Laboratory reports contaminated water overflow

Contact: James Rickman, elvis@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9203

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Jan. 5, 2001 - Officials at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory today reported to state and federal regulators the unintended release of less than 50 gallons of partially treated radioactive waste water at a Laboratory technical area.

No one was injured or exposed to contamination as a result of the release, which occurred Thursday afternoon at the Laboratory's DP Site. None of the waste water left Laboratory property.

The unintended release occurred when a waste-water holding tank overflowed. The waste water had been used in cooling towers at the Laboratory's Tritium System Test Assembly building and had been partially treated before reaching the tank.

Water from the release remained within a fenced area inside the boundary of DP Site. The fenced area is not publicly accessible and contains known contamination from Laboratory operations dating back to the 1950s. The site where the release occurred already had been selected for legacy-waste cleanup operations by the Laboratory's Environmental Restoration Project. Signs on the fence surrounding the area warn of the radioactive contamination inside.

A preliminary screening analysis of the water showed that it was slightly radioactive, but below radiation levels already present within the fenced zone. The water was slightly alkaline due to partial treatment methods, but not enough to be corrosive. The water also contained trace levels of nitrates. The amount of tritium possibly in the water is unknown at this time, but similar wastewater discharged into the tanks contains tritium concentrations that are below DOE waste-water standards.

Under normal circumstances, waste water from TSTA is partially treated at DP Site to remove some contaminants and then is pumped into the holding tanks. The tank water then is transported to the Laboratory's Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility for further processing and treatment.

On Thursday, a Laboratory employee in the area noticed the tank overflowing and immediately turned off the tank pumps. The cause of the overflow appears to have been due to a faulty gauge. The incident is under investigation 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.

The Laboratory has notified state and federal regulators about the incident and has made courtesy notifications to Los Alamos County and neighboring pueblos.

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