LOS ALAMOS, N.M. - Residents downwind of a wildfire that is threatening the nation's premier nuclear-weapons laboratory are worried about the potential of a radioactive smoke plume if the flames reach thousands of barrels of waste stored in above-ground tents. "If it gets to this contamination, it's over - not just for Los Alamos, but for Santa Fe and all of us in between," said Mai Ting, a resident who lives in the valley below the desert mesas that are home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. (..) Lab Director Charles McMillan said the barrels contain transuranic waste - gloves, toolboxes, tools - and other items that may have been contaminated through contact with radioactive materials. Top lab officials declined to say how many barrels were on site or how they are stored.
Los Alamos Fire: EPA Testing for Radiationescape_attemptJune 29 2011, 17:59:17 UTC
The Los Alamos facility -- the birthplace of the atomic bomb -- was shrouded in secrecy long before it was surrounded by smoke after the Las Conchas fire began Sunday. "It contains approximately 20,000 barrels of nuclear waste," former top security official Glen Walp said. "It's not contained within a concrete, brick and mortar-type building, but rather in a sort of fabric-type building that a fire could easily consume. "Potential is high for a major calamity if the fire would reach these areas," he added. The flames from the 108-square-mile fire have reportedly reached as close as 50 feet from the grounds. With a wildfire so close, lab officials, along with government officials such as New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, are trying to reassure the public of the plant's safety.
"The fire has grown to almost 70,000 acres since it first started on Sunday, and is reported as three percent contained, though Tucker said at the Wednesday news conference he did not know where the containment has taken place. Firefighters also continued fighting the blaze on Pajarito Mountain above town, in an effort to keep it out of the Los Alamos and Pajarito Canyons which run into lab property and residential areas."
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"If it gets to this contamination, it's over - not just for Los Alamos, but for Santa Fe and all of us in between," said Mai Ting, a resident who lives in the valley below the desert mesas that are home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
(..)
Lab Director Charles McMillan said the barrels contain transuranic waste - gloves, toolboxes, tools - and other items that may have been contaminated through contact with radioactive materials. Top lab officials declined to say how many barrels were on site or how they are stored.
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110629/ap_on_re_us/us_los_alamos_fire
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"It contains approximately 20,000 barrels of nuclear waste," former top security official Glen Walp said. "It's not contained within a concrete, brick and mortar-type building, but rather in a sort of fabric-type building that a fire could easily consume.
"Potential is high for a major calamity if the fire would reach these areas," he added.
The flames from the 108-square-mile fire have reportedly reached as close as 50 feet from the grounds. With a wildfire so close, lab officials, along with government officials such as New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, are trying to reassure the public of the plant's safety.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/los-alamos-fire-epa-testing-radiation/story?id=13953953
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Firefighters also continued fighting the blaze on Pajarito Mountain above town, in an effort to keep it out of the Los Alamos and Pajarito Canyons which run into lab property and residential areas."
http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2011/06/29/abqnewsseeker/updated-las-conchas-fire-now-3-percent-contained.html
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