New Mexico Wildfires Threaten Los Alamos Labs, America's Nuclear Research Hub

Fires force lab to close, but officials say hazardous materials are secured

By Clay Dillow Posted 06.28.2011 at 4:55 pm 4 Comments

The Area Around Los Alamos National Lab, As of June 27 Los Alamos National Laboratory via Flickr

The wildfires burning in across the Southwest have threatened homes, economies, and communities, but today the Las Conchas fire in New Mexico is taking the threat to a new level. Having already ravaged about 60,000 acres, the wildfire is knocking on the door of Los Alamos National Labs, the birthplace of the atomic bomb and a key nuclear weapons research site.

In other words, there’s some nuclear material on premises, and the premises are somewhat besieged by the fire. The lab itself has been closed to all but critical personnel until Thursday as the fire skirts the boundaries of the facilities. At one point the flames actually crossed a state road and burned about an acre of the laboratory grounds.

But state fire officials and Los Alamos spokespeople say all nuclear and hazardous material is secured in concrete and steel vaults, and that the fire itself poses no real threat to those materials. These assurances did not stop the very same authorities from calling in teams to man its 60-plus AIRNET monitoring stations designed to alert the lab to any outside contamination coming from the lab grounds. Los Alamos’s lab director called it a precaution.

And it very likely is just a precaution, as Los Alamos is understandably a very secure facility. But that doesn’t mean America’s premier nuclear laboratory will be unaffected. Research there may have to be suspended if firefighters can’t get a handle on the wildfire threatening the nearby town of Los Alamos. Many of the lab’s 11,800 employed personnel live in the town, which has already been evacuated. If a large number of homes are destroyed, it could disrupt day-to-day operations at the lab for the foreseeable future.

[BBC, Scientific American]

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4 Comments

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www.energysquad.org

06/29/11 at 3:41 am

Really? Are we going to learn from any of these other nuclear disasters before we take precautions to make all of these plants safe till we can move forward with renewable energy. If we don't do something quickly we will have a disaster unlike anything we have seen in this country. These plants are old and served their purpose. Let's s move forward before it's to late.

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Titans3775

06/29/11 at 9:34 am

You really have to be ignorant to believe that renewable energy can serve all of our needs...I read somewhere where solar power is only like 18% efficient? Not to mention expensive. No renewable technology is advanced enough yet to advance us passed the Nuclear Age. Democrats think renewables are the way to go, Republicans think that coal and oil are the way, but they all look passed the bigger problem. Oil is running low and Renewables will not hit stride for some time. Nuclear in any form is still the most cost effective and no doubt the safest. Most of you people are so hypocritical saying Nuclear Power is a ticking time-bomb. Haven't you ever heard things get safer and more efficient with time??? Most of these Nuclear Plants are from five decades ago...Would you drive a car from five decades ago because of its safety? Look at the bulletproof cars of today, and apply that concept to Nuclear Power. Take things into perspective for once. Its Nuclear, or Darkness. You choose.

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gizmowiz

06/29/11 at 10:35 am

The storage problem could be used to kill two birds with one stone if someone would have the sense to move all 30,000 barrels to the southern border with Mexico and create a barrel fence with them. Of course, the barrels should all be opened too....

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NubianBlingExplosion

06/29/11 at 11:14 am

@Energysquad we use radioactive material for all kinds of applications - this isn't a power plant, nor do we know of any ongoing fusion reactioms at the site. It is important that we have (secure) facilities where research involving radioactive materials can take place, leading us to knowledge regarding nuclear power and it's dangers, how we might cope with various situations, etc.. Not to mention, not all nuclear materials are equally dangerous. I hope we are researching nuclear power with Thorium...
@Titans Nuclear power is a ticking time bomb - you're right in that the safety of our facilities increases over time, but only for the new facilities - and for every new facility there is a greater probability that any one facility will fail.

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