Laboratory reports unintended potentially-contaminated water overflow

Contact: James Rickman, (505) 665-9203 (00-010)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Jan. 21, 2000 -- Officials at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory today reported to state and federal regulators the unintended release of several hundred gallons of possible-high-explosives-contaminated, nonradioactive water at a Laboratory technical area.

No one was injured or exposed to contamination as a result of the release, which occurred at a high-explosives research and development facility located at Laboratory Technical Area 9.

Laboratory officials provided personnel in the Environmental Protection Agency and the New Mexico Environment Department with verbal notification of the incident. Such notification is a standard procedure for occurrences of this type, and a written report will be provided to the agencies within one week.

The spill was detected today at one of the high-explosives research facilities located near the southwest boundary of the Laboratory. The area is not accessible to the public. Laboratory personnel estimate that between 500 and 1,000 gallons of potentially contaminated water overflowed onto the ground from a one of three waste-water holding tanks.

The water is generated from analytical research activities and is assumed to contain some HE contamination and possibly other chemicals. Laboratory researchers are analyzing samples of the water and the results of the analyses should be known next week.

Researchers who work on high explosives at the affected facility do not handle or deal with radioactive materials.

Laboratory personnel believe the spill affected an area of about 200 square feet of soil. The liquid-tainted soil will be tested for contaminants and will be excavated and disposed of if necessary. Further tests will follow to ensure that contamination from the spill is remediated and does not spread.

The spill area is relatively flat and is not immediately adjacent to any water courses or natural drainage areas. Water has been removed from the tanks and transported to the Laboratory's High-Explosives Waste Water Treatment Facility. Removal of the water stopped any further overflow from the tanks.

The incident is being investigated to determine its cause, and corrective actions will be taken to help ensure that a similar event does not occur in the future at the facility or similar facilities.

More news releases from the Environment, Safety and Health (ESH) Division