LANL TO STAND DOWN SOME CLEANUP WORK UNDER SHUTDOWN

Los Alamos National Laboratory has put several cleanup projects on standby as a result of the government shutdown, though other cleanup work at the lab is continuing—at least for now. Weapons Complex Monitor has learned that much of the lab’s canyon cleanup work as well as some inspections and work under the Consent Order with the state of New Mexico has been put in safe standby. Lab employees assigned to the cleanup work have been moved to other projects, but approximately 70 subcontractor employees—most at TerranearPMC and Portage—have been furloughed. Other cleanup work at the lab is continuing, like the TRU Waste 3706 shipping project to remove all above-ground transuranic waste from the lab and ship it to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, though the lab is only believed to have enough money to continue that work through Monday. Two environmental monitoring stations that supply data to a public water utility monitoring station in Santa Fe will also continue running, and inspections and surveys to keep the lab in compliance with state and federal permits and regulations will also continue. Los Alamos declined to comment, and the Department of Energy did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, New Mexico Environment Department spokesman Jim Winchester said NMED had “serious concerns” about the possible for disruption to cleanup operations at the lab if the shutdown stretches beyond just a few days, especially on the TRU Waste 3706 Campaign. “NMED strongly believes the federal shutdown is unacceptable and the department joins Governor Martinez in urging New Mexico’s federal delegation to move toward a quick resolution for the sake of the continued clean-up and protection of New Mexico’s precious resources,” Winchester said. Los Alamos Director Charlie McMillan hinted that the lab’s Environmental Program would potentially facing funding challenges in a memo to employees late last week, suggesting that the program had limited flexibility because “record-setting programmatic execution” and shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant left it with limited carryover balanced.