JULY 29, 2026
Dear Friends,
This coming week will mark the 81st anniversary of the horrific atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed an estimated 200,000 human beings by the end of 1945 and ushered in the Nuclear Age that poses an imminent threat to all life on our planet.
Every year, we in PSR and our global comrades in the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) join organizations around the world dedicated to commemorating the victims of the detonations in Japan and the countless millions who have suffered from the radioactive and toxic legacy bequeathed by the development, production, testing and deployment of these lethal weapons.
We rededicate ourselves toward abolishing nuclear weapons and ending the U.S. and other worldwide programs currently aimed at “modernizing” and making such weapons more lethal and usable.
In this context, we want to express our profound gratitude to our members who over the last few weeks responded with many eloquent comments in opposition to Department of Energy’s (DOE) plan to manufacture plutonium “pits” to trigger a new generation of nuclear weapons.
Compounding the dangers of new nuclear weapons, the Trump Administration has proposed dismantling already inadequate radiation health standards while at the same time promoting new dangerous nuclear power plants at home and abroad. This newest nuclear “renaissance,” evinced by the pending deal with Saudi Arabia, threatens to potentiate new nuclear weapons programs throughout the globe.
These attacks on public health require constant vigilance and your voice is always needed in this struggle for peace, justice, and health. We’ll be providing opportunities to oppose the weakening of radiation health protections and other aspects of the nuclear resurgence in the weeks ahead.
In the meantime, it is heartening to reflect on the inspiring work of our members and local allies in these dark times.
A terrific podcast released last week by our Back from the Brink (BftB) campaign features powerful interviews with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee as well as longtime labor organizer and activist Marshall Ganz. They reflect on what has made a difference over the long run by participating in various movements for social change exemplified by the Civil Rights Movement, defense of immigrant and other worker rights, and continued struggles against wars and militarism that have contextualized PSR’s historic focus on our “existential threats.”
Barbara Lee’s contribution reminds us of her extraordinary courage as the lone voice in opposing the disastrous “Wars on Terror” in 2001, which led to the deaths and immiseration of millions around the globe, and tremendous climate emissions and ecological destruction. SF Bay PSR saluted Lee’s remarkable stand at our annual dinner in 2001, and we have since had the privilege of supporting her leadership in Congressional efforts to cut the military budget and oppose nuclear weapons programs in line with the goals and program of BftB.
Mayor Lee has worked in tandem with the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ support of BftB’s nuclear abolition efforts, consistent with the mayors’ earlier calls to reduce global military budgets to be directed toward better serving fundamental human and planetary needs.
We are no less inspired by the tireless work of Jackie Cabasso, a member of our Nuclear Weapons Abolition Committee, who as a leader of Mayors for Peace helped to shepherd the recent resolution by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
In light of US military spending breaking records at over $1 trillion annually, including funding the Iran War which escalates the risk of nuclear conflict, please consider participating with us in any of the numerous 81th Anniversary activities described below, highlighted by our annual rally on August 6 at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Visit our EVENTS page here to find more info.
We invite you to forgo being disheartened by the challenges we face, and to please join us at SF Bay PSR to lend your time and talents to our global anti-nuclear community.
In peace and solidarity,
Dr. Bob Gould, President SF Bay PS
POLICY ADVOCACY
We thank all of you who have used your health voice to advocate for the important policy changes SF Bay PSR is supporting this year.
With the current administration resuming nuclear testing and expanding nuclear energy, we need stronger radiation protection standards to better protect and compensate communities affected by radiation exposure.
Below please find info about a few policies SF Bay PSR is following this year, and please watch out for more opportunities to submit public comments and take action.
Your health voice makes a difference!
Expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) is a bipartisan program that provides partial restitution for the devastating health impacts of radiation exposure from U.S. nuclear weapons testing and production. Since 1990, bipartisan leaders have recognized that the U.S. government bears responsibility for the people whose lives and health were sacrificed for our national security.
In 2025, we saw a major victory—the enactment of the Radiation Compensation Exposure Act (RECA). This was born out of years of dedicated organizing efforts by Ms. Tina Cordova (2024 SF Bay PSR Gala speaker), PSR, and countless other activists, but the compensation and promised health care remains limited, and for many people, this win is outweighed by the budget legislation’s slashing of Medicare, Medicaid, and other fundamental healthcare programs.
Many exposed communities are still not eligible for coverage. SF Bay PSR is committed to advocating for Congress to work together and strengthen RECA to cover all impacted groups.
READ more at Save RECA.
No Radioactive Communities: Reforming and Modernizing the NRC’s Radiation Protection Framework
An executive order from May 2025 urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to abandon the well-established radiation science in favor of weakening radiation protection standards. The current U.S. radiation standards are already outdated and fail to offer adequate public health protection; now, the NRC’s proposed rule (NRC-2025-1140) plans to weaken those standards even further. NRC’s radiation protection standards are referenced and utilized widely, so any weakening of these standards would result in system-wide increases in radiation exposure.
Watch our Saturday Action emails for info about submitting public comments!
UPDATE: NO New Plutonium Pit Production
Thank you to everyone who submitted public comments!
A plutonium pit is the softball-sized bomb core that begins the chain reaction in every modern US thermonuclear weapon. Currently, there is no demonstrated need for new plutonium pits, but Congress mandated renewed production of plutonium pits in 2015 with funding from the Defense Authorization Act.
We thank our partners Tri-Valley CAREs for their leadership and all of you who submitted comments to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) about their nationwide plutonium pit production plan, which includes plutonium pit support work by the Livermore Lab here in the Bay Area. Together we are demanding a thorough Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) that details the manufacture, transport, and waste deposition associated with plutonium pit production.
READING
Counter Punch: Plutonium Pit Bomb Production: The Beginning of the End
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation’s analysis of nuclear weapons spending and policy in the FY27 NDAA passed out of SASC. You can access the analysis: Summary: Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 4784) as passed by the Senate Committee on Armed Services.
Global Climate and Health Alliance Report about “Climate change, armed conflict and global public health: a reinforcing cycle of harm,” connecting some of PSR and IPPNW’s core topics and intersected crises. Full report here.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Data centers powered by next-gen nuclear? Don’t fall for Big Tech’s PR hype.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: The brutal, powerful legacy of Threads
