Table B-18
 

Location:  Technical Area (TA) -21

Period of use:  1945 to 1952, 1968 to 1983

Size:  2.21 acres

Number and type of disposal units:

Absorption Beds (4):  used for liquid wastes, approximately 120 by 20 by 6 feet

Disposal Shafts (62):  49 are 8 feet in diameter and 13 are 6 feet in diameter, depths range from 15 to 65 feet Retrievable Waste Storage Pit Sumps (4)

Specific wastes and quantities:

Estimated volume:  2,435,700 ft³
Includes unknown volumes of plutonium-238, plutonium-239, strontium, cesium, uranium-235, americium, and tritium. As of July 1976, beds include the following:  7 Curies (Ci) of uranium, 47 Ci of plutonium-238, 191 Ci of plutonium-239, 3,761 Ci of americium, and 3 Ci of mixed fission products ⁽³⁾

Potential environmental impacts:

DP Canyon, Los Alamos Canyon
New Mexico Environment Department's (NMED) Hazardous and Radioactive Material Bureau (HRMB) ranks this MDA as an area with a high probability of contaminant mobilization and a moderate to high potential of release to the groundwater

Maps:

Figure B-25 has been removed due to illegibilty.

 

Sources:

1.  Rogers, Margaret Anne, History and Environmental Setting of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Near- Surface Land Disposal Facilities for Radioactive Wastes (Areas A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and T).  June 1977.  (Back to Text)

2.  LANL, Environmental Restoration, TA-21 Operable Unit Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigation (RFI) Workplan, LA-UR-91-962.  May 1991.  (Back to Text)

3.  Curie quantity can be corrected by referring to table A-1, "Half-lives of Radioactive Isotopes Frequently Disposed of at LANL."  (Back to Text)