Los Alamos National Laboratory

The Los Alamos National Laboratory is having a opening ceremony for the Radiological Laboratory Utility Office building Thursday.

And the public is not invited.

Joni Arends from Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety wrote the following email to Lorrie Bonds Lopez, who is in charge of community outreach for LANL.

“Good afternoon,
We understand that there will be a formal ribbon cutting at the RLUOB on June 14th.  The Interested Parties to the CMRR Air Permit Settlement Agreement, therefore, respectfully request an invitation for each of the Interested Parties to attend the ribbon cutting.  We look forward to receiving invitations to attend.
Best,
Joni”

Beginning Wednesday, the public is invited to Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Bradbury Science Museum to take part in “Living With Wildfire: Share Your Stories.” An opening reception for the general public is from 3:30 to 6 p.m.
Nearly one year ago the Las Conchas fire burned in forest areas surrounding Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and forced a one-week closure. The wildfire spared the Laboratory but it affected thousands of residents in Northern New Mexico. The exhibit provides an opportunity for people to share their stories about the Las Conchas fire and other wildfires, listen to stories told by others and watch a slideshow that describes the community’s response to wildfires.

Second of a series

Former White House aide Jon Wolfsthal this week suggested that the architects of the plan to put the plans for a new Chemistry Metallurgy Research facility on ice were none other than LANL director Charlie McMillan and his Livermore and Sandia counterparts.

“This was the lab directors coming to NNSA and saying, ‘We think we can save you money’ -- perhaps an unprecedented step – and saying, ‘We think we can do plutonium work without building the CMRR in New Mexico,’” Wolfsthal said at an Arms Control Association panel discussion in Washington.

First of a series
Editor's note: Part 2 will include reaction from LANL director Charlie McMillan.

WASHINGTON — A former White House aide on Monday said the directors of the U.S. national laboratories “came forward” during closed-door budget-planning sessions five months ago to propose a delay in building a plutonium research facility, a plan that has since drawn Republican fire.

Lawmakers have taken great interest in what heads of the three main laboratories — Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia — think about the ramifications of delaying work on the $6 billion Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement plant because these institutions play a key role in overseeing the nuclear arsenal.