KC area residents speak out against nuclear weapons plan. ‘That will make us less safe’
A crowd filed into the Hillcrest Community Center in south Kansas City Thursday evening to publicly share their thoughts about a nuclear weapon production plan with national officials.
Most weren’t happy.
The National Nuclear Security Administration held the public hearing from 5 to 8 p.m.. Activists with PeaceWorks Kansas City, Physicians for Social Responsibility Kansas City, among others, planned a rally against nuclear weapons manufacturing outside the community center.
Kimmy Igla, with Alliance for Nuclear Accountability and the No Nukes Kansas City Coalition, estimated around 40 people attended the rally prior to the meeting. Many attendees had “never showed up to a hearing like this before,” she said.
The federal plan would increase production of plutonium pits, the cores of nuclear weapons, a project that would cost $5 billion a year for the next six years. The federal government says the pits are needed for “weapons modernization.”
The plutonium pits would be produced in New Mexico and South Carolina, according to the Nuclear Security Administration plan.
Kansas City would play a role in manufacturing the weapons.
Community members speak
Jade Fortiner, a spokesperson for the NNSA, gave a 30-minute presentation about the pits before opening the floor to public comments, which were kicked off by First Lutheran Church Pastor Samantha Nichols.
Nichols told attendees her parents grew up during the Cold War, during which they felt “terrified that nuclear war could break out at any time.”
“Decades later, it’s my turn to reckon with the possibility of nuclear catastrophe, and it’s my responsibility to speak out against actions that will make us less safe and possibly kick off another arms race.”
The Lutheran pastor spoke against plutonium pit production, citing active pits in Texas and the rising cost of living.
“Kansas City, unfortunately, plays a key role in the creation of nuclear weapons, and I do not want my city to prop up this dangerous industry by helping to produce any parts of these new plutonium pits,” Nichols said.
Nichols and several other speakers, including PeaceWorks Kansas City board member Henry Stoever, called for transparency from the NNSA regarding the pits.
Stoever, a retired lawyer, mentioned a lawsuit brought against the NNSA regarding the plutonium pit production.
“They were hiding what they were doing, and that is reprehensible,” Stoever said.
He said the NNSA “forces these weapons on us.”
Plutonium pits
Igla, with Alliance for Nuclear Accountability and the No Nukes Kansas City Coalition, also spoke during the hearing, and said the “DOE violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not informing the public first.”
“Reports from the GAO say that plutonium pits currently in the stockpile have decades of life remaining. Based on this, why is the NNSA rushing to double the production without understanding or describing what this means for us?” Igla asked.
Igla said the NSA should “take the time to understand the relative risk of the environment and people residing in this area.”
“You need to ensure that this work is not going to make us sick,” Igla said. “What will be done to mitigate any accident so that DOE’s history in KC does not repeat? We in Kansas City deserve to know what this proposed mission means for our air, our water, our workers, our future.”
The public hearing ended Thursday evening, but those that wish to comment can contact the NNSA by email at PITPEIS@NNSA.DOE.gov or this address:
Pit Production PEIS Comments
Jade Fortiner
NNSA, Office of Pit Production Modernization
1000 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC, 20585
The Star’s Eleanor Nash contributed.
This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 11:25 AM.
