Get the facts on Los Alamos National Laboratory’s environmental impact

How did Los Alamos National Laboratory fare minimizing our environmental impacts last year? Get the facts in a public-facing document called the 2024 Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER), written by the Laboratory’s environmental science experts.

For a few of the report’s highlights, also check out 13 hard-hitting articles in the ASER Summary, a magazine-style publication written by Lab students. Articles explore how the Laboratory is managing pressing environmental issues like “forever chemicals,” water quality and forest treatments to prevent large-scale wildfire.

READ THE FULL 2024 ASER REPORT

READ THE 2024 ASER SUMMARY

“There is an enormous amount of information in the full ASER report’s 300-plus pages, so if anyone has questions about our work or environmental impact, this is an incredible resource,” said Nell Larson, manager of the Lab’s Enduring Environmental Stewardship program. “While it is very detailed, it’s also written in a style that is intended to be understandable by everyone. You don’t have to be an expert to understand this report.”

5 ASER takeaways

1. In 2024, Laboratory air emissions translated to an estimated maximum dose of 0.78 millirem to a hypothetical member of the public, far below the Lab’s 10 millirem limit allowed by the Clean Air Act. For context, background radiation sources in this part of Northern New Mexico, like cosmic rays and naturally occurring uranium in the soil, result in public exposures of about one millirem per day, or 350-400 millirem per year.
2. Lab archaeologists conducted cultural resources surveys for 34 projects on Lab property, helping project staff avoid 530 protected cultural sites that date back to the Ancestral Puebloans, Hispanic homesteaders and Manhattan Project- and Cold War-eras.
3. Lab biologists reviewed more than 1,200 projects to determine if they would potentially affect federally listed animal species or their habitat. Due to their work, all Lab projects were compliant with endangered species protection requirements.
4. The New Mexico Environment Department inspected the Lab’s compliance with our Hazardous Waste Facility Permit and reported no findings in FY24. This means hazardous waste operations were successful in following all requirements to protect people and the environment.
5. Of the 738 water samples collected from outfalls at Lab buildings, only three exceeded a permit limit. These nonradiological exceedances were immediately addressed and corrected.

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