News
News Releases “The Los Alamos skyline is starting to change.”
Walls come down sooner, thanks to Recovery Act funding
With the trademark TA-21 water tower visible, two excavators tear into Building 21-210.
LANL Tuesday began full-scale demolition at TA-21, the Cold War-era complex of buildings that once housed plutonium production and historic, nonweapons research.
“We’re seeing something this morning that has not happened since the late 1940s,” said Isaac “Ike” Richardson, the Lab’s deputy director. “The Los Alamos skyline is starting to change.”
More than 50 guests, including elected officials and representatives from New Mexico’s Congressional delegation, watched as two large excavators began tearing away walls of Building 21-210, a two-story, 22,000-square-foot former office and lab-facilities building.
“This is a symbol of times changing and getting better,” said New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry, who ceremonially started the demolition with a command on a two-way radio.
The Lab was able to accelerate demolition and cleanup of this complex, known as Technical Area 21, thanks to a $212 million award from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. More than 165, 000 square feet of former research, production, and office buildings will be demolished.
Photos by Patricia Leyba
Related Links
The beginning of the end for Building 21-210.
A safety crew, VIPs, and news cameras watch the historic building fall.
Fast Facts
People
11,127 total employees
Los Alamos National Security, LLC 8,683
SOC Los Alamos (Guard Force) 419
Contractors 606
Students 1,101
Place
Located 35 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 36 square miles of DOE-owned property.
More than 2,000 individual facilities, including 47 technical areas with 8 million square feet under roof.
Replacement value of $5.9 billion
Budget FY 2012: Approx. $2.2 billion
57% Weapons programs
9% Nonproliferation programs
7% Safeguards and Security
8% Environmental Management
4% DOE Office of Science
4% Energy and other programs
11% Work for Others
Workforce Demographics (LANS and students only)
34% of employees live in Los Alamos, the remainder commute from Santa Fe,
Española, Taos, and Albuquerque.
Average Age: 46
70% male, 30% female
43% minorities
63% university degrees
· 23% hold undergraduate degrees
· 16% hold graduate degrees
· 24% have earned a Ph.D.
Major Awards
121 R&D100 awards since 1978
31 E.O. Lawrence Awards
The Seaborg Medal
The Edward Teller Medal
The Nobel Prize in Physics, Frederick Reines