Our ‘awful’ and awesome responsibility
In a 1945 radio address, President Harry S. Truman said of nuclear energy, “It is an awful responsibility that has come to us.” Much of that responsibility in dealing with nuclear materials in our nation has fallen to two New Mexico facilities: Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad.
If these two stewards are to truly act as trustees of this nuclear force, they must be devoted to the utmost in safety standards. As the Los Alamos state representative, I have consistently weighed in on these issues and urged the laboratory to make public safety its cornerstone. Because of the “checkerboard’ nature of land status in New Mexico, as land commissioner, I will be in an even better position to insist on nuclear safety and the right of LANL workers and nearby residents to feel confident that LANL and the Department of Energy are doing all they can to prevent nuclear accidents and contamination. This is the time to renew safety demands. New LANL management contractors will be named this year. They must address safety.
Before discussing the many nuclear safety issues, I would be remiss if I didn’t also acknowledge the benefits that our Department of Energy facilities have given our state and the nation. While we demand changes in safety, we want the new management to build on the good that LANL has done. In addition to developing cutting edge technology in medical and environmental advances, LANL has supported our public schools, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs and higher education, supplied jobs to tens of thousands of New Mexicans and provided technology transfer opportunities and
grants to entrepreneurs.
However, LANL recently has had a record of violating basic safety protocol. These issues include improperly handled nuclear waste, mishandling classified documents, shipping radioactive material by commercial jet, misplacing enriched uranium, and the list goes on.
The Santa Fe New Mexican discussed the many violations that have caused repeated shutdowns of the plutonium facility, which produces pits for nuclear warheads. These violations most likely led to federal officials putting the LANL contract up for bid for only the second time since 1943 (“LANL: A history of innovation, dysfunction,” Jan. 3, 2016), and may have even led to the most recent decision to divide pit production between New Mexico and the Savannah River site in South Carolina.
In addition to the nuclear incidents, I am very concerned about hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen, contaminating the aquifer below Los Alamos, a mere half-mile from a county well. Much uncertainty exists about the size and position of the plume, including how much it may have extended to sacred San Ildefonso tribal lands. I have publicly criticized the lab for not informing nearby communities about the plume’s growth and threat to wells (“Full extent of chromium plume unknown,” Nov. 4, 2017), and my concerns remain.
What can be done to solve these serious issues? A change in Los Alamos management contractors can bring much needed change in culture. The new management must put safety above profits. Fines for safety violations must be assessed according to the severity and costs involved, and such fines must be consistently collected. In the past, the majority of fines have been waived or drastically reduced.
As land commissioner, I will dedicate myself to improving the safety at our New Mexico national labs and WIPP and to supporting their benefits to our state. Our citizens and workers deserve a safe environment, free from contamination and criticality threats. I will support pressuring management contractors to budget for improving the education of their current and future employees. We must take our stewardship of nuclear materials very seriously. It is a tremendous responsibility, one we cannot shirk.