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Oppose new nuclear weapons production

Last summer, the Rocky Mountain News reported on the basis of government figures that “[t]he U.S. nuclear weapons program has sickened 36,500 Americans and killed more than 4,000.”[1]  Countless more people that have been exposed to low-level ionizing radiation for nuclear bomb testing and radiation plumb leaks from weapons facilities.

The DOE is giving the false impression that renewed nuclear weapons production will have a limited environmental and public health impact.  From past experience we know that risks to workers, the public and the environment are greatly increased around these facilities.  Moving toward new production facilities could create new risk factors for these communities.

The U.S. Government still estimates the health risk of low levels of ionizing radiation using “reference man” characteristics. Many people living near proposed Complex Transformation sites do not have the anatomical and physiological characteristics of an average individual as defined for a “reference man.” In particular, infants, children, pregnant women, immune compromised and other chronically ill persons would be affected differently by radiation exposure than people who fit the “reference man” criteria.  This point clearly demonstrates that vulnerable populations will not be adequately protected from radiation released from various environmental media.

The government should not consider the production of new nuclear weapons while the U.S. struggles to address past risks to the health of those living near or working in the weapons complex.  The health consequences of the proposed Complex Transformation 2030 Program must be fully considered. The final report on the impact of new nuclear weapons production should include a human health risk assessment to take into account the newest research on health effects at varying levels of radiation exposure and characterizes of risk for sensitive populations

The PEIS hearing process is insufficient to evaluate the environmental impact of the proprosed Complex Transformation program.  New studies are needed on the medical, public health, and climate impacts of the life cycle of the Complex Transformation proposal, specifically including the prospective testing and use of the nuclear weapons it will produce.

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Take Action

Tell the Department of Energy (DOE) the U.S. does not need new nuclear weapons.  Join PSR doctors who are speaking out at DOE public hearings across the country about the dangers to human life and health posed by the Bush Administration’s plan to rebuild the U.S. nuclear weapons production complex in order to produce large numbers of new nuclear weapons into the indefinite future.

The general public has a chance to respond to this so-called “Complex Transformation” plan.  Tell the DOE the U.S. doesn’t need a new “bombplex” to build new nuclear weapons.

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