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Title: RCRA facility investigation for the townsite of Los Alamos, New Mexico

Conference ·
OSTI ID:10114775

During World War II, Los Alamos, New Mexico was established as an ideal location for the secrecy and safety needed for the research and development required to design a nuclear fission bomb. Experiments carried out in the 1940s generated both radioactive and hazardous waste constituents on what is presently part of the Los Alamos townsite. Under the RCRA permit issued to Los alamos national Laboratory in 1990, the Laboratory is scheduled for investigation of its solid waste management units (SWMUs). The existing information on levels of radioactivity on the townsite is principally data from soil samples taken during the last site decontamination in 1976, little information on the presence of hazardous constituents exists today. This paper addresses pathway analysis and a preliminary risk assessment for current residents of the Los Alamos townsite. The estimated dose levels, in mrem per year, show that the previously decontaminated SWMU areas on the Los Alamos townsite will not contribute a radiation dose of any concern to the current residents.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
10114775
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-91-4069; CONF-920251-1; ON: DE92005054
Resource Relation:
Conference: HMC-SOUTH `92: Hazardous Materials Control Research Institute meeting,New Orleans, LA (United States),26-28 Feb 1992; Other Information: PBD: [1992]
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English