Radioactive contamination is more widespread than first thought along a road outside the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, according to the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED).
The area is part of a tract of land, which includes the site of a planned housing development, transferred from LANL to Los Alamos County a few years ago after it was deemed fully remediated.
In a June 17 letter, NMED called for the Energy Department to expedite its response to the problem, and draft a preliminary screening plan (PSP) for further contamination within 30 days. Even though the land has been transferred to Los Alamos County, the local government says DOE and its contractors still bear responsibility for remediating any lingering contamination.
The Energy Department should deliver a plan that shows it “understands the seriousness of this matter,” NMED Hazardous Waste Bureau Chief Kevin Pierard said in the letter to the top DOE Office of Environmental Management and National Nuclear Security Administration officials at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
During a June 8 meeting of federal and state managers, DOE agreed to produce a screening plan, which would include soil sampling around a 28-acre site transferred to Los Alamos County in 2016. The Energy Department said the plan would be ready “as soon as practicable,” but that probably won’t be until 2021, Pierard wrote.
“The widespread waste at the Site represents a substantial risk to human health and the environment,” Pierard said. The state agency should know the reason for any delays and “why this important risk to public health is not being addressed in a more timely manner,” he added.
Debris contaminated by uranium and plutonium was unearthed in February by a contractor for the county digging up an old sewer line for a planned low-income housing development. The contamination was discovered in the vicinity of a former material disposal area and was placed into two drums and taken to another location for study, officials said this spring.
Since February, additional waste was discovered during two additional excavations, Los Alamos County Manager Harry Burgess said in a Wednesday email. The NNSA agreed to have one of its contractors complete these excavations, “as they are trained/equipped in these activities,” Burgess wrote.
The Los Alamos Monitor reported June 11 that LANL management contractor Triad National Security discovered the latest contaminated debris about 80 feet from the original site on DP Road. The adjacent sites where the contamination was found are along a dirt road perpendicular to DP Road, which is referred to as Middle DP Road, said a DOE spokesman said in a Tuesday email.
Burgess added that with the cooperation of NNSA, the county remains on track to complete the low-income housing by the end of the year.
The Energy Department has pledged to work with local government officials to address the contamination. “Currently, a DOE contractor is preparing to support the installation of a new sewage lift station as part of Los Alamos County’s infrastructure upgrade project” to support the new housing, the agency spokesman said.
No airborne contamination has been detected along the DP Road area, and DOE continues to work closely with NMED to address the situation, the spokesman said. “Our focus continues to be ensuring the safety of the workers and the public.”
An industry source believes New Mexico is using the contaminated tract as leverage to try and push for more federal funding for legacy cleanup at Los Alamos.
The Donald Trump administration has proposed a $100 million budget cut for Los Alamos cleanup in the 2021 federal fiscal year, slashing the line item from $220 million to $120 million for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act, however, would support the $220 million level.
