Los Alamos National Laboratory

Though no fires are burning on Los Alamos National Laboratory property, numerous personnel are actively engaged in fire mitigation projects throughout the Laboratory’s 36 square miles.

Los Alamos National Laboratory Wednesday afternoon announced it will remain closed through Friday, July 1 because of risks presented by the Las Conchas Fire and the mandatory evacuation of Los Alamos town site.

Laboratory facilities will be closed for all activities and nonessential employees are directed to remain off site. Personnel are considered nonessential unless they have received specific instructions from their supervisors to report to the Laboratory.

Los Alamos National Laboratory emergency officials have announced that the Lab will remain closed on Wednesday and Thursday because of risks presented by the Las Conchas wildfire and the mandatory evacuation of the Los Alamos town site. Only employees on an essential-duties access list will be permitted back onto Laboratory property during the closure, as notified by their line management. All others are urged to remain off-site until facilities have been safely reopened.

The complexity of cleaning up a 2.2-acre parcel of land located inside Technical Area-21 (TA-21), known as Material Disposal Area (MDA) T at Los Alamos National Laboratory could push costs as high as $1 billion, according to the Department of Energy; although no final estimate can be determined until a survey of the remediation efforts required is completed.

MDA-T is near the eastern end of DP Road. Environmental remediation activities at TA-21, including MDA-B, located across from businesses along DP Road on the southern side, have been underway since 2009.

Nearly 18 million gallons of treated and untreated plutonium wastewater and solvents, or untreated tritium wastewater and solvents, were discharged into the beds on that site until 1967.