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Nuclear Weapons Complex
Related Resources (government documents and letters)
POGO Files
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex: Energy Department Plans to Waste Billions of Dollars on Unneeded Los Alamos Lab Facility The Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-Nuclear
Facility is a proposed facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The
facility would enable the United States to dramatically increase its production
of plutonium pits, which are primary components of nuclear weapons. This
mission is in direct opposition to U.S. nuclear strategy, which calls for an
ever-decreasing number of nuclear weapons in the future. What's more, during a
decade of planning, the facility's estimated cost to taxpayers went from $375
million to almost $6 billion for just one building of that facility.
January 18, 2012
POGO Joins Letter to President Obama Urging Adequate Funding for Nuclear Threat Reduction and Nonproliferation
February 11, 2011
Allegation Weakens Case for $5 Billion Energy Department Facility
October 28, 2010
Expert Agrees: Over 300 Metric Tons of Highly Enriched Uranium is Surplus to U.S. Needs
September 21, 2010
Podcast: Downblending and the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex in Plain English How the U.S. can create jobs, increase security, save money, and generate as much as $23 billion for the Treasury. POGO's Ingrid Drake and Peter Stockton sit down to explain POGO's latest report.
September 17, 2010
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex: How the Country Can Profit and Become More Secure by Getting Rid of Its Surplus Weapons-Grade Uranium Although security of fissile material has been a theme of the Obama Administration, domestic efforts to secure highly enriched uranium (HEU) have been sluggish and uninspired. In the post-9/11 era, there are tremendous opportunities for the United States to not only better secure its dangerous HEU, but also to make money by doing so. The United States could make a new surplus designation of HEU that is unnecessary for military needs; reduce the backlog of retired warheads awaiting dismantlement; increase the rate at which surplus HEU is downblended intolow enriched uranium (LEU), a form of uranium unusable for weapons but usable as nuclear fuel, and sell that LEU to nuclear power plants for billions of dollars.
September 14, 2010
Podcast: Countdown to Zero...Oversight of the Nuclear Complex POGOnauts, including POGO Senior Investigator Peter Stockton, review a new film about the nuclear weapons complex, Countdown to Zero, and discuss the recent trend towards less and less oversight of our nation's nuclear weapons stockpile.
July 27, 2010
POGO Joins letter to Secretary of Defense Gates Promoting Increased Transparency in Nuclear Weapons Policy
May 4, 2010
U.S. Should Commit to Several Actions that Would Advance Nuclear Material Security Here at Home
April 12, 2010
POGO Requests White House Intervention For Los Alamos
February 11, 2010
POGO Letter to President Obama Regarding Systemic Safety Issues at Los Alamos National Lab
February 11, 2010
GAO Affirms POGO Recommendation On Federal Nuclear Guard Force: Effectiveness Of Protective Forces Would Be Improved
January 29, 2010
POGO Raises Objections To DOE Closing Public Access To Contractor Performance Data
December 15, 2009
POGO asks President Obama to instruct the DOE’s NNSA to reverse its decision to withdraw contractor performance data from public view
December 14, 2009
POGO Nominates NIF Award for Excellence in Chutzpah: Cautions Secretary Chu on Merits of the Program Award
May 11, 2009
POGO letter to DOE Secretary Steven Chu regarding an award given to an overbudget and overschedule National Ignition Facility (NIF) project In its first letter to DOE Secretary Steven Chu, POGO asked the Secretary to rescind a “Project Management Excellence” award that Secretary Chu recently gave to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) project because the NIF project is more than 600 percent over budget and at least 8 years behind schedule. POGO also informed the Secretary that a decade ago, then-newly confirmed Secretary Bill Richardson similarly applauded the NIF project only to learn later that he had been misled: the NIF construction was far over budget and at least one year behind schedule.
May 6, 2009
Transforming the U.S. Strategic Posture and Weapons Complex for Transition to a Nuclear Weapons-Free World
April 8, 2009
Today's Department Of Energy Confirmation Hearing Provided No Clues On Where Vast Majority Of DOE Is Headed
January 13, 2009
In the Midst of Nuclear Weapons Site Security Test Failures, DOE Adopts New Test and Security Requirements
August 8, 2008
Not Another Dime
July 8, 2008
The Emerging Era in Whistleblower Rights and the Public's Right to Know -Panel 2: The Special Case of National Security Conference sponsored by Washington College of Law at American University. Moderator: Conrad Martin, Executive Director, Fund for Constitutional Government Panelists: Ann Beeson, Director of U.S. Policy, Open Society Institute; Danielle Brian, Executive Director, Project on Government Oversight; Louis Fisher, Specialist in Constitutional Law, Library of Congress; Mike German, Policy Counsel for National Security, American Civil Liberties Union; Stephen Kohn, Executive Director, National Whistleblower Center. Podcast Duration 01:32:08.
June 26, 2008
Follow the link to listen to the podcast.
Cutting the W88 - The Right Target
June 25, 2008
POGO Letter to DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman, regarding the plutonium pit production program
January 18, 2008
POGO Asks DOE to Issue Stop Work Order For Los Alamos Facility: CMRR of Dubious Value and Questionable Construction
December 3, 2007
POGO Letter to NNSA Chief, Defense Nuclear Security William Desmond advocating federalizing the nuclear weapons facilities security force
November 30, 2007
POGO letter to DOE Under Secretary Thomas D’Agostino requesting a stop work order for the CMRR at Los Alamos due to construction concerns
November 30, 2007
GAO Report: NRC Capitulates to Industry on Nuclear Security
October 3, 2007
Project On Government Oversight Calls Resignation of NNSA Administrator Linton Brooks a Good Move
January 4, 2007
Letter from POGO to DOE Secretary Bodman regarding unnecessary ongoing cybersecurity weaknesses
November 6, 2006
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex: Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory at High Risk Two Department of Energy nuclear weapons facilities in Eastern Tennessee are at high risk, and can not meet the government's security standards. If a terrorist attacks the Y-12 National Security Complex or the Oak Ridge National Labs, and detonates an improvised nuclear device with the more than 400 metric tons of highly-enriched uranium or the 1000 cans of U-233 stored at the sites, more than 60,000 people living in the area would die.
October 16, 2006
Consolidation of the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex Presentation by POGO's Peter Stockton to the International Panel on Fissile Materials on Nuclear Weapons Complex Consolidation
September 29, 2006
POGO Letter to DOE Secretary Bodman raising safety concerns
August 15, 2006
Controversial Nuclear Security Report Released
September 2, 2005
Congress Moves to Consolidate Nuclear Weapons Materials; Report: Cutting Sites in Half Could Save $3 Billion
May 19, 2005
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex: Homeland Security Opportunities As internal tests and analyses have shown, the Department of Energy cannot adequately protect America's voluminous stockpile of weapons grade nuclear material, which is housed at 13 locations throughout the country. In the post-9/11 era, we know that suicidal terrorists are capable of massive attacks – the worst possible scenario would be terrorists penetrating a nuclear facility and building an improvised nuclear bomb, which could have a similar force of the Hiroshima blast. In this report, POGO makes recommendations that will reduce the number of sites containing these nuclear materials from 13 down to seven.
May 19, 2005
POGO Letter to DOE Secretary Abraham concerning Los Alamos contract
November 30, 2004
Man Who Holds Purse Strings Declares: "..glory years for the nuclear weapons complex are over"
August 11, 2004
Testimony of POGO's Danielle Brian before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
May 11, 2004
POGO Testimony: Nukes Need Consolidation
April 26, 2004
New GAO Report on Nuclear Weapons Complex Security
June 23, 2003
POGO Letter to Gen. John Gordon Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration concerning security at nuclear weapons facilities
January 24, 2002
POGO to DOE's General John Gordon: You Are Being Misled
January 24, 2002
POGO Compilation: Over 50 Reports, Hearings, Testimonies and Commissions in the Past Five Years Concluding that DOE has Serious Security Problems
January 22, 2002
POGO Urges Department of Energy to Restore Access to Web Sites
January 14, 2002
POGO letter urging Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to restore citizen access to the Department of Energy's web sites
January 11, 2002
POGO Fact Sheet: Background on Security Failures
January 1, 2002
POGO letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld POGO letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urging the secretary to demand President Bush veto the National Defense Authorization Bill for 2002 unless nuclear weapons facilities are included in the BRAC process.
December 13, 2001
POGO Denounces Defense Authorization Conference Committee Dropping DOE Labs from the BRAC Process
December 12, 2001
Nuclear Security Budget Slashed
November 16, 2001
Nuclear Weapons Complex Vulnerable To Terrorist Attack
October 15, 2001
POGO letter to Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham regarding detailed maps of nuclear sites on DOE websites
October 3, 2001
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex: Security At Risk Our investigation revealed that the Department of Energy (DOE) is failing to adequately protect the American public from the possibility of a terrorist attack on one of its nuclear weapons facilities. Guards at the facilities are poorly equipped, spread thin, and lack training needed to defend against a real terrorist attack. The DOE stores tons of weapons-grade plutonium and uranium that could be stolen or used to create and detonate an improvised nuclear device.
October 1, 2001
Related Resources
Response Letter to POGO from NNSA Administrator D'Agostino regarding LANL
Thomas P. D'Agostino, Administrator, Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
April 27, 2010
DOE response to POGO's letter about NIF’s project excellence award.
Philip A. Niedzielski-Eicher, Assistant Deputy Administrator for Strategic Planning Resources & Integration, Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration
May 29, 2009
Rep. Ed Markey's (D-MA) Letter to Energy Secretary Abraham
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), U.S. House of Representatives
April 22, 2008
Secretary Samuel Bodman's response to POGO's September 5, 2007 letter
Secretary Samuel Bodman, Department of Energy
September 21, 2007
Letter from Representative David Hobson, Chairman, House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee to DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman regarding lack of competition in managing national labs
Representative David Hobson, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Appopriations
September 21, 2006
Response to POGO letter from DOE regarding inadequate safety oversight
Glenn S. Podonsky, Department of Energy
September 1, 2006
Updating Nuclear Security Standards: How Long Can The Department Of Energy Afford To Wait?
House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Report 109-435, U.S. House of Representatives
April 25, 2006
The National Nuclear Security Administration's Implementation of the 2003 Design Basis Threat
Office of Inspector General; Office of Audit Services, Report DOE/IG-0705, Department of Energy
October 1, 2005
Nuclear Security: DOE Needs to Resolve Significant Issues Before It Fully Meets the New Design Basis Threat
, Government Accountability Office GAO-04-623
April 27, 2004
Protective Force Performance Test Improprieties
Inspector General, Department of Energy
January 23, 2004
Nuclear Security: NNSA Needs to Better Manage Its Safeguards and Security Program
, General Accounting Office (GAO) GAO-03-471
May 30, 2003
NNSA Needs to Better Manage Its Safeguards and Security Program
, Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report - GAO-03-471
May 30, 2003
Rep. Ed Markey's (D-MA) Letter to President Bush
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), U.S. House of Representatives
April 22, 2002
Letter from DOE Secretary Abraham to Office of Management and Budget
Spencer Abraham, Department of Energy Secretary
March 14, 2002
Senator Bob Smith's letter to Secretary Abraham regarding consolidation of nuclear materials
Senator Bob Smith (R-NH), U.S. Senate
December 21, 2001
Risk to Special Nuclear Materials in the Department of Energy's Sites and Transportation
Letter from Ronald Timm, Certified Protection Professional to Secretary Spencer Abraham, U.S. Department of Energy,
February 9, 2001
POGO in the News
Los Alamos Bracing For Big Cut To CMRR-NF In FY2013 Budget Request, Todd Jacobson, Los Alamos Study Group & Monitor, January 20, 2012
Nuclear Money Pit; America’s atomic arsenal is stuck in the Cold War era., Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, The American Conservative, November 29, 2011
Fire continues to threaten nuclear lab, With Lisa Myers, MSNBC.com, June 28, 2011
From danger to dollars: What the US should do with its highly enriched uranium, By POGO's Peter Stockton and Ingrid Drake, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists November/December 2010 66: 43-55, December 1, 2010
U.S. stockpiling uranium, POGO warns, UPI.com, United Press International, September 14, 2010
Watchdog says U.S. holds enriched-uranium surplus, denverpost.com, The Denver Post, September 14, 2010
U.S. Energy Department holding 324 metric tons of bomb-grade uranium, report says, By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2010
U.S. Nuclear Agency Unveils New Information Security, Facility Protection Rules, By Elaine M. Grossman, Global Security Newswire, July 9, 2010
Nuclear Follies, By John Feffer, Co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus, The Huffington Post, April 21, 2010
Will U.S. Inaction on its own Nuclear Security Issues Compromise Summit Success?, By POGO's Peter Stockton and Ingrid Drake, Across the Aisle: Partnership For A Secure America's Bipartisan Foreign Policy and National Security Blog, April 7, 2010
U.S. must get its nuclear house in order before April Security Summit, By POGO's Peter Stockton and Ingrid Drake, The Hill, March 23, 2010
Safety oversight trimmed at US energy labs, By Eric Hand , Nature.com, March 22, 2010
Federal Diary: Federalizing security contractors might make our country safer, By Joe Davidson, Washington Post, January 29, 2010
Scientists Forget How to Build Nuclear Bomb, By Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov, May 31, 2009
Program to refurbish aging nuclear warheads faces setbacks, By Ralph Vartabedian , The Los Angeles Times, May 29, 2009
POGO Questions Kudos On NIF, By Todd Jacobson, Nuclear Weapons & Materials Monitor, May 18, 2009
Want to Downsize the Nuke Stockpile? Here's One Idea, By Nathan Hodge, WIRED/Danger Room/Online, April 8, 2009
Government Oversight/Economic Stimulus: Resolution Confusion, By Michael Grabell, ProPublica, February 11, 2009
Bomb Plants Could Shift to Control of Pentagon, By Matthew L. Wald, The New York Times, February 6, 2009
Chu May Push Labs To Evolve; Panel Questions DOE Nominee, By Michael Coleman, Albuquerque Journal/ Washington Bureau, The Albuquerque Journal Online, January 13, 2009
Energy Department Cites Gains as Obama Vows Changes, , Bloomberg News, January 5, 2009
DOE Adopts New 'Graded' Terrorist Protection Policy, By George Lobsenz, Energy Daily, August 26, 2008
POGO questions new security policy at DOE nuke sites, By Frank Munger, Knoville News Sentinel, August 25, 2008
U.S. Nuclear Stockpiles: On the Road to Nowhere?, By James Murtagh, OpEdNews.com, June 26, 2008
Deciphering NNSA's Complex Transformation, By Ingrid Drake and Peter Stockton, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, June 23, 2008
Quality of Nuclear Devices Questioned, By H. Josef Hebert , Associated Press, January 20, 2008
Latest shipment of weapons grade plutonium arrives safely at SRS, by Josh Voorhees, AikenStandard.com, January 8, 2008
Pakistan learns the US nuclear way, By Zia Mian, Asia Times, December 19, 2007
The True Story: Two U.S. Nuclear Labs "Hacked", By Jason Mick, Daily Tech, December 8, 2007
Hackers Launch Major Attack on US Military Labs, By John E. Dunn, Techworld , December 7, 2007
LANL Building Project Faulted ; Oversight Group: Lab Rushed Work, By Raam Wong, Albuquerque Journal, December 5, 2007
Security Upgrades at Several Nuclear Sites Are Lagging, Auditors Find , Matthew Wald, New York Times, October 29, 2007
Nuclear facilities miss security deadline, , UPI News, October 29, 2007
Atomic fallout: The Administration drops its nuclear chief, but can anyone else do better?, By Nathan Hodge and Sharon Weinberger, Slate, January 8, 2007
Nuclear security chief fired in wake of breach, By Andy Lenderman, The New Mexican, January 5, 2007
Energy Secretary fires nuclear security chief, By Tom Shoop, Govexec.com, January 5, 2007
Bush picks new head of nuclear agency, By Josef Hebert, Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, January 5, 2007
Head of U.S. nuclear agency leaving under pressure over security lapses, , International Herald Tribune, January 5, 2007
U.S. nuclear labs working on weapons safeguards, by Ralph Vartabedian, The Los Angeles Times, December 4, 2006
Nuclear Lockdown, By POGO's Nick Schwellenbach and Peter D.H. Stockton, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, November/December 2006, December 1, 2006
Nuclear Spending Comes Under Fire, By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times, July 30, 2006
How to keep nuclear sites safe, By Ian MacLeod, The Ottawa Citizen, June 17, 2006
U.S. Rolls Out Nuclear Plan, By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2006
Nuclear Waste, By Zachary Roth, Washington Monthly, March 1, 2006
Suicide A-Bombers Must Be Frustrated, Editorial, Albuquerque Journal, May 23, 2005
Nuclear Insecurity Right at Home, By POGO's Peter Stockton, The Washington Post, Letter to the Editor, January 8, 2005
Energy Department May Set Plans For New Nuclear - Material Security, By John Fialka, Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004
U.S. Eyes Security Reforms for Nuclear Sites, With NPR's David Kestenbaum , National Public Radio (NPR), May 7, 2004
A Ringing Nuclear Alarm, Editorial, Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2004
GAO: Nuke weapons sites remain vulnerable, By H. Josef Hebert, Associated Press, April 27, 2004
Livermore Lab seen as vulnerable, By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2004
GAO Questions U.S. Nuclear Security, By Thom J. Rose , Spacedaily.com, April 27, 2004
New DOE IG report confirms POGO's findings about security officers being under-trained and overworked, Editorial, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, March 20, 2004
Public Deserves More from Y-12, Guest Column by POGO's Peter Stockton, Oak Ridger, March 10, 2004
Protecting the Nation's Nuclear Materials, by David Kestenbaum, National Public Radio (NPR), February 26, 2004
Nuclear Insecurity, With Ed Bradley, 60 Minutes, February 16, 2004
Savannah River Site DOE Mock Attacks Test Security, By Josh Gelinas, The Augusta Chronicle, November 2, 2003
Nuclear Insecurity, By Mark Hertsgaard, Vanity Fair, November 1, 2003
Security Gaps at U.S. Nuke Sites, By Eric Herman, New York Daily News, October 7, 2003
Photo Copies Cost More Than Copier, By Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2003
Energy Dept.'s Nuclear Security Fears Told, Megan Garvey, The Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2002
Debate Over Nuclear Lab Security Heats Up, Eric Pianin and Bill Miller, The Washington Post, April 22, 2002
Nuclear Insecurity; Why is the president's budget downsizing security at our nuclear weapons labs?, By Eric Umansky, Slate.com, February 15, 2002
Nuke Weapons Boss Gets Defensive Over Security, By Don Moniak, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, January 25, 2002
Suicidal Nuclear Threat Is Seen at Weapons Plants , By Matthew L. Wald, New York Times, January 23, 2002
Nuclear Arms Plants' Security Lax, Report Says, Mock 'Commandos' Were Able to Beat Safeguards at U.S. Facilities About Half of the Time', By Eric Pianin and Bill Miller, The Washington Post, January 23, 2002
Easy Targets, , New York Times advertisement, January 16, 2002
The Weapons Complex: Who's Guarding the Store?, By Danielle Brian, Lynn Eisenman, Peter D.H. Stockton , Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January 2, 2002
I'll Cut the Fence, You Grab the Plutonium , By Geoffrey Gray, The Village Voice, December 18, 2001
Unstable Element: Suddenly, Small Gaps in Nuclear Security Look Like Chasms , By John Emshaller, Michael Orey, Daniel Machalaba, Rebecca Smith, Wall Street Journal, October 17, 2001
Do our nuclear labs lack security? Many sites fail mock invasion tests, by Lisa Friedman, The Oakland Tribune, October 4, 2001
U.S. Steps Up Security Plan For Warheads, By William J. Broad, New York Times, September 16, 1984
