Dr. Tara Drozdenko

Since his attention is on nuclear weapons right now, perhaps he should direct the State Department to start negotiating a follow on to New START and the DoD to abide by the New START limits once it expires in February.

One of the best things the US could do is ratify the CTBT.

To limit new weapons development in China/Russia and other nuclear states, the US must not detonate a nuclear weapon in Nevada – or anywhere else.

Re-starting explosive testing would also be a slap in the face to communities harmed by Cold War era atmospheric nuclear tests, many of whom are still awaiting compensation.

The United States has conducted the most nuclear tests of any nation and has all the information it needs to maintain a secure and reliable nuclear arsenal.

There is no scientific need to test to maintain the US nuclear arsenal. Current science allows the NNSA to maintain the US arsenal and to assess its safety and viability without explosive testing.

If this is about explosive testing, it is very alarming.

The US already does regular missile tests . Organizing the pace and number of tests around what other countries are doing is not a good way to run a test program.

It’s hard to tell if he means explosive nuclear testing or a missile test. I lean toward missile test since that would be the most similar to Russia’s recent test. And, he directs DoD to do the test not the NNSA. Of course, it’s possible he doesn’t know who to direct to do the testing.

Trump Threatens to Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing, Minutes Before Xi Meeting

Trump recently tweeted he was directing the DoD to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis [with other countries] www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/u...

A black-and-white photo shows a technician standing beside a large spherical metal object being assembled in a lab, representing a nuclear weapon core. Overlaid text reads: "The US plans to spend $38 billion on new explosive cores for nuclear weapons." The logo of the Union of Concerned Scientists appears in the bottom left corner. Photo credit: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons.

As the US prepares to spend as much as $38 billion to produce hundreds of new explosive cores, called plutonium pits, to arm new nuclear weapons, our new analysis argues new pits aren’t necessary to maintain the existing US nuclear arsenal.

Read our report: act.ucsusa.org/4kZ4X9p

YouTube video by Union of Concerned Scientists You Need Science. Now Science Needs You.

The last 100 days have been an unprecedented assault on American science. Our scientists. Our institutions. And the people around the world who rely on it. We must stand united and speak up. Our collective future depends on it. #ScienceMatters www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPlu... savesciencenow.org

Not sure why this took years to publish but I am happy it finally saw the light of day. My contribution makes the case against extending US nuclear deterrence guarantees to cover first use in a conventional war with China over Taiwan.

YouTube video by KBLA 1580 Tavis Smiley LIVE 10am

My colleague Dr. Chanese Forté appeared on the Travis Smiley show discussing her work on the impacts of nuclear weapons production, testing & development all too easily lead to exposure to harmful radiation, which happens all to often to indigenous communities. Listen here: youtu.be/zH3DWGv2D9s?...

Justice for Downwinder Communities in Washington The Hanford nuclear site closed decades ago, but community members are still waiting for recognition of its costs to their health.

We have some great work being done here @ucsusa.bsky.social by Kendall Fellow @lmcclure.bsky.social (now faculty at UNC). Check out her work on community engaged research around the Hanford Facility, which remains one of the most contaminated and complex legacies of US nuclear weapons production.

Air Force weighs keeping 1970s-era missiles until 2050 Current plan is to remove all 400 Minuteman III ICBMs made by Boeing from silos by 2039

"Shocking" (not) news of the day: the US Air Force, after completely mismanaging a massive, unneeded effort to build high-priced, destabilizing, vulnerable land-based, nuclear-armed missiles, is looking to extend the life of the ones they already have until 2050: gulfnews.com/world/americ...

Why Federal Radiation Regulations Can No Longer Ignore Women and Girls UCS interviewed the co-authors of a UN report on how certain groups are harmed by radiation more than others.

Important new piece from my colleague Dr. Chanese Forté, who interviews Dr. Amanda Nichols & Mary Olson on why federal radiation regulations can no longer ignore women & girls. TL/DR: Women & girls are more radiosensitive - more likely to face harm from radiation: blog.ucsusa.org/chanese-fort...

🚨The Trump administration has illegally seized power not granted to it by the US Constitution and is actively disregarding the rule of law.

ComputationLock Welcome to opm.gov

I thought there was still a pension component with FERS. www.opm.gov/retirement-c...

I am wondering what happens to retired government employee pensions if millions of government workers are laid off and are no longer paying into the pension system? Anybody know?

Democratic US lawmakers ask Energy Department about any DOGE access to nuclear data Two U.S. Democratic lawmakers pressed the secretary of energy on Wednesday whether members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have access to classified information on nuclear weapons, saying nuclear secrets need to be tightly safeguarded.

Will the DOGE, which is willy-nilly ignoring laws, regulations, guidelines, codes and any other normal procedure, gain access to US nuclear weapons secrets? Two members of Congress wrote to the Department of Energy, responsible for the nuclear stockpile, appropriately worried about the possibility.

Share Your Experiences at Los Alamos National Laboratory The New York Times would like to hear from you about workplace protocols and safety measures at LANL.

THRILLED to see the Times supporting @aliciaguzman.bsky.social's great reporting in New Mexico.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/u...

Critics at hearing speak out against expansion plan, pit production at LANL A public hearing Tuesday in Santa Fe is one of several opportunities for people to weigh in on a draft environmental assessment.

Yesterday the NNSA held a hearing on the future of Los Alamos National Lab, where the government plans to resume bulk production of plutonium pits for use in new nuclear weapons for the 1st time since the end of the Cold War. The hearing got a little rowdy: www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_n...

🚨 The Trump administration is attempting to seize power beyond what the Constitution allows—giving Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire, unchecked influence.

As a federal scientist, expert, or civil servant, you have rights. Don’t let them bully you.

These resources can help: act.ucsusa.org/4hqSJoz

YouTube video by Union of Concerned Scientists Space-based Missile Defense: Not a Good Idea

If you're thinking Trump's space-based missile defense proposal is a good idea, think again. youtu.be/fEkXTV69yo4?...

China is Willing to Negotiate on Nuclear Arms, But Not on Trump’s Terms Here are four steps that might bring Beijing to the table.

If President Trump is serious about negotiating with China on nuclear arms control, @gkucs.bsky.social has some advice to bring China to the negotiating table:

Today the Senate Armed Services Committee held a quite disturbing confirmation hearing on the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense. Hegseth refused to meet with Democratic senators on the committee before the hearing, a breach of long-held protocol, but is sadly not surprising.

There's still time to apply for the Science for Public Good Fund! We're looking to fund projects that aim to advance equitable, science-based policy and/or emphasize local and community impacts. Applications are open now through January 6.

➡️Apply here: act.ucsusa.org/41DXmXm

We Need to Prevent a New Era of Nuclear Weapons Testing The second Trump administration is likely to resume explosive nuclear weapons tests, but they are unnecessary and can have dire consequences that last for generations.

Under Trump, the US may return to full-scale explosive testing of nuclear weapons. It would be a lose-lose-lose for the US, the budding nuclear arms race, and humanity itself. My colleague Jenn Knox explains exactly why here: blog.ucsusa.org/jknox/we-nee...