September, 03 2009, 12:22pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Tom Clements Southeastern Nuclear Campaign Coordinator
Friends of the Earth
Columbia, SC
tel. 803-834-3084
tomclements329@cs.com
Energy Department Forced to Release Photos of Trucks Used to Transport Nuclear Bombs and Components and Nuclear Weapons Materials
COLUMBIA, S.C.
Friends of the Earth announced today it has used the Freedom of Information Act to force the U.S. Department of Energy to release color photos of the special trucks that transport nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons components and "special nuclear material" such as plutonium and highly enriched uranium. It is believed that these are the first nuclear bomb truck photos released by the Department of Energy in recent years.
"The trucks carrying nuclear weapons and dangerous materials such as plutonium pass through cities and neighborhoods all the time and the public should be aware of what they look like," said Tom Clements, Southeastern Nuclear Campaign Coordinator with Friends of the Earth in Columbia, South Carolina. "Release of these photos will help inform the public about secretive shipments of dangerous nuclear material that are taking place in plain view."
Two photos of "Safeguards Transporters" were released on August 31 to Friends of the Earth by the National Nuclear Security Administration's Service Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The release was made in response to a July 11 Freedom of Information Act request concerning the shipment of plutonium from the Department of Energy's Hanford site to its Savannah River Site. Shipments of weapons-grade plutonium oxide from Hanford to Savannah River were recently concluded via these trucks.
According to the Department of Energy, each Safeguards Transporter, operated by the Office Secure Transport, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a "specially designed part of an 18-wheel rig that incorporates various deterrents to prevent unauthorized removal of cargo. The trailer has been designed to protect the cargo against damage in the event of an accident." And, "The thermal characteristics of the [transporter] would allow the trailer to be totally engulfed in a fire without incurring damage to the cargo. The tractors are standard production units that have been modified to provide the federal agents protection against attack. Escort vehicles accompany the tractor-trailers during transportation activities."
A photo was previously taken of such trucks and their escort vehicle in April 2005 as a convoy was leaving the Charleston, South Carolina Naval Weapons Station with four fuel assemblies of experimental plutonium fuel (MOX), destined for the Savannah River Site and then on to Duke Energy's Catawba reactor, for a failed test of that fuel. That photo, taken from the right-of-way by Tom Clements, is available on request. Until the Department of Energy's release of these photos, that picture was the only known public photo taken of a Department of Energy nuclear transport truck in the last decade or more.
Notes:
1. Nuclear Bomb trucks and DOE FOIA response letter available on request. Photos and letter in e-mails from NNSA can be forwarded to validate source.
2. For an Office of Secure Transport fact sheet, see: https://www.doeal.gov/laso/Documents/EPIOTSfactsheet.pdf
3. For a National Nuclear Security Administration (NSSA) - the nuclear bomb division of DOE - website on "Secure Transportation," see https://nnsa.energy.gov/defense_programs/2181.htm
4. See Nuclear Watch South website - https://www.nonukesyall.org/ - for September 2 news on setback to DOE's plutonium fuel (MOX) program. See link to "Plutonium Truck Photos" on the right.
Friends of the Earth fights for a more healthy and just world. Together we speak truth to power and expose those who endanger the health of people and the planet for corporate profit. We organize to build long-term political power and campaign to change the rules of our economic and political systems that create injustice and destroy nature.
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Gallego Says Lobbyists 'Bought Sinema's Vote' That Resulted in Bank Collapse
"When bank lobbyists asked me to weaken bank regulations, I said no. When they asked Sen. Sinema, she asked how much—and voted yes," said the Democratic Arizona congressman, who is running for Sinema's Senate seat.
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Democratic Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego on Tuesday accused Sen. Kyrsten Sinema—who he hopes to oust from the U.S. Senate next year—of playing a major role in the Silicon Valley Bank collapse by taking campaign contributions from lobbyists that represented the bank and then voting to deregulate it.
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Gallego asked Monday: "What's the difference between Sen. Sinema and me? When bank lobbyists asked me to weaken bank regulations, I said no. When they asked Sen. Sinema, she asked how much—and voted yes. Now we are all going to pay for her mistake."
On Twitter Tuesday, Gallego wrote that "the SVB collapse is a direct result of Kyrsten Sinema's choice to side with big banks over everyday Arizonans."
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Sinema was far from alone in taking campaign cash from SVB's lobbyists and political action committee.
As Politico's Hailey Fuchs, Jessica Piper, and Holly Otterbein noted:
Between 2017 and 2022, Silicon Valley Bank's PAC gave more than $50,000 to the campaigns of nearly two dozen senators and representatives, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. The donations largely went to members—Republicans and Democrats—who served on relevant committees including the House Financial Services Committee or Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) received the most from the PAC, each bringing in $7,500 over the six-year period.
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Sinema—who has been accused of "cartoonish-level corruption" for coziness with corporations and lobbyists—was excoriated in a Tuesday Daily Beast article by Michael Daly, who called the senator "a wolf for Wall Street."
Daly took aim at Sinema's Sunday statement asserting that "the federal government must now ensure those responsible [for the SVB collapse] are held accountable, while maintaining stability for all Americans who rely on our banking system."
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We are deeply committed to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom and the health and well-being of all of our residents. As governors of 14 states, we not only represent over 141 million residents with a combined economy of over $11 trillion, but we are also direct customers who have partnered with many of your companies for years on a variety of issues and initiatives. We understand you are carefully reviewing the new mifepristone certification process. We look forward to receiving your plans for dispensing mifepristone in states where such care is legal, as well as any other actions you plan to take to safeguard access to reproductive healthcare.
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- Will your company conduct any community outreach to ensure customers are aware of the full range of legal health services available to them?
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Public pressure by groups including Patients for Affordable Drugs and Lower Drug Prices Now has resulted in some recent insulin price reforms, including a provision that took effect in January capping insulin copayments at $35 per month for Medicare recipients.
As Common Dreams reported last week, days after Eli Lilly announced its voluntary price cuts, Sanders, a longtime advocate of affordable insulin, joined Rep. Cori Bush(D-Mo.) in introducing legislation that would prohibit pharmaceutical companies from charging more than $20 for a vial of insulin. President Joe Biden has called for the product to be capped at $35 per vial for all patients—a proposal that Senate Republicans voted down last year.
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Advocacy groups also called on Sanofi, the third insulin manufacturer for American patients, to follow its rival companies' lead and introduce price cuts.
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