LANL Tritium venting complete, state environment officials say no concern for public exposure

By DANIELLE PROKOP
​Courtesy of Source NM

An undated photo of Area G legacy waste disposal site at Los Alamos National Laboratory. LANL completed the venting of containers, releasing very little tritium according to state environmental officials. (Courtesy of LANL)

Los Alamos National Laboratory and federal officials completed the depressurization of four containers that were potentially building up pressure, and released only a small amount of the radioactive gas tritium into the air, state environment officials said on Friday.

In 2016, LANL officials discovered the drums were building pressure, could potentially explode and, in a worst-case scenario, release tritium at a rate double the airborne radiation limit for the whole year. Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, can be naturally occurring or a byproduct from nuclear research. The EPA characterizes the gas as a lower threat, emitting radiation that often cannot penetrate the skin, and is only considered hazardous in large quantities from inhalation, skin absorption or consumed in tritiated water — a replacement of one of the hydrogen molecules with tritium.

Instead, officials found the containers were fully sealed and intact, according to reports from the National Nuclear Security Administration to the New Mexico Environment Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which monitored the release. Depressurization was delayed several times by rain, and started on Sept. 16 and ended on Sept. 23.

“From the data we collected, received and reviewed, we really just don’t have any belief that there was any concerns for public exposure to the tritium at levels above background in the area,” Hazardous Waste Bureau Chief, John-David Nance told Source NM.

The NNSA reported total emissions to be around 0.005 millirems — much lower than radiation exposure of 3.7 millirems from a cross-country flight.
Anti-nuclear and indigenous groups criticized LANL and federal officials for a lack of transparency around the  plan to depressurize the containers and said their safety concerns were ignored.

The state required LANL to have a stricter “hard stop limit” as a nod to the concerns for exposure limits for children and pregnant women.

NMED posted daily updates on social media about the release,  as Nance said the state wasn’t “exactly satisfied with LANL’s communications,” in the days leading up to the releases.

The NNSA and laboratory are required by state officials to issue a report about the depressurization and hold a meeting within the 30 days as part of the requirements from the state.
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Nance said additional samples collected off-site by the New Mexico Environment Department will be released to the public in three to five weeks, after being verified.
“Recorded emissions we have were very low, but we’re are working to verify that with a third-party,” Nance said.