Today the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (BRC) will convene in Denver the first of its public meetings since releasing its draft report on US nuclear waste management. The BRC was created in the wake of the Obama Administration’s wise decision to shutter the Yucca Mountain project as a way to hopefully (finally?) figure out what to do with spent fuel in this country. In case you didn’t know, after 60 years of nuclear power, the U.S. still has no permanent storage for the over 65,000 tons of spent fuel sitting around at 70 sites all over the country. Read more »
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Today, 10 years later, I remember the fear, the uncertainty, and those who lost their lives on September 11th. I wish I could say the fear and the uncertainty has disappeared. On Thursday, after President Obama’s address to Congress, information of a “specific, credible, but unconfirmed” threat were made public. Living in Washington DC, I am worried about what someone may do on the anniversary of September 11th. Mixed in that worry is no longer simply the fear of an attack but, also, how our country may change in the shadow of another act of terrorism. Read more »

Should the U.S. government be building more nuclear weapons? Residents of Kansas City, Missouri don’t appear to think so, for they are engaged in a bitter fight against the construction of a new nuclear weapons plant in their community. Read more »
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The Associated Press has done some more great work on the safety risks of nuclear reactors. According to its recent analysis of an 11,000 page record request from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the risk that an earthquake would cause a severe accident at a U.S. nuclear reactor is much greater than previously thought. Read more »

Yesterday, McClatchy reported on a cable from the recent WikiLeaks release of diplomatic cables. In the cable is evidence that disputes the United States official story. U.S. trained Iraqi police, neighbors, and a doctor’s inspection of the 10 civilians present a very different picture. Read more »

On March 15, 2006, American troops approached a house around 2:30 AM in Ishaqi to apprehend a potential Al Qaida in Iraq suspect. Read more »

The Aug. 29th Washington Post article “Syrian unrest raises fears about chemical arsenal” by Pulitzer Prize winning author Joby Warrick raises a key national security question for the United States. Will we pursue an arms control or arms proliferation foreign policy in the 21st century? Read more »
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Just days after an earthquake that shook Toronto to South Carolina, we are once again gearing up for a dangerous scenario. The earthquake caused ‘unusual events’ at a dozen reactors along the East Coast, demonstrating, particularly in the wake of the Fukushima disaster earlier this year that more emergency preparedness is desperately needed at reactor sites. This upcoming weekend, the East Coast is expecting a Category 3 hurricane, Irene, which poses yet another threat to the reactor safety. Read more »

Yesterday afternoon, like many people in DC (and up and down the East Coast), I experienced the jarring reality of a moderate earthquake. It was a scary moment up high in our office tower. Sadly, at that same moment, many people feared that instead of a natural disaster, we were facing a man-made tragedy. Read more »
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Over the weekend, the New York Times reported on General Electric’s successful attempt at using laser enrichment to create nuclear fuel. They now seek support for a $1 billion facility that would cover 100 acres in Wilmington, NC. Read more »

Over the weekend, the New York Times reported on General Electric’s successful attempt at using laser enrichment to create nuclear fuel. They now seek support for a $1 billion facility that would cover 100 acres in Wilmington, NC. Read more »

66 years ago today a plane called Bockscar set out to drop an atomic bomb on the city of Kokura. Scientists at Los Alamos were intrigued as to which type of bomb was better, a uranium based bomb which had shown its effectiveness three days earlier at Hiroshima, or the plutonium bomb which was intended for Kokura. As it happened, Kokura was under storm clouds on August 9, so the crew looked over its list of secondary targets and bombed Nagasaki. Read more »
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Sen. Hatfield was a true statesman - a public servant who worked across party lines to pursue peace. When I was in junior high school and first learning about international issues, he inspired me through his powerful words and by matching his actions with his rhetoric. Read more »
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PSR is an organization that you couldn’t accuse of going soft on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Let’s face it: there are many reasons not to. Still, it’s heartening to see that NRC Chairman Jaczko understands that NRC is supposed actually regulate the nuclear industry. Yesterday, he made public his vote (and reasoning for said vote) on the recommendations of the NRC’s Fukushima Task Force, in which he endorses moving forward on the recommendations. Read more »

On August 6, 1945, by executive order of President Truman, the United States of America detonated the atomic bomb named “Little Boy” over Hiroshima. Read more »
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In the midst of the current stampede to slash federal spending, Congress might want to take a look at two unnecessary (and dangerous) "national security" programs that, if cut, would save the United States over a quarter of a trillion dollars over the next decade. Read more »
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It’s August in DC. It may be hyperbolic, but there are times when I feel like bursting into flames is an appropriate reaction to the horrible atmosphere that greets me when I leave the safe confines of air-conditioning. Read more »

The U.S. and Russian Federation are off to a successful beginning in implementing the New START Treaty, which entered into force on February 5. As of July 25, the U.S. had conducted seven inspections of Russian facilities, while the Russians had visited six U.S. facilities. This is a fast pace, given that the yearly quota is 18 inspections for each side. Read more »
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Fukushima prefecture residents are pressing the Japanese government for the fundamental right to relocate away from contaminated areas and to be compensated for their loss of homes and livelihoods. Read more »
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Eliminating nuclear weapons is the democratic wish of the world’s people. Yet no nuclear-armed country currently appears to be preparing for a future without these terrifying devices. In fact, all are squandering billions of dollars on modernization of their nuclear forces, making a mockery of United Nations disarmament pledges. If we allow this madness to continue, the eventual use of these instruments of terror seems all but inevitable. Read more »
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