Clean Up— Don't Build Up

A diverse coalition of national, state and local environmental health, nuclear weapons, toxic and peace organizations developed a U.S. precautionary action plan on nuclear weapons and waste problems.  Based on the “first do no harm” approach of medicine, the precautionary approach shifts the questions we ask about environmental hazards from “what level of harm is acceptable?” to “how can we prevent harm?”  The Blueprint actions will prevent serious harm, protect our health and security, and restore our environment.  

1) Support Cleanups Protective of Air, Water, Community & Worker Health.

a) Nuclear weapon site cleanups should be protective of our air, water and children's health.
b) All injured nuclear workers and communities should receive full compensation from the Department of Energy federal program.
c) Federal government agencies are not above the law -- all exemptions from environmental, health and transportation laws for nuclear weapon sites should be rescinded.


2) Halt the Build Up of New Weapons.

a) Oppose the Bush Administration's dangerous policies to develop new and modified weapons and maintain a large nuclear weapons stockpile.
b) Halt funding and plans to build new nuclear facilities that would manufacture: plutonium bombs and triggers; tritium for nuclear weapons; plutonium fuel for commercial reactors; and enrich uranium.   (See attached Fact Sheet for list of proposed nuclear weapon facilities.)
c) Honor the U.S. commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, by fulfilling the agreement to eliminate nuclear arsenals and by abandoning nuclear "first strike" policies.
d) Halt the subcritical tests and stop the return to full-scale underground nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site and honor the treaty rights of the Western Shoshone nation. 

3) Abandon Hazardous Nuclear Waste Siting & Deregulation Proposals

a) Halt plans to dump the nation's nuclear waste in low-income communities of color, especially tribal lands such as the proposed high-level waste facilities at Yucca Mountain (NV) and Skull Valley (UT).
b) Abandon the hazardous practice of "reusing" nuclear waste, such as weapons made of depleted uranium, and federal proposals allowing radioactive materials to be used in consumer products.
c) Prevent the Department of Energy from deregulating and reclassifying radioactive waste that would leave more health-threatening radioactive contamination at sites.

 4) Improve Security at U.S. Nuclear Weapons Plants

a) Provide the highest security protections against terrorism at nuclear weapon sites to protect workers and the surrounding community.
b) Include affected communities in nuclear weapon facility emergency drills and provide full information to the public on the facility's environmental and health hazards.
c) Eliminate dangerous shipments of plutonium and other bomb-making and explosive nuclear materials.