Activists Fight Nuke Plant Plan.(Final)

Byline: John Fleck Journal Staff Writer

Groups Seek Smaller U.S. Weapons Arsenal

A proposal to build a new nuclear weapons factory, possibly in New Mexico, has become a centerpiece in U.S. arms control activists' efforts to change U.S. nuclear weapons policy.

National anti-nuclear heavyweights, including Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council, have thrown their shoulders into the effort, saying the proposal could allow expansion of the U.S. nuclear arsenal at a time when it should be shrinking.

The federal proposal's backers dispute that point, saying the factory is merely a prudent effort to ensure that the current U.S. arsenal can be maintained. …