Mission Statement

The EM-LA mission is to safely, efficiently, and with full transparency complete the cleanup of legacy contamination and waste resulting from nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Mission Objectives

Legacy waste refers to waste generated between 1970 and 1998. This cleanup mission includes ensuring site security; environmental, safety and health programs execution; operations program management; accountability for the cost, schedule, safety and quality implications of all decisions and accountability for overall program performance and enhancement of the contractor(s)’ performance.

The specific objectives for EM-LA include:

Protect the Aquifer

Protect, characterize, and monitor the regional aquifer.

Cleanup Legacy Sites

Cleanup legacy contaminated media and legacy waste sites at LANL and surrounding private and government-owned lands, including groundwater and surface water, to levels appropriate for the intended land use and in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Decontamination and Decommissioning

Decontamination and decommissioning inactive, process-contaminated, and non-contaminated facilities at Technical Area 21 and Technical Area 54 that impede the progress of the execution of environmental restoration activities.

Shipment of Waste

Retrieve, characterize, and package legacy mixed low-level waste and transuranic waste for shipment off-site.

Transfer of Remediated Sites

Transfer remediated sites to National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for long-term surveillance and monitoring as needed, to provide necessary safeguards and protection of workers, the public, and the environment. All required post-remediation monitoring and maintenance activities will be performed by NNSA.