, you MUST call Marylia at (510) 443-7148 by Friday November 21. This is the deadline for	Tri-Valley CAREs to submit data to the Lab for badges. No RSVP means no badge and no tour for you. Thursday, December 11 Livermore Conversion Project Livermore Enviro Peace Alliance 7 PM (LCP) and 7:30 PM joint LCP - LEPA meeting 1212 Broadway, Downtown Oakland BART-accessible meeting place for activists and groups working for peace, disarmament and conversion. Thursday, December 11 Tri-Valley CAREs mailing party 7 PM, Stephanie's home 8301 Mulberry Pl., Dublin (510) 829-6939 for directions Do your part for "peace on earth" by helping Tri-Valley CAREs prepare its December newsletter for mailing. Join us for eats, talk and mailing labels.

Wednesday, November 19 Livermore Lab Health Effects meeting 10 AM, Asbury Methodist Church 4743 East Ave., Livermore (510) 829-6939 for details Public meeting of the "Site Team," which assists the CA Dept. of Health and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in evaluating public health issues stemming from releases at Livermore Lab. Thursday, November 20 Tri-Valley CAREs meets 7 PM, Livermore Library 1000 So. Livermore Ave. (510) 443-7148 for details Note special date and meeting time. We are thrilled to host Corbin Harney, traditional spiritual leader of the Western Shoshone and long-time anti-nuclear advocate. Please see box on page 4 for details. Don't miss this. It's our last meeting in 1997! Friday, November 21 Peace Action annual meeting 7 PM, Berkeley Fellowship of U.U. School, 1606 Bonita (near Cedar) (510) 524-6071 for details East Bay Peace Action's annual meeting celebrates 40 years of peace work. Speakers include Andrea Turner and Fundi of the Vukani Mawethu Choir, recently returned from three weeks in South Africa, and, Dale Nesbitt, retiree from Lawrence Berkeley Lab, who will outline the Energy Dept.'s dangerous plans for mixing plutonium with uranium for use in nuclear power plants (MOX). November - All Month Theme month: Stockpile Stewardship National month of action, opposition (510) 443-7148 for details The Military Production Network and Tri-Valley CAREs ask you to take action this month to oppose the Dept. of Energy's "Stockpile Steward

				It's an Honor Tri-Valley CAREs has been selected by the Greater Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility to receive its Frederick M. Epstein award for exemplary "commitment to nuclear disarmament and peace." The ceremony will take place at PSR's annual dinner, November 16 in Berkeley. Keynote speaker will be Dr. Gina Solomon on "New Challenges in Environmental Health." For details, contact Colleen Miller, PSR's new Executive Director, at (510) 845-8395.


	*Tri-Valley CAREs Citizen's Watch.............................................3*



Plutonium Violations Shut Down Lab Ops			Next Meeting... "Survival of the Sacred" with Western Shoshone elder Corbin Harney Join us at 7 PM on Thursday, November 20 at Livermore's main library for this special event. Corbin Harney is a traditional spiritual leader of the Western Shoshone nation. He will highlight efforts to end all nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), including "subcritical" underground blasts; Western Shoshone sovereignty issues, including the fact NTS is on their land; and, the deepening nuclear waste crisis facing us in all our communities. Following Corbin Harney's presentation, we will discuss our local efforts to promote peace, justice and a healthy environment. This is Tri-Valley CAREs' last meeting in 1997. Don't miss it! Call Marylia at (510) 443-7148 for details.

While preparing the HOLOG nuclear test, workers in Livermore Lab's plutonium building routinely violated criticality safety regulations. These violations occurred throughout a two month period, spanning mid-May to mid-July 1997, and went unreported until July 15. A criticality is a runaway nuclear chain reaction, beginning with an intense flash and followed by a burst of radiation. There were a total of fifteen criticality violations, according to an internal Livermore Lab report obtained recently by Tri-Valley CAREs. During the HOLOG test preparations, plutonium hemishells (partial-spheres) along with additional plutonium parts were repeatedly transferred into and out of gloveboxes, and were often placed together in excess of criticality safety limits. Two hemishells and four additional parts, in various configurations, were involved in criticality violations. When the problem was reported, there were two hemishells and three additional plutonium parts in a single glovebox. It was subsequently determined that the mass of the two plutonium hemishells alone constituted a violation of criticality limits. The plutonium's mass is one of seven factors that determine whether a criticality accident could occur. These factors are key elements of safety rules.		While causing the fifteen criticality violations covered in the report, the Lab broke four different rules. The worker who realized that criticality limits had been exceeded did not report that fact until two days later. The room with the glovebox containing the excess plutonium was finally evacuated when the incident was reported, and the Lab began putting together the evidence that revealed the other fourteen violations. Some of the Lab's plutonium work was stopped immediately, and full operations have not resumed in Building 332, the main plutonium facility where all the criticality violations occurred. HOLOG, the "subcritical" nuclear test the workers were busy preparing, was detonated in Nevada on September 18. While the Lab's report claims there was no immediate threat to workers or the public, it reveals deep, pervasive systemic deficiencies in management, worker understanding and employee attitudes that do, indeed, raise the odds of a serious plutonium accident and put everyone around at increased risk. The report cites inadequate training, with workers unaware of rules and some stating there is nothing wrong with violating rules to get a job done. Too, management was ineffective, with supervisors not seeing the problem.


	Tri-Valley CAREs Citizens Against a Radioactive Environment 5720 East Ave., #116, Livermore, CA 94550 Phone: (510) 443-7148 or (510) 449-6603 Fax: (510) 443-0177 Email: marylia@igc.apc.org Change Service Requested		Non Profit Organization US Postage Paid Permit #214 Livermore, CA


Edited by Marylia Kelley & JoAnn Frisch. Marylia Kelley, Roxanne Johnson, Susan Gordon, Maureen Eldredge, Marianne Webster, Bob Schaeffer, Jackie Cabasso & Greg Mello contributors.