LANL makes progress on town site cleanup projects

New Mexico Environment Department grants completion on 21 sites

December 16, 2010—The New Mexico Environment Department has granted LANL “certificates of completion” on 21 environmental sites on former Lab property in the Los Alamos town site. A certificate of completion means that no further remediation action is needed at a site.

The sites included former Manhattan Project-era landfills, underground tanks, drainage lines and areas of contaminated soil—most of them between Trinity Drive and Los Alamos Canyon, where former Lab buildings used to stand.

Most sites now privately owned

The sites had already been cleaned up to pre-1980s standards and most were transferred to private or county ownership, but the Lab became responsible for additional work after environmental standards changed.

More information about these sites, including maps, photos, and their exact locations, is available in the Investigation Report for Upper Los Alamos Canyon Aggregate Area, Revision 1, on the Documents tab at http://www.lanl.gov/environment/cleanup/upper_la.shtml and in the Public Reading Room at the Oppenheimer Research Library.

Trail and road must remain closed for additional work

For Upper Los Alamos Canyon, work continues on 28 additional sites, including removal of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination on the hillside in Upper Los Alamos Canyon. Crews have removed nearly 3,000 cubic yards of sediment, rocks, tree stumps, and other material, but follow-up sampling showed additional work needs to be done.

During that time, Deadman’s Trail and Omega Road at the bottom of Los Alamos Canyon will remain closed.

Project manager Becky Coel-Roback said “The trails must remain closed for the safety of all. During a remediation effort, there are significant hazards associated with mechanical equipment as well as changing site conditions—for example, excavations, tree removal, and loose rocks.”

The work is being done under the Lab and DOE’s 2005 cleanup agreement with the state of New Mexico.