EM Turns Liabilities Into Opportunity With Cleanup Wins at Lawrence Livermore

Drone photography shows the progression of demolition of a building that once housed an energy and environment laboratory, pictured in the background. The laboratory was connected to the operations of the Livermore Pool Type Reactor, pictured in the foreground in the first photo. Removal of the reactor and subsequent demolition of its structure, including the laboratory, has been key to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

LIVERMORE, Calif. — A drone photograph recently captured progress worth celebrating at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL): remnants of a freshly demolished building that once housed an energy and environment laboratory sitting beside a concrete slab left by a previously torn-down research reactor dome — two legacy liabilities one step closer to new mission readiness.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) has been on a roll at LLNL, delivering a string of cleanup milestones ahead of schedule and under budget.

"The purpose of EM’s mission feels strong as the pace of building demolition increases in 2026. Every building we bring down is another step toward giving the laboratory back usable space for its critical national security mission," said Kevin Bazzell, federal project director for EM’s cleanup at LLNL and nearby Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

EM crews last month brought down the former energy and environment laboratory building. Final site stabilization is expected by the end of this month. The legacy research reactor dome demolition wrapped up in April — a month early and nearly $5 million under budget. And crews removed the slab for another former legacy facility in March — more than six months ahead of schedule — freeing up land for National Nuclear Security Administration future mission use.

Momentum continues. EM crews are set to begin pre-demolition work on an excess facility and the slab next to it in July. In former lives, the facility was used for everything from a hanger and drill hall during World War II, to a hosting location for astrophysics experiments.

Next, workers are slated to remove a building for a former fuel elements laboratory and a structure that supported the Pluto Project, a program to develop nuclear-powered ramjet engines for use in cruise missiles. Workers are also set to remove the slab and underground structure for the building that contained the research reactor dome.

Initiated by congressional legislation, EM's cleanup work at LLNL reflects the program's broader mission: safely meet DOE's environmental responsibilities while creating space and opportunity for the next generation of American science and innovation.

-Contributor: Stephanie Shewmon