Plutonium at Livermore Lab Loulena Miles Staff Attorney

Plutonium at Livermore Lab Loulena Miles - Staff Attorney Tri-Valley CAREs

WHAT IS PLUTONIUM & WHY IS IT HARMFUL?

Plutonium Handling

History of Accidents at LLNL 19531962 1996 2004 1997 2005 1965 2003 19581974 1967, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1991 1996

Linton F. Brooks Administrator National Nuclear Security Administration Department of Energy Washington, DC 20585 February 23, 2006 Dr. Michael R. Anastasio, Director Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory P. O. Box 808, L-001 Livermore, CA 94550 Subject: Preliminary Notice of Violation and Proposed Civil Penalty of $588, 500 (Waived by Statute)

Excerpts from Notice of Violation • The Incidents included August 2004 radiological uptakes and the April 2005 Phosphorous Spill Event. Also faulted was the Radiological Protection Program, the Quality Assurance Dept. , and Safety Basis deficiencies. • Exposures leading to this fine (1) occurred multiple times over a six-month period (2) involved exposures to several individuals (five) (3) had the potential to be higher since work place controls were not adequate for the observed radiological conditions and (4) there was a lack of an appropriate response to the more hazardous work place conditions

• The violation notice also stated that nonconservative decision making by technical experts and supervision and the safety issues that led to LLNL’s programmatic stand-down of operations in Building 332, demonstrate the need for significant improvement in LLNL’s nuclear safety culture. • Without improvement, NNSA can not have confidence that LLNL’s safety programs are being effectively implemented.

In March 2005, DNFSB cited LLNL again for storing plutonium in unsafe and untested containers that were designed for food or paint storage.

Current Plans • Double Administrative Limit to 3080 lbs • Double At Risk Limit – 44 to 88 lbs • Remove all bomb-usable quantities of plutonium and other Special Nuclear Materials from LLNL by end of 2014?

WHY?

TRANSFORMATION “NNSA’s Reliable Replacement Warhead Program Will Enable Transformation of the Nuclear Weapons Complex” • April 2005

Nuclear weapons have forced us to consider whether we will be the last generation. They challenge the moral dimension of our humanity. Our technological abilities must not outstrip our moral insights, rendering us less than fully human. For in this age, acting without reliance on the gifts of law, morality and wisdom will be lethal. Jonathan Granoff, President, Global Security Institute