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New Mexico issues $420,000 in fines over improper waste storage at LANL By Scott Wyland swyland@sfnewmexican.com State regulators have fined the U.S. Department of Energy $420,000 for what they say is flawed hazardous waste storage at Los Alamos National Laboratory — problems that were never fixed after inspectors first observed them in 2022. The state has imposed penalties on the agency’s Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office for three sets of violations involving waste kept in outdoor areas without adequate weather protection. The lab violated state hazardous waste management regulations, the state administrative code and its hazardous waste facility permit, the Environment Department wrote in a notice of violation to federal on-site managers. Stephanie Gallagher, the Department of Energy’s field office spokeswoman, wrote in an email officials have provided the state with documentation on the measures they took after the 2022 inspection, and they now are assessing the next steps. The federal field office, she wrote, “remains committed to conducting the LANL legacy cleanup mission in a safe, efficient and environmentally responsible manner.” But critics of the lab’s waste cleanup program have complained for years the on-site storage of hazardous materials is inadequate. Scott Kovac, Nuclear Watch New Mexico’s operations director, said having storage defects linger for 18 months after state inspectors first uncovered them indicates waste management is a lesser concern at the lab. “This shows the lack of priority,” Kovac said. The heftiest fine of $350,000 was levied because waste managers failed to make necessary repairs to prevent stormwater intrusion and runoff in areas where hazardous waste is stored under a tent-like dome, the agency wrote in the letter. In November 2022, state inspectors saw runoff, which had entered the dome’s perimeter during a storm, make contact with the pallets underneath mixed-waste containers, the notice of violation said. Inspectors also found a large hole in an overhead section of the dome at the Area G waste site and found several 55-gallon drums were not sufficiently covered with tarps, leaving them unprotected against rainwater, the notice said. That resulted in a $20,000 fine. They came across two 55-gallon, mixed-waste drums that were rusting and in poor condition, leading to a $50,000 fine. Last year, federal managers provided documents showing one of the containers had been disposed of, and they now must demonstrate the other drum has been removed or overpacked as a safeguard, the agency wrote. Regulators also issued a violation notice to the field office for failing to provide secondary containment for free liquids, specifically two 55-gallon containers at an Area G waste site dome. The department was fined $220,000 but made corrective actions last year. The field office was fined about $1,500 for failing to complete proper paperwork for off-site waste shipments. A year later, waste managers showed the state a corrected shipping document. The lab’s primary contractor, Triad National Security LLC, faced a fine of $630 for improperly labeling a small container of lithium hydride. It turned out to be an easily fixable error. Kovac said federal entities can pay fines from their waste management funds, arguing that not only softens the blow of a penalty but also leaves less money for actual cleanup. “That slows down the [cleanup] process, too, because they’re spending it on fines instead of on people with shovels and backhoes,” Kovac said. Greg Mello published comment: This article was originally published using one of our photographs without credit (oops), taken in November 2004 (still available at https://lasg.org/aerialtour.htm). We asked the paper to please credit us, but instead the photo got taken down a few moments ago. That's a solution to the proper credit issue but it was a good photo of disposal at Area G. It came about because the local press had been reluctant to write about the continued disposal of nuclear waste at LANL. We wanted to provide proof because a lot of people didn't really believe it was still happening. We raised funds (thank you everybody who helped!) and rented a 6-seater plane, powerful enough to fly with the door off. My wife and partner Trish was a professional photographer; she rented a telephoto lens and got strapped in securely so she could lean out and get that photo. |
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