Los Alamos National Laboratory

A group of nine Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists are new Fellows of the American Physical Society.
Cristian Batista, Malcolm Boshier, Dana Dattelbaum, Stephen Doorn, Michelle Espy, George Rodriguez, Avadh Saxena, Sergei Tretiak and Lin Yin are the new honorees from LANL.
“Selection as American Physical Society fellows is de facto proof of the vibrant engagement Los Alamos scientists are having with the larger technical community,” said LANL director Charlie McMillan. “I am proud of the contributions Los Alamos scientists bring to these professional societies through papers, scientific conference attendance, and other professional interactions. Collaboration and the exchange of ideas through affiliations within societies such as APS play an important role in fueling the scientific innovation required to accomplish our national-security mission.”
APS nominations are evaluated by the Fellowship Committee of the appropriate APS division, topical group or forum, or by the APS General Fellowship committee. After review by the full APS Fellowship Committee, the successful candidates are elected by the APS Council.

The Regional Coalition of LANL Communities officials said they felt recent meetings in Washington, D.C. were successful ones.
A group representing the Coalition in Washington visited the Capitol to meet with the New Mexico Congressional Delegation members, House and Senate Armed Services, Appropriations and Department of Energy officials regarding clean-up issues and funding for Los Alamos National Laboratory.
One of the Coalition’s aims from its trip was to attempt to bump up the proposed clean-up budget for FY16. The proposal currently is $189, but members would like to see the level at $255 million.
“Recent news has been about the fines assessed on DOE by the state of New Mexico Environment Department,” said Mayor Alice Lucero of Española, chair of the Regional Coalition. “We of the Coalition support LANL and its clean-up commitments. We believe that payment of fines should not impact the funds for clean-up.”
The Coalition also met with officials from the New Mexico Environment Department and DOE officials. The Coalition said it value a good relationship and desires to resolve the fines issue.
Those interested in learning more about what was done at the Washington trip can attend the Coalition’s meeting Friday. The meeting will be from 9-11 a.m. at 1000 Central Ave.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New video appears to confirm that the radiation leak at the federal government’s underground nuclear waste dump was limited to a single drum of waste, a U.S. Energy Department official said Thursday.
Joe Franco, head of the DOE’s Carlsbad field office, said in a conference call with reporters that a final report has yet to be issued on the mishap at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southern New Mexico, but thanks to a special camera boom, investigators were able to get a good look between and across the stacks of waste where the drum ruptured.
“That allowed them to obtain a full view of visual evidence needed to make that determination,” Franco said.
Once the investigation into the cause of the leak is complete, the full focus can shift to reopening the facility, he said.
The repository has been closed since February 2014, when the container of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory ruptured and contaminated 22 workers along with parts of the underground facility. While the DOE is targeting 2016 for some operations to resume, it could take at least another three years and cost more than a half billion dollars to fully reopen the site.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New Mexico's top environment officials and the U.S. Energy Department are wrangling over more than $54 million in fines levied in the wake of a radiological leak at the federal government's underground nuclear waste repository.
Now, state officials are threatening even more fines if the Energy Department doesn't accept responsibility for numerous violations outlined in compliance orders issued by the state last year. The New Mexico Environment Department is working on a new compliance order that could include fines of more than $100 million.
Because negotiations with the federal government are ongoing, officials said the total penalties that could be assessed remains unclear.
Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn and other community leaders from New Mexico were in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to discuss cleanup efforts in the wake of last year's mishap at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southern New Mexico. The facility has been closed since February 2014 when a container of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory ruptured, contaminating 22 workers and parts of the underground waste dump.