Alissa Tabirian
NS&D Monitor
8/7/2015
Peace activists are gathering this week at various National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) laboratories to participate in protests and commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the United States’ atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Events include a remembrance ceremony yesterday organized by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA) at the entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, a demonstration Saturday at Y-12 against the Uranium Processing Facility, a protest yesterday organized by Tri-Valley CAREs in front of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, and a peace procession yesterday near the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. A flier issued by Tri-Valley CAREs says the “human cost” of U.S. nuclear modernization programs “is immeasurable – to our health, environment, ethics, and democracy, to our prospects for global peace, and to our confidence in human survival.” Other activities this week include a Campaign Nonviolence National Conference in New Mexico and a Transform Now Plowshares event today in Knoxville, Tenn., featuring the three members who were recently released from prison following their 2012 break-in at Y-12.
Steven Wyatt, spokesman for the NNSA Production Office that manages Y-12 and the Pantex Plant, said of the protests, “we fully respect their right to express their opinions.”
“We work closely with the City of Oak Ridge Police Department in planning for protests and will have appropriate security resources on hand to respond if needed,” Wyatt added. “Our goal is the continued safety and security of the plant and the safety of the public.”
