The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) failed to provide “real-time monitoring data” on its radioactive tritium venting to the local community, local environmentalist groups said this week.
A Sept. 18 statement by Communities for Clean Water (CCW), a coalition of organizations in Los Alamos that includes Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, said NNSA and Los Alamos were “dismissing community concerns with contradictory and incomplete statements” that “disregard” statements by independent experts and DOE legal obligations.
“How can our communities be expected to trust LANL when they won’t give us access to the raw, real-time monitoring data – independently verified by the EPA,” Joni Arends from Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety said in the statement.
The CCW said the public has no form of a real-time monitoring dashboard from NNSA but instead relies on “piecemeal updates” from the New Mexico Environmental Department. The statement also said LANL dismissed public health concerns with “vague reassurances, not real information,” scheduled venting during Pueblo harvest season “when outdoor cultural events, youth programs, and farming are in full swing” – though CCW admitted LANL avoided Pueblo Feast Days – and did not disclose how weather patterns such as wind, humidity and rain could impact venting and release of tritium.
“Without this transparency, LANL is continuing a legacy of empty assurances, not accountability,” Arends continued.
As of Sept. 21, NNSA said tritium venting is complete on two of four flanged waste containers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. A flanged tritium waste container (FTWC) is a stainless-steel vessel meant for long-term storage of tritium-contaminated waste, according to DOE, and tritium venting is controlled release of tritium from the containers to relieve pressure buildup.
Despite some concerns with how the waste has been handled at Los Alamos over time, and criticism from anti-nuclear organizations on tritium venting, the New Mexico Environment Department granted NNSA and contractor Triad National Security a 180-day temporary authorization that runs through March 2026. The state department concluded the risk of the venting was less than the risk of doing nothing. A past DOE audit found that before the containers could be moved from their current site, tritium venting would be needed.
“NNSA and LANL committed to the New Mexico Environment Department, to the public and to our tribal neighbors that we be transparent and communicative regarding depressurization of these containers. We have done that,” a spokesperson for LANL said in an email to the Exchange Monitor. “We communicated when we would start operations and have provided daily updates, several updates in a day when necessary. We’re proud of the professionalism, safety and commitment of the team conducting the operation and are looking forward to finally shipping these containers offsite.”