A press release dated April 5, 2001 from the U. S. Department of Energy states, "Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has decided not to make any changes in the design, construction and operation of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)." The release states that "The Secretary's Record of Decision was published in today's Federal Register."

John A. Gordon, Administrator of DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said, "The National Ignition Facility Project supports the National Nuclear Security Administration's missions to ensure the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile remains safe, secure and reliable."

The release notes that "NIF will produce conditions close to those at the center of stars and approaching those that occur inside detonating nuclear weapons. This will be the first time such conditions have been replicated in a laboratory setting."

A copy of the Record of Decision can be found by searching the Federal Register on the GPO Access page at

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/index.html