Los Alamos National Laboratory sits on top of a once-remote mesa in northern New Mexico with the Jemez mountains as a backdrop to research and innovation covering multi-disciplines from bioscience, sustainable energy sources, to plasma physics and new materials.
Walls come down sooner, thanks to Recovery Act funding. Los Alamos, New Mexico, December 1, 2009 — Los Alamos National Laboratory today began full-scale demolition of a Cold War-era complex of buildings that once housed plutonium production and historic, nonweapons research. "We're seeing something this morning that has not happened since the late 1940s," said Isaac "Ike" Richardson, the Lab's deputy director. "The Los Alamos skyline is starting to change." More than 50 guests, including elected officials and representatives from New Mexico's Congressional delegation, watched as two large excavators began tearing away walls of a two-story, 22,000-square-foot former Lab building. "This is a symbol of times changing and getting better," said New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry, who ceremonially started the demolition with a command on a two-way radio. The Laboratory was able to accelerate demolition and cleanup of this complex, known as Technical Area 21, thanks to a $212 million award from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. More than 165, 000 square feet of former research, production, and office buildings will be demolished.
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