Site restoration complete at former Cold War-era facility

Recovery Act funds demolition project

April 4, 2011—Crews have completed grading and site restoration at the former site of a cluster of buildings on the east end of Technical Area 21. LANL and subcontractor crews demolished 10 structures during the past year with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Nearly 70,000 square feet of buildings were demolished in the area known as DP East, including the Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) facility and the 34,272-square-foot Building 21-209, which housed offices and labs. The area is part of a large complex located at the end of DP Road in Los Alamos.

The TSTA facility housed historic early research into the use of nuclear fusion for electric power generation. In fusion, atoms are forced together to create energy—instead of breaking atoms apart, the method currently used at nuclear power plants.

Recovery Act boost

“The Recovery Act allowed us to accelerate cleanup work at TA-21, and this work was completed safely, ahead of schedule, and under budget,”& said LANL Recovery Act Executive Director Gordon Dover. “With completion of the site restoration, the area is prepared for the next owner of the property.”

Every completion of Cold War-era environmental remediation allows the Lab to devote more time and resources to its national security missions, while reducing its ongoing environmental footprint.