SEMINAR: Physics Seminar

In 1945, as a result of research and development carried out at Los Alamos, two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan, successfully ending the Second World War. During the feverish activity for the creation of these devices, scant attention was paid to the legacy of waste materials hastily produced during the days of manufacture.

Thus the scene was set for the environmental restoration program that has been in operation since the 1990s. Due to the history and geology of the site, unique situations and challenges, heretofore unimagined, presented themselves. Areas around the labs can have full sets of contaminants: radionuclides, heavy metals, organic compounds and PCBs. In addition, the vicinity where waste was placed for long-term disposal has been shown to be inadequate through extensive drilling and sampling. Many of these issues have now been resolved.

This talk will discuss the background to the present issues at the Los Alamos and the various measures that have been implemented and continue to be implemented to mitigate the environmental damage. Additionally, the procedures taken to address the concerns of the current residents of northern New Mexico will be addressed.