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.
Event marks progress in multiyear closure plan. Los Alamos, New Mexico, September 30, 2009—A Los Alamos National Laboratory crew today began demolishing the first containment dome at the Lab's largest and only remaining active disposal area. The 38-foot high, 345-foot-long facility known as "Dome 226" is made of fabric over aluminum ribbing. It once housed thousands of drums of radioactive waste that have been shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico, for disposal. Demolition of the 12 remaining domes is part of the site's multiyear closure plan. The Laboratory's associate director for Environmental Programs, Michael Graham, said the demolition marks a significant milestone toward closure of the site, known as Technical Area 54 Area G. "It's the first demolition at this site," said Graham. "It's a visual measurement of our success." The demolition is also important to members of the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, whose sacred lands border the area.
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