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2018: The Year We Stop the UPF

The Uranium Processing Facility is a big name for a bomb plant”slated to begin construction in early 2018, the UPF will manufacture thermonuclear cores for US nuclear warheads. Unless we stop it.

The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to build the UPF bomb plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee at the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex. The UPF will replace deteriorating Manhattan Project era nuclear weapons production facilities. The sole mission of the UPF will be to make nuclear bomb components”the “secondary,” made of highly enriched uranium, lithium deuteride, beryllium and depleted uranium, is the part that puts the H in the H-bomb. It is the fusion core; Y-12 has produced every nuclear secondary for every nuclear warhead and bomb in the US stockpile. Ever.

Building the UPF commits the US to its trillion dollar “modernization” plan; it has been called the “tip of the spear” of the modernization plan.

OREPA’s work to stop the UPF began when it was first announced in 2005. In 2017, along with colleagues from Nuclear Watch New Mexico and the Natural Resources Defense Council, we filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, DC, challenging the adequacy of the environmental analysis the government is required to perform before it builds the bomb plant. We are waiting for the judge to hear the case.

OREPA is doing other things, too”we are working to develop a new generation of nuclear abolitionists through our Next Generation Leadership Fund. We are also collaborating with the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability and Nukewatch to create a framework for effective work with our grassroots colleagues in Europe and around the globe. The new nuclear ban treaty will provide increased leverage for activists working to get US nukes out of Europe.

And we are working to create and nurture nonviolent community in East Tennessee.

OREPA is a grassroots group that relies almost completely on contributions from our members and supporters to do our work. We have one full time staff person and a host of volunteers who serve on a working Board of Directors and active committees. Our ultimate aim is to create a world free of nuclear weapons. You can learn more about our efforts to stop the bomb plant and our other work from our newsletter. Look in the sidebar on the right for the latest edition.

OREPA is a nonprofit organization; all contributions are tax deductible. You can make a secure donation through paypal or with your credit card using the donate button. Our snail mail address is P O Box 5743, Oak Ridge, TN 37831.

Resources:

OREPA Newsletter

Latest:

Reflections for Nonviolent Community

Latest:

Sunday Vigil at Y-12 in Oak Ridge Tennessee

Sunday Vigil

OREPA has held Sunday vigils every week for more than 22 years at the main entrance to the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex (intersection of Scarboro Rd and East Bear Creek Road). We will now be holding the vigil at 4:00PM ET during the winter months so we don’t have to be sitting out in the dark. We are outdoors and space our chairs; when covid numbers are up, we encourage people to wear masks. Bring your own chair, we have some umbrellas for sun shade or rain.

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Where Should I park? vigil-map.jpg

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