Since November 2024, our Environmental Justice (EJ) team has been hard at work fighting the latest attempt by Los Alamos National Laboratory to vent radioactive tritium. Nearly 3,000 of you signed and shared the petition, and many attended informational meetings to learn about tritium. Learn more about the issue here.
In June our EJ team finally received a response from New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) regarding the request from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Department of Energy (DOE), and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for temporary authorization to begin venting tritium this summer.
The short story: NMED Secretary James Kenney says that NMED will not act on the temporary authorization request until the following criteria is met:
- independent technical review
- public meeting
- tribal consultation (in addition to NMED tribal consultation)
- compliance audit
These criteria must be met and LANL/DOE/NNSA must submit an updated request before NMED will revisit this and make a decision.
This means that tritium venting will not happen this summer! And that means that, at least for now, the most vulnerable in our communities are protected and families can safely spend time outdoors this summer.
In a June 9 letter to the NNSA Los Alamos Field Office Manager, Kenney wrote: “The historical gross mismanagement of these waste streams by DOE and NNSA have placed NMED in an untenable situation. Now, the risk of inaction poses a far greater threat than a technical solution, but no technical solution is free from risk.”
Rick Shean, director of NMED’s Resource Protection Division, said, “This is [NNSA’s] responsibility to do the right thing, for the community, for sovereign nations, sovereign nations they are neighbors with … to actually be able to prove that we’re all going to be safe when they perform this activity. Right now, we’re not convinced.”
This is not the first time this has happened. In 2020, the same situation unfolded, and then again in 2023. Thanks to the work of groups within the Communities for Clean Water coalition, including TWU, the venting was prevented then as well. It will likely not be their last attempt, and we will continue to stay vigilent and keep you informed.
We sincerely thank the thousands of you who signed and shared the petition; our partners Communities for Clean Water, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Amigos Bravos, Honor Our Pueblo Existence, and Dr. Arjun Makhijani; and Secretary Kenney for this decision.
We want to acknowledge the dedicated work on this issue over many years now by our current and past Environmental Justice Program staff: Chenoa Scippio, Sherry Aragon, Ryan Ramaker, Talavi Cook, Kayleigh Warren, Beata Tsosie Peña, and especially Elder Kathy Sanchez.
Your voice matters. Thank you for your solidarity!
