RECOVERY ACT CLEANUP
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The Laboratory received $212 million in Recovery Act funding to demolished 24 buildings at Technical Area 24, excavate the Lab’s oldest waste disposal site and install 16 groundwater monitoring wells.
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By late 2010, a water tower and waste bins awaiting transport were all that was left at the DP West area of Technical Area 21. Crews demolished 24 buildings with Recovery Act funding.
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The demolition of 24 buildings at Technical Area 21 was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.
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The excavation of Material Disposal Area B was conducted inside sturdy metal enclosures.
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Recovery Act funding created nearly 450 jobs at Technical Area 21.
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The last scoop of waste was excavated from Material Disposal Area B — the Lab’s oldest waste disposal site — on September 14, 2011.
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The waste and soil excavated from MDA-B was replaced with clean fill.
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The Tritium Systems Test Assembly facility was demolished as part of the Recovery Act projects at Technical Area 21. This 16,000-square-foot facility was the site of fusion research.
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As of November 2011, 36,500 cubic yards of waste from the Lab’s Recovery Act projects were transported to licensed disposal facilities.
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Recovery Act funding was used to install 16 groundwater monitoring wells, some as deep as 1,000 feet.
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More than 300 tons of metal have been recycled from the project.
Overview
Recovery Act Environmental Cleanup at LANL
The Laboratory received $212 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for three environmental cleanup projects: decontaminate and demolish 24 buildings at Technical Area 21 (TA-21); excavate Material Disposal Area B, the Lab's oldest waste disposal site, used from 1944-48; and install 16 groundwater monitoring wells.
By early 2011, two of the three projects—the decontamination and demolition of 24 buildings at TA-21 and the installation of 16 groundwater monitoring wells—were complete. The excavation of Material Disposal Area B was completed on September 14, 2011.
More Information
News Feature
Protecting Cleanup Site During Massive Wildfire
July 2011
As the Las Conchas fire raged in a tinder-dry forest, Los Alamos National Laboratory was forced to close for more than a week and the residents of the city to evacuate. While firefighters battled the largest wildfire in New Mexico history, Recovery Act project officials were making plans to re-start the excavation of Material Disposal Area B (MDA-B) when it was safe to return to Los Alamos.
“Our procedures not only placed MDA-B into a safe posture so it was well protected during the fire, but allowed us to resume work quickly,” said Project Director Al Chaloupka. “Because we were excavating unknown materials that could combust or react, the facility was designed with safeguards to minimize the chance of fire and to maximize our ability to combat a fire should one erupt.”
The excavation of MDA-B, made possible by $110 million in Recovery Act funding, is being done inside sturdy metal enclosures that resemble Quonset huts. As the Lab’s oldest waste disposal site, MDA-B was used from 1944-48 and contained contaminated equipment and soil. Though excavation was nearly 90 percent complete and most of the waste is soil, a fire at MDA-B could have released contamination into the air.
“During the worst of the fire, we had crews and water trucks on standby, ready to saturate the area around MDA-B if requested by the incident commander,” said Facility Operations Director Steve Henry. “Because the excavation procedures require portable firefighting equipment, we were ready to operate or make the equipment available to the effort if necessary.”
The original design of the six-acre excavation site included removing ground cover to reduce the risk of fire. Other safeguards include a procedure that limits fuel inside MDA-B to 100 gallons and standard operating procedures that limit the amount of flammable material inside the site.
In addition, the excavators inside the enclosures are equipped with fire suppression systems and use fire-resistant hydraulic fluid.
Fortunately, none of the safeguards was necessary. When officials deemed it was safe to reopen the Lab, the same procedures that would have protected the excavation site from the fire allowed work to resume on a limited basis the day after the Lab reopened.
“We executed the procedures in place and brought the facility back up quickly,” Henry said. “Our crews worked together to resume excavation as safely and efficiently as possible.”
WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?
ARRA Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009.
It is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart the US economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century.
The Recovery Act is an extraordinary response to a crisis unlike any since the Great Depression, and includes measures to modernize our nation's infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need.
Meetings with the Public
Contacts
For More Information
For more information on the Recovery Act work at LANL, please email envoutreach@lanl.gov. In addition, the project office, located at 200 DP Road in Los Alamos, holds open office hours from 1-3 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday. Please feel free to visit the office during open office hours.
- Environmental Communication & Public Involvement
P.O. Box 1663
MS J591
Los Alamos, NM 87545
Phone: 505-667-0216
FAX: 505-665-1812 - envoutreach@lanl.gov
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