Los Alamos Disputes Tier 1 Target Claim Over $0 UM Computing Facility

3 articles · Updated · Detroit News · Sep 9

A Sept. 9 letter from Los Alamos Director Thom Mason told Ypsilanti Township residents the planned University of Michigan computing facility would be used only for research and is not a military or weapons-production site.
Los Alamos said no plutonium or other hazardous materials would be produced, used or stored there, and that any nuclear-related work would be limited to modeling and simulation supporting stockpile safety without nuclear testing.
The letter directly rejected the township’s March resolution labeling the project a “Tier 1 High Value Target Risk,” saying neither Los Alamos, UM nor any state or federal agency has classified it that way.
The dispute lands ahead of a township town hall and follows UM’s August decision to place the facility on Textile Road land zoned for light industrial use near the Huron River and two parks.
Township Attorney Doug Winters stood by the risk assessment, citing criteria such as national-security importance, unique computing capability and potential disruption if the site were damaged.