Safety, Progress Hand-in-Hand at LANL Legacy Cleanup Mission in 2025

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — In 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) and its contractor achieved substantial progress in the legacy cleanup mission underway at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) matched by strong safety performance, federal and contractor leaders said here last week.

“EM-LA and N3B made excellent progress in its goals for fiscal year 2025, including meeting all Appendix B milestones, and we look forward to a productive 2026,” EM-LA Field Office Manager Jessica Kunkle said at this quarter’s Environmental Management Cleanup Forum, hosted in conjunction with LANL legacy cleanup contractor Newport News Nuclear-BWXT Los Alamos LLC (N3B).

A highlight of the LANL legacy cleanup mission in 2025, officials said, was the increased progress made in reducing inventories of legacy radioactive waste. EM-LA and N3B shipped more than 190 cubic meters of transuranic (TRU) waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico, for disposal — more than three times the fiscal year 2025 goal of 62 cubic meters.

Efforts to dispose of a set of corrugated metal pipes (CMPs) containing cemented TRU waste also took a major step forward, with completion of size-reduction activities and commencement of shipments of the CMP waste to WIPP.

In addition, EM-LA and N3B finished disposing of remaining legacy containers of low-level and mixed low-level waste containers stored at Area G. Kunkle noted over 28,500 containers of legacy TRU waste have been shipped from LANL to WIPP for final disposal since 2000, demonstrating DOE’s commitment to safely and effectively removing legacy waste from LANL.

“We made substantive progress in all aspects of the LANL legacy cleanup mission,” said Brad Smith, N3B president and project manager. “We look forward to another year of collaborating with our various cleanup partners, including the Department of Energy, area stakeholders, pueblos and the state of New Mexico.”

This year also saw EM-LA and N3B continue their strong track record in meeting annual cleanup commitments under the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Compliance Order on Consent, which governs some legacy cleanup activities at LANL. EM-LA and N3B met all 11 fiscal year 2025 milestones on or ahead of schedule, bringing the total met since the N3B contract began in 2018 to 115 out of 116.

EM-LA Working with State Agencies to Address Chromium Concerns

Kunkle provided an update on one of the highest priorities in the LANL legacy cleanup mission — addressing hexavalent chromium groundwater contamination. While the contamination plume does not pose an immediate threat to public or private drinking water wells, EM-LA has a strong history of collaborating with NMED, Pueblo de San Ildefonso and Los Alamos County to monitor, control and address the contamination, Kunkle said.

EM-LA and N3B are working to expeditiously complete the installation of a new monitoring well to increase understanding of the boundaries of the contamination plume, according to Kunkle. She also noted work is underway to evaluate and refine the conceptual site model and to analyze potential enhancements for the interim pump-and-treat system in place to control the spread of the plume.

“EM-LA remains committed to addressing the hexavalent chromium plume and we are excited to establish an adaptive site management approach with NMED, the Office of the State Engineer, Pueblo de San Ildefonso and Los Alamos County,” Kunkle said.

Adaptive site management is a systematic and iterative approach used to manage complex cleanup projects, allowing for flexibility and adjustments based on new information and changing conditions.

Best Safety Performance in Five Years

Smith said that N3B also realized one of its strongest years for safety performance in 2025.

Based on the company’s most up-to-date injury rate information published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2025, N3B had 60% fewer injuries and nearly 75% fewer serious injuries compared to the average high-hazard cleanup company.

“Employee engagement and ownership is the key factor in our safety performance,” Smith said.