Dylan Spaulding
@dkspaulding.bsky.social
Senior Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists, Global Security Program. Views are my own.
Blog: blog.ucsusa.org/author/dylan-spaulding/
Blog: blog.ucsusa.org/author/dylan-spaulding/
Pinned
Dylan Spaulding
@dkspaulding.bsky.social
· May 28
Plutonium Pit Production
The US plan to build new plutonium pits for nuclear weapons is unnecessary, risky, and dangerous to the health of workers and communities.
www.ucs.org
I've written a comprehensive report on plutonium pit production - including a critical look at the history, the risks and costs, and the science of Pu aging. Short story: new pits are unnecessary, dangerous, and expensive and alternatives provide a safer future. Please read and circulate! #NukeSky
"The defense industry has consolidated from 51 major players in the early 1990s to five today: Lockheed Martin, RTX (formerly Raytheon), General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and Boeing" and they are not delivering.
The same big 5 have made big promises for nuclear modernization (ahem, Sentinel...)
The same big 5 have made big promises for nuclear modernization (ahem, Sentinel...)
Opinion | America Can’t Make What the Military Needs
The U.S. defense industry has lost the ability to build quickly and effectively.
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:20 AM
"The defense industry has consolidated from 51 major players in the early 1990s to five today: Lockheed Martin, RTX (formerly Raytheon), General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and Boeing" and they are not delivering.
The same big 5 have made big promises for nuclear modernization (ahem, Sentinel...)
The same big 5 have made big promises for nuclear modernization (ahem, Sentinel...)
It’s just unreal that they had to ask the US to kindly not blow up the Nobel Peace Prize winner as she fled Venezuela. Also, her flight embodies my worst anxiety dreams in which I’m a hemisphere away from a really important engagement and running hopelessly late. The whole thing is beyond belief
When the winner of the Nobel peace prize smuggled herself over the water and out of Venezuela to attend the ceremony in Oslo this week, her allies called the Pentagon to ask them not to arbitrarily murder her. www.wsj.com/world/americ...
December 11, 2025 at 7:56 PM
It’s just unreal that they had to ask the US to kindly not blow up the Nobel Peace Prize winner as she fled Venezuela. Also, her flight embodies my worst anxiety dreams in which I’m a hemisphere away from a really important engagement and running hopelessly late. The whole thing is beyond belief
My colleague, @rrucs.bsky.social untangles China’s recent paper on nuclear posture and arms
control. Many interpret China’s buildup as a threatening change in tactic but, in fact, this report may be more of a mirror held to face of the US rather than a departure from previous thinking.
control. Many interpret China’s buildup as a threatening change in tactic but, in fact, this report may be more of a mirror held to face of the US rather than a departure from previous thinking.
How Should We Read China’s First White Paper on Arms Control in 20 Years?
China's government says it remains open to arms control, characterizing the expansion of its nuclear arsenal as consistent with a defensive military posture.
blog.ucs.org
December 11, 2025 at 4:57 PM
My colleague, @rrucs.bsky.social untangles China’s recent paper on nuclear posture and arms
control. Many interpret China’s buildup as a threatening change in tactic but, in fact, this report may be more of a mirror held to face of the US rather than a departure from previous thinking.
control. Many interpret China’s buildup as a threatening change in tactic but, in fact, this report may be more of a mirror held to face of the US rather than a departure from previous thinking.
Lavrov has made clear: "this proposal is our unilateral gesture of goodwill. For the U.S. to support our approach, no negotiations or consultations are necessary…. All that’s required is for Washington to simply state that it won’t increase the quantitative levels set by [New START] for one year”
Less than two months until New START expires and the Trump regime still hasn’t responded to Russia - so much for their supposed concern about the risk of nuclear war www.reuters.com/world/china/...
Russia says it awaits an answer from the US on New START as nuclear treaty ticks down
Russia on Wednesday said it was still awaiting a formal answer from Washington on President Vladimir Putin's proposal to jointly stick to the last remaining Russian-U.S. arms control treaty, which exp...
www.reuters.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Lavrov has made clear: "this proposal is our unilateral gesture of goodwill. For the U.S. to support our approach, no negotiations or consultations are necessary…. All that’s required is for Washington to simply state that it won’t increase the quantitative levels set by [New START] for one year”
Most people assume all US nuclear tests were conducted either in the Pacific or in Nevada but many were done elsewhere, including New Mexico. Today is the anniversary of Project Gnome.
Today in 1961, the US Atomic Energy Commission conducted Project GNOME, the first of 27 “peaceful” Project Plowshare nuclear explosions. A 3.1-kiloton device designed at E.O. Lawrence Radiation Laborabory was detonated inside a salt formation 1,184 feet underground, 12 miles from Loving, New Mexico.
December 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Most people assume all US nuclear tests were conducted either in the Pacific or in Nevada but many were done elsewhere, including New Mexico. Today is the anniversary of Project Gnome.
W87-1 certification is moving forward at LLNL, including assessment of new plutonium pit samples. Using the National Ignition Facility, Pu can be studied under 14 MeV neutron flux to assess any differences in survivability between new and aged material.
LLNL conducts milestone nuclear survivability experiment at NIF, moving weapons modernization forward
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has conducted an experiment at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to assess the ability of U.S. nuclear weapons to survive encounters with adversary mis...
www.llnl.gov
December 4, 2025 at 6:12 AM
W87-1 certification is moving forward at LLNL, including assessment of new plutonium pit samples. Using the National Ignition Facility, Pu can be studied under 14 MeV neutron flux to assess any differences in survivability between new and aged material.
The is an amazing critique of JP Morgan's new building in NYC. Given that the twin towers were targeted on 9/11 in part because they symbolized American economic power, capitalist greed, and globalization, this building seems a fitting portrait for where we are in 2025.
An eco obscenity: Norman Foster’s steroidal new skyscraper is an affront to the New York skyline
It contains enough steel to go round the world twice – and even has a fake breeze to flutter the stars-and-stripes flag in its lobby. If this colossus is just the first of a new breed of bulky superta...
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:59 PM
The is an amazing critique of JP Morgan's new building in NYC. Given that the twin towers were targeted on 9/11 in part because they symbolized American economic power, capitalist greed, and globalization, this building seems a fitting portrait for where we are in 2025.
Reposted by Dylan Spaulding
Every state impacted by nuclear weapons tests: "please do not restart nuclear weapons tests" www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_n...
Trump talk on nuke testing turns focus to New Mexico's role in decades of blasts
The nation conducted its last explosive nuclear test in 1992, after a series of treaties limited testing capabilities.
www.santafenewmexican.com
December 2, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Every state impacted by nuclear weapons tests: "please do not restart nuclear weapons tests" www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_n...
Signs of deep institutional culture issues in the US nuclear weapons complex:
1) Allegations of retaliation for reporting on safety and quality control issues for key components at SNL
2) Ongoing time-card fraud issue at Pantex, leading to an increase in weapons quality incident reports
Links below
1) Allegations of retaliation for reporting on safety and quality control issues for key components at SNL
2) Ongoing time-card fraud issue at Pantex, leading to an increase in weapons quality incident reports
Links below
December 1, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Signs of deep institutional culture issues in the US nuclear weapons complex:
1) Allegations of retaliation for reporting on safety and quality control issues for key components at SNL
2) Ongoing time-card fraud issue at Pantex, leading to an increase in weapons quality incident reports
Links below
1) Allegations of retaliation for reporting on safety and quality control issues for key components at SNL
2) Ongoing time-card fraud issue at Pantex, leading to an increase in weapons quality incident reports
Links below
Nevermind the very recent development of million dollar condos just nextdoor to this site (which is smack in the middle of the SF bay area).
US navy accused of cover-up over dangerous plutonium in San Francisco
Advocates allege navy knew levels of airborne plutonium at Hunters Point shipyard were high before it alerted officials
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Nevermind the very recent development of million dollar condos just nextdoor to this site (which is smack in the middle of the SF bay area).
I recently spoke with Jim Carrier, at the Progressive, about the admin’s misguided statements about returning to nuclear testing. This story covers it well:
Making the World More Imperiled Again
Trump’s plan to revive nuclear weapons testing threatens to undermine decades of progress.
progressive.org
November 27, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I recently spoke with Jim Carrier, at the Progressive, about the admin’s misguided statements about returning to nuclear testing. This story covers it well:
What advocates for testing don't realize is that US scientific achievements (e.g. fusion at NIF) are a surrogate demonstration of the credibiliity of the nuclear stockpile and allow better understanding of the underlying physics than a mushroom cloud.
Should America resume nuclear tests?
America’s last nuclear detonation was nothing special. Smaller than the bomb that killed 73,000 people in Nagasaki, it exploded 1,397 feet below the Nevada desert. It shook the ground, created a shall...
www.denvergazette.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:02 PM
What advocates for testing don't realize is that US scientific achievements (e.g. fusion at NIF) are a surrogate demonstration of the credibiliity of the nuclear stockpile and allow better understanding of the underlying physics than a mushroom cloud.
Reposted by Dylan Spaulding
Posting for no apparent reason whatsoever.....
Before the midterms of 1866, President Andrew Johnson called his congressional opponents traitors and said they should be hanged.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
November 20, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Posting for no apparent reason whatsoever.....
A new film was just released for Veteran's Day about the 1958 voyage of the Golden Rule to protest nuclear tests in the Pacific. I was recently fortunate to sail aboard the boat and wrote about that experience. You can watch the film and check out the blog here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhrS...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhrS...
Seeking a New Moral Compass on Nuclear Weapons Aboard the Golden Rule
A sailboat that symbolized anti-nuclear activism in the late 1950s has been restored as a reminder of the need for arms control.
blog.ucs.org
November 19, 2025 at 6:21 PM
A new film was just released for Veteran's Day about the 1958 voyage of the Golden Rule to protest nuclear tests in the Pacific. I was recently fortunate to sail aboard the boat and wrote about that experience. You can watch the film and check out the blog here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhrS...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhrS...
This entire saga over Trump's suggestion to test only demonstrates how dangerously uninformed he is about his own nuclear arsenal. That, in and of itself, is a national security threat that needs acknowledging.
Exclusive: Department of Energy officials to meet with White House to tamp down Trump’s idea of explosive nuclear testing | CNN Politics
Top energy and nuclear officials in the Trump administration are planning to meet with the White House and National Security Council in the coming days to dissuade President Donald Trump from resuming...
www.cnn.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:28 PM
This entire saga over Trump's suggestion to test only demonstrates how dangerously uninformed he is about his own nuclear arsenal. That, in and of itself, is a national security threat that needs acknowledging.
From my colleague, @nucsafetyucs.bsky.social at @ucs.org, "without appropriate constraints, large-scale production and use of HALEU may greatly increase the risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism" and it seems this was recognized decades ago:
Declassified cable reinforces proliferation concerns about high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel
The declassified document reveals an urgent need for an international review of the proliferation risks of HALEU.
thebulletin.org
November 13, 2025 at 6:33 PM
From my colleague, @nucsafetyucs.bsky.social at @ucs.org, "without appropriate constraints, large-scale production and use of HALEU may greatly increase the risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism" and it seems this was recognized decades ago:
This is a really tragic loss.
Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory plans to cut nearly all its research funding and reduce the number of paid science staff to just two positions next year.
Lowell Observatory slashes research funding in the midst of financial struggle
Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory plans to cut nearly all its research funding and reduce the number of paid science staff to just two positions next year.
buff.ly
November 11, 2025 at 4:36 PM
This is a really tragic loss.
Today seems like a good time to remember Rosalind Franklin, without whom, James Watson may have never have gained the notoriety his obituaries proclaim. Bonus: she didn't use genetics as a guise to promote the kind of racist and sexist ideas Watson did.
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Today seems like a good time to remember Rosalind Franklin, without whom, James Watson may have never have gained the notoriety his obituaries proclaim. Bonus: she didn't use genetics as a guise to promote the kind of racist and sexist ideas Watson did.
Reposted by Dylan Spaulding
My brilliant @ucs.org colleague Chanese Forté interviews two other brilliant folks, Dr. Jan Beyea, and @nucsafetyucs.bsky.social, on the Trump administration's moves to undermine sensible, science-based limits on radiation exposure. Team Trump seems to wants to promote nuclear power at any cost.
Will Politics Put More People’s Health at Risk from Radiation Exposure?
The Trump administration's attack on the science underlying regulations that protect the public from the health risks of radiation exposure could affect many government rules.
blog.ucs.org
November 6, 2025 at 7:18 PM
My brilliant @ucs.org colleague Chanese Forté interviews two other brilliant folks, Dr. Jan Beyea, and @nucsafetyucs.bsky.social, on the Trump administration's moves to undermine sensible, science-based limits on radiation exposure. Team Trump seems to wants to promote nuclear power at any cost.
Any “scientifically useful” test would take years, according to Dylan Spaulding, senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Global Security Program. “Anything shorter than that would be nothing more than dangerous political showmanship and would not allow collection of useful data.”
What Trump’s nuclear weapons tests could mean for America and the world
Trump’s command risks a global arms race while the Doomsday clock ticks closer than ever to midnight, experts say
www.the-independent.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Any “scientifically useful” test would take years, according to Dylan Spaulding, senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Global Security Program. “Anything shorter than that would be nothing more than dangerous political showmanship and would not allow collection of useful data.”
Thanks to UPI for reaching out to me for this story on Trump's nuclear testing rhetoric. Its still not clear the admin understands how high the stake are. The US has everything to lose and virtually nothing to gain by returning to explosive nuclear testing.
Experts warn explosive nuclear testing would trigger escalation - UPI.com
President Donald Trump's calls to ramp up nuclear weapons testing have put nuclear watchdogs on alert while experts say the United States has little to gain.
www.upi.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Thanks to UPI for reaching out to me for this story on Trump's nuclear testing rhetoric. Its still not clear the admin understands how high the stake are. The US has everything to lose and virtually nothing to gain by returning to explosive nuclear testing.
Reposted by Dylan Spaulding
ChatGPT and other AI chatbots cannot reliably distinguish belief from knowledge and fact, according to this new study. Seems important! www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Language models cannot reliably distinguish belief from knowledge and fact - Nature Machine Intelligence
Suzgun et al. find that current large language models cannot reliably distinguish between belief, knowledge and fact, raising concerns for their use in healthcare, law and journalism, where such disti...
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:18 PM
ChatGPT and other AI chatbots cannot reliably distinguish belief from knowledge and fact, according to this new study. Seems important! www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Reposted by Dylan Spaulding
FWIW, VADM Correll (nominee to lead USSTRATCOM) a few days ago to SASC: "Neither China or Russia has conducted a nuclear explosive test, so I’m not reading anything into it or reading anything out. To my knowledge, the last explosive nuclear testing was by North Korea, or DPRK, and that was in 2017"
November 3, 2025 at 4:22 AM
FWIW, VADM Correll (nominee to lead USSTRATCOM) a few days ago to SASC: "Neither China or Russia has conducted a nuclear explosive test, so I’m not reading anything into it or reading anything out. To my knowledge, the last explosive nuclear testing was by North Korea, or DPRK, and that was in 2017"
“They were careless people,” Fitzgerald wrote, “they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
The symbolism is too perfect.
The symbolism is too perfect.
November 1, 2025
Yesterday I wrote that President Donald J.
open.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:10 PM
“They were careless people,” Fitzgerald wrote, “they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
The symbolism is too perfect.
The symbolism is too perfect.
Reposted by Dylan Spaulding
Excellent piece on Trump's call to resume nuclear testing in The Independent (and not just because is cites me & my @ucs.org colleague @dkspaulding.bsky.social).
BLUF for Trump, as duly noted by our @nuclearban.bsky.social colleague: Melissa Park: "This is no way to win the Nobel Peace Prize."
BLUF for Trump, as duly noted by our @nuclearban.bsky.social colleague: Melissa Park: "This is no way to win the Nobel Peace Prize."
What Trump’s nuclear weapons tests could mean for America and the world
Trump’s command risks a global arms race while the Doomsday clock ticks closer than ever to midnight, experts say
www.the-independent.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Excellent piece on Trump's call to resume nuclear testing in The Independent (and not just because is cites me & my @ucs.org colleague @dkspaulding.bsky.social).
BLUF for Trump, as duly noted by our @nuclearban.bsky.social colleague: Melissa Park: "This is no way to win the Nobel Peace Prize."
BLUF for Trump, as duly noted by our @nuclearban.bsky.social colleague: Melissa Park: "This is no way to win the Nobel Peace Prize."