Alliance for Nuclear Accountability

The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) is the only national organization watchdogging the U.S. nuclear weapons complex through the combined analysis of weapons policy and environmental laws. ANA member groups are based in the communities most immediately affected by U.S. nuclear weapons policy and by environmental contamination.

ANA has had major impacts on many local, site-related decisions, such as at Fernald, in Ohio, Rocky Flats, in Colorado, and at the Nevada Test Site. One of the reasons is that ANA has helped to change the way that issues are framed. Rather than allowing the Department of Energy and others to define problems as purely local, ANA has exposed them as part of larger issues. Groups are now able to link themselves to national campaigns against a corrupt system. This means that local agendas are no longer defined as “NIMBY” (Not In My Backyard). Instead, activists look for solutions that do not shift the burden of risks onto others.

The reasons for ANA’s successes are many. Paramount is its continued commitment to grassroots organizing, to taking on a system rather than piecemeal problems, and to enhancing collaboration. ANA sponsors meetings around the country and facilitates frequent conference calls and email interaction to ensure that knowledge is shared and ideas are discussed – so that broad consensus on strategies can emerge.