A Pentagon official withdrew from a plutonium briefing in Columbia this week because the Biden government is “involved in a complete review of the program,” according to Rick Lee, chairman of the SC Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Board.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Affairs, Drew Walter, was scheduled to give a presentation on the production of moats – the manufacture of nuclear weapon cores, potentially in South Carolina and New Mexico – “and why the Department of Defense thinks it is essential to start with the program, ”said Lee.
But until the new administration decides “what they want to do going forward”, continued the president, Walter “would not be available for this type of meeting”.
Exactly what the alleged review covers or details is unclear. A big question, suggested Tom Clements, director of the Savannah River Site Watch, “is whether there is any kind of formal review of wells and the general modernization of nuclear weapons in DOE and DOD”.
Lee’s comments, made at an hour-long meeting of the Nuclear Advisory Council on Monday, are in line with comments made earlier this year by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his deputy, Kathleen Hicks. Some analysts and observers predicted further scrutiny of the well’s production under Biden.
During his confirmation process, Austin promised a serious assessment of the country’s nuclear modernization programs, “including the country’s ability to produce plutonium wells” and other components. Austin also did not explicitly endorse the proposed two-site solution in 2018: the production of dozens of wells, triggers at the heart of modern nuclear weapons, at the Savannah River Site and at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Hicks aligned himself with Austin in answering questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“As Secretary Austin testified, maintaining a reliable nuclear deterrent is critical to the defense of our nation,” she explained. “If confirmed, I will see that the department is thoroughly studying all the proposed plans and alternatives to ensure that we are on the most economical path to modernizing US nuclear forces.”
US Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican, said he wants to “work with cabinet members in the interest of the extraordinary opportunities we have at Savannah River Site”. Wilson’s district, the 2nd district of South Carolina, includes the location and the entire county of Aiken.
Walter, at a virtual event last year, said that financing and authorizations represent the “biggest” obstacles faced by the production of the moat, a multi-billion dollar enterprise across the country. Time is also an important factor.
“The rest of the Department of Defense and I fully support the two-location strategy,” said Walter in May 2020. “But I will emphasize: I don’t want to see this film for the fifth time. We must have chosen this as our path to follow and follow it. “
Federal law requires the production of 80 plutonium wells per year by 2030.