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"The African American presence in science, medicine, engineering and technology, then and now," is the subject of a talk by Cornelia Gillyard, chemistry professor at Spelman College, today at the Laboratory. Gillyard's talk begins at 10 a.m. in the Jemez Room of the J. Robert Oppenheimer Study Center at Technical Area 3 and is free and open to the public. The talk is sponsored by the Diversity Office (DVO) and the Laboratory's African American Diversity Working Group as part of the Lab's Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance. The Laboratory is closed Monday, Jan. 21, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday. For more information, see the Jan. 8 Daily Newsbulletin. |
A backhoe was used during excavation work last month of an area northeast of the Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico utilities shop at Technical Area 3. The Lab's Environmental Restoration (E-ER) Project recently completed a voluntary corrective action at the site. Photo by Gabriela Lopez Escobedo, E-ER
PCB cleanup caps environmental restoration project's successful year
The Laboratory's Environmental Restoration (E-ER) Project Office recently completed a voluntary corrective action at a site at Technical Area 3 where electrical material including cable, dielectric fluids, PCB-containing transformers, capacitors and oil-filled drums were stored.
Operations within the area had resulted in the release of high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at a level up to 10,000 parts per million. Other chemicals of concern include mercury and tetracholoroethene. The Environmental Protection Agency prescribed a cleanup level of less than 1 part per million for PCBs for this site.
The site was a storage area located northeast of the Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico Utilities Shop at TA- 3. The Laboratory's electrical power line maintenance contractor had used the area to store drums containing waste and product solvents from 1967 to 1992, according to Gabriela Lopez Escobedo of E-ER.
IT Corp., a subcontract company, and E-ER's Industrial Sites Team, performed the actual corrective action work.
The cleanup occurred in two phases. The first was an expedited cleanup, completed in 1995, that removed 1,000 cubic yards of soil.
Phase two of the voluntary corrective action began in September 2000 and was completed last October. The second phase involved the removal of soil that contained PCB's greater than 1 part per million and verification sampling for PCBs, inorganic chemicals and volatile organic compounds. The total cost of the clean up is about $1.7 million. Funding came from the Department of Energy.
Approximately 2,400 cubic yards of contaminated soil were removed during the second phase. This included removing all sediments from the stream banks on the west slope area and from two drainages in the north area. Both of these areas are very steep, making excavation work difficult, said Lopez Escobedo. The west and north slope were excavated down to bedrock. The mesa top was excavated also down to bedrock, more than 5 feet in places. Some 2,150 cubic yards of contaminated soil was disposed at a New Mexico industrial landfill. The remaining 230 cubic yards was disposed at a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)/ Resource Conservation and Recovery Act subtitle C landfill in Texas.
Overall, 86 verification samples were collected from a predetermined hexagonal grid and submitted for PCB analysis along with 20 samples for volatile organic compound and metal analysis. Verification sample results confirmed that the EPA-prescribed cleanup level was met and all other chemicals of concern were not present at levels of concern for human health and the environment, Lopez Escobedo said.
The entire site then underwent restoration activities including transporting approximately 1,000 cubic yards of fill dirt to restore the mesa top. The mesa top was then recontoured and compacted to engineering specifications and paving and fencing was installed. The work also included establishing drainage to the west slope using gabion baskets - large rocks encased in chicken wire, which provide erosion control -where the drainage was re-directed. Several areas were re-seeded, and jute matting was installed on the north slope of the site.
A Voluntary Corrective Action Report was drafted, peer-reviewed, completed and submitted to EPA and the New Mexico Environment Department, Lopez Escobedo said. All available data from environmental investigations at the site indicate that there are no chemicals of potential concern present in concentrations that pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. As a result, additional investigation or remediation activities aren't warranted, and the site was recommended for no further action in the VCA Report.
The letter from the EPA granting approval under TSCA was received on Dec. 5.
--John Bass
Reaccreditation site visit for Occupational Medicine set for late January
The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) will be conducting an on-site accreditation survey of Occupational Medicine (ESH-2) on Jan. 28-29.
The survey will be used to evaluate ESH-2's compliance with AAAHC standards for ambulatory health care and to determine if accreditation should be awarded to, or retained by, Occupational Medicine, explained Judy Gosling of ESH-2.
Occupational Medicine is currently accredited by the Wilmette, Ill.-based health organization, said Gosling. The planned on-site visit is for reaccreditation and retention of accreditation status, she said.
Through an emphasis on education and consultation, the ultimate purpose of the accreditation process is to improve the quality of health care delivered by ESH-2. Gosling said ESH-2 voluntarily requested this survey as a means of assisting its own efforts to improve the delivery of quality health care for Laboratory workers.
Members of the general public, patients and ESH-2 staff who believe that they have pertinent and valid information about ESH-2's delivery of health care or compliance with AAAHC standards, may request an information presentation with AAAHC surveyors at the time of the survey to present their information. They also may communicate such information in writing or by telephone to the AAAHC.
All information received from individuals during or before the survey will be considered in making the accreditation decision. The information presented will not be debated with the reporting individual.
Requests to present information to the AAAHC surveyors must be received at least two weeks before the survey in order to allow sufficient time to schedule the presentations. Such requests can be made in writing or by telephone to AAAHC at
Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Inc.
3201 Old Glenview Road, Suite 300
Wilmette, Ill. 60091
Telephone (847) 853-6060
Fax (847) 853-9028
For more information, contact Gosling at 7-7251.
--Steve Sandoval
Public comment period ends Tuesday for biosafety lab proposal
The public comment period for a proposal to construct and operate a biological safety level-3 laboratory (BSL-3) at the Laboratory has been extended to Tuesday, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced. Comments should be sent to the attention of Elizabeth Withers, NEPA compliance officer, Office of Los Alamos Site Operations, 528 35th St., Los Alamos, NM, 87544. Comments also may be sent to ewithers@doeal.gov by electronic mail, or they may be made orally by calling Withers at (505) 667-8690.
To read full news release, click here.
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New Mexico Congressman Tom Udall will give his first town hall meeting for Laboratory workers at 3:15 Wednesday afternoon in the Physics Building Auditorium at Technical Area 3. Preceding the talk, which is open to the Laboratory work force, Udall will receive overviews on Laboratory threat reduction, security and small business office initiatives. Udall, D-N.M., represents New Mexico's third congressional district, which includes the Laboratory and Northern New Mexico. The half-day visit is being coordinated by the Director's and Government Relations offices at the Lab. Udall's talk in the Physics Building Auditorium won't be shown on Labnet. |
Cerro Grande tax deadline is Wednesday
The deadline for New Mexico residents to take advantage of the nine month Cerro Grande Fire tax deadline extension is Wednesday.
The deadline is for the tax year 2000. The extension is available for anyone living in 21 New Mexico counties declared federal disaster areas after the May 2000 Cerro Grande Fire in and around Los Alamos.
To take advantage of the tax deadline extension, tax filers have to write "Cerro Grande Fire" in red ink at the top of their tax forms. The extension allows federal and state income taxes and payments that were due last April 16 to be paid no later than Wednesday.
A news release from the Internal Revenue Service on the tax deadline extension and additional guidance, including a series of questions and answers, can be found at http://ftp.fedworld.gov/pub/irs-news/ir-01-42.pdf online. (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
Additional information on the tax deadline can be found at IRS offices at 1120 S. St. Francis Drive in Santa Fe and 5338 Montgomery Blvd. N.E. in Albuquerque, or by calling (505) 837-5501.
--Steve Sandoval
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Operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration, of the US Department of Energy. |
Chemistry professor to deliver Martin
Luther King Jr. Day talk today at Laboratory
Udall to visit Laboratory, deliver town
hall meeting Wednesday afternoon in Physics Building Auditorium
Call for
Proposals: Research relating to subsurface contamination in vadose
and saturated zones
