The Los Alamos County Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday to support plutonium pit production at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.comBy KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Los Alamos County Council unanimously voiced support during its regular council meeting Tuesday night to keep plutonium pit production at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The council passed a resolution, 7-0, to support local pit production.
“This is an important project for the lab … and I am glad we are doing it,” Council Vice Chair Christine Chandler said.
Councilor James Chrobocinski added that passing the resolution is critically important for the future of the community and the Lab.
Council Chair David Izraelevitz said that keeping pit production in the Los Alamos is not only an economic issue but also a national security issue.
According to the agenda documents, there have been several recent news articles published regarding the future of pit production within the United States. Many news stories have mentioned representatives of the area surrounding Savannah River National Laboratory suggesting the program should be moved to that facility. In these articles, references have been made to resolutions passed by the local governing bodies within South Carolina, which support the move of the pit production mission to their local facility.
The agenda documents further reported that up until Tuesday night, the County has not taken a similar stand on this issue but a resolution passed by Santa Fe opposing this mission has been mentioned as an important factor in the decision making process.
Resolution:
INCORPORATED COUNTY OF LOS ALAMOS RESOLUTION NO. 18-04
A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE RETENTION AND EXPANSION OF PLUTONIUM PIT PRODUCTION AT LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
WHEREAS, the Incorporated County of Los Alamos (“County”) is home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory (“Laboratory”); and,
WHEREAS, the County throughout its history has been honored to support the national security mission of the Laboratory, its federal managers, employees, and subcontractors, and continues to support the Laboratory in the performance of its many missions on behalf of our nation; and,
WHEREAS, the Laboratory currently provides unique capabilities to our nation in the areas of plutonium R&D and production of pits critical to maintenance of the nuclear stockpile; and,
WHEREAS, the federal government has invested over a decade and substantial financial resources developing a uniquely trained workforce at the Laboratory for the execution of the pit production mission and associated technologies; and,
WHEREAS, a significant expansion of our nation’s capability to produce pits is under serious consideration by the federal government; and,
WHEREAS, the Laboratory is a credible competitor for this expanded mission, building upon its existing expertise, facilities, and supporting infrastructure; and,
WHEREAS, the Laboratory is an important driver of local, regional, and state economies, sustaining and growing the workforce and procurement of local goods and services; and,
WHEREAS, relocating any part of the existing Laboratory plutonium R&D and pit capability would constitute a wasteful expenditure of our nation’s resources, place in jeopardy established production deadlines, and would negatively impact the workforce and economies of the County, the region, and the state,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Incorporated County of Los Alamos hereby fully supports the continuance of activities in plutonium R&D and production of pits for the nuclear stockpile at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Laboratory’s competition for expanded work in this area.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 27th day of February, 2018.