Los Alamos National Laboratory

The Government Accountability Office weighed in on the deferred Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement project this week and according to its report, costs will escalate even more if the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration decide to proceed with the project down the road.

According to its most recent estimates prepared in April 2010, NNSA determined that the CMRR will cost between $3.7 billion and $5.8 billion — nearly a six-fold increase from the initial estimate.

The TRU Waste Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory is currently two months ahead of schedule processing and repackaging waste stored in large fiberglass-reinforced boxes (FRPs).

These large boxes pose particular repackaging challenges since they contain many different types of radioactively contaminated equipment and can be up to 30-feet long. The contents must be characterized, then repackaged to meet the criteria of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant or other permanent disposal facilities, before being shipped to those locations.

Program Manager Michael Romero credits the skill of workers, efficient processing and good planning for the work being so far ahead of schedule.

Periodically, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board in Washington makes a report to Congress.
The main thrust of the report, released earlier this month, was to discuss the status of significant unresolved issues with the Department of Energy’s design and construction reports.
On top of the list is the seismic evaluation and upgrade of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Plutonium Facility and the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. According to the report, these two projects have the most significant unresolved safety issues.
According to interagency correspondence between the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Safety Administration have made some headway in resolving some of these issues.

Officials were hoping between 400 and 800 employees would take the voluntary separation agreement.
On Monday, Los Alamos National Laboratory announced that 557 employees will leave the lab as part of a voluntary separation program. The employees come from nearly all lab functions, excluding certain essential areas.
The last day of work for those employees will be April 5.
“I would like to thank each and every employee who volunteered for the program,” said LANL Director Charlie McMillan. “Some of them devoted their entire careers to serving the nation during a truly historic time for the country and the lab. They set the example that we will continue to follow.”