Los Alamos County, N.M., is calling on the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to take responsibility for remediation of radioactive waste discovered last month off the property of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Debris contaminated by uranium and plutonium was discovered Feb. 14 by a county contractor doing sewer line excavation for a planned low-income housing development near downtown Los Alamos, County Manager Harry Burgess said in a March 4 letter to Michael Weis, manager of the NNSA field office at the lab.
The debris was found around an old crucible. A local hazardous materials squad determined the material was not an imminent threat to public health and safety, although it has more than background level radiation.
The contaminated material is on a parcel of land previously transferred to the local government from the semiautonomous Department of Energy agency. The transfer deed states the parcel is “clean” and that the federal government retains responsibility for any “future hazardous materials” that turn up.
In the letter, Burgess complimented Weis and the NNSA staff for their early efforts to protect public safety and secure the site since the hazardous material was unearthed by the contractor’s trenching operation. “I believe now is the appropriate time to formalize our efforts,” Burgess added.
The county manager wants the federal government to remove and remediate the hazardous materials; execute a formal access agreement to the site with the county to simplify remediation work; provide copies of various documents exchanged between the national laboratory and its state regulator, the New Mexico Environment Department; and continue collaboration.
It is important to move swiftly, Burgess said, because the affordable housing being developed needs to be ready for people to move in by Dec. 31.
An Energy Department spokesperson said by email “NNSA and EM are working with Los Alamos County officials to develop a path forward.” The situation was reported Monday by the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper.
