U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office team members highlighted the importance of characterizing legacy waste safely and efficiently, and disposing of that waste off Los Alamos National Laboratory property, during the recent Environmental Management Cleanup Forum. September 30, 2025
Office of Environmental Management
September 30, 2025
minute read time
Environmental Management Cleanup Forum panelists, shown seated, from left: Brad Smith, Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos LLC (N3B) president and general manager; Jessica Kunkle, Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office manager; Ellen Gammon, N3B contact handled transuranic waste deputy program manager; and Casey Gadbury, National TRU Program Certification Division director with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Carlsbad Field Office.
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) team members highlighted the importance of characterizing legacy waste safely and efficiently, and disposing of that waste off Los Alamos National Laboratory property, during the recent Environmental Management Cleanup Forum.
Presenters at the quarterly forum also discussed how different types of legacy waste are managed at LANL’s Technical Area 54, Area G, and how the waste is safely prepared for offsite disposal.
The forum serves as an important part of EM-LA’s stakeholder and public engagement as cleanup crews advance the DOE Office of Environmental Management legacy cleanup mission at LANL.
EM-LA Manager Jessica Kunkle expressed that shipping waste to EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) has been and continues to be one of EM-LA’s main priorities.
“Since May 2000, DOE has made significant progress to ship waste offsite to WIPP,” Kunkle said. “The inventory of above-ground transuranic waste at Area G has been reduced by approximately 90 percent — from 24,466 containers to 2,558 containers.”
Ellen Gammon, Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos LLC contact handled transuranic waste deputy program manager, provides insight on the Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office legacy waste program.
Ellen Gammon, contact handled transuranic waste deputy program manager with EM-LA legacy cleanup contractor Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos LLC (N3B), talked about how waste items are categorized and packaged, and where they are shipped.
“It is my job to ensure waste is properly characterized and safely transported off the hill,” Gammon said, referring to LANL’s location in Los Alamos.
Casey Gadbury, National TRU Program Certification Division director with Carlsbad Field Office, answers questions from attendees at the Environmental Management Cleanup Forum.
Casey Gadbury, National Transuranic (TRU) Program Certification Division director with the Carlsbad Field Office, which oversees WIPP, focused on the partnership for completing the characterization and certification process necessary to meet the waste acceptance criteria for shipments to WIPP.
“We go as fast as we can as long as it’s safe and compliant,” Gadbury said. “And, we have to be mindful of resources as we are stewards of the taxpayer dollars.”
The next forum is set for later this year and will pilot a new format of presentations, public Q&A and an interactive component for the public to speak directly with subject matter experts.
-Contributor: Elicia Williams
To receive the latest news and updates about the Office of Environmental Management, submit your e-mail address.