• FluTrackers.com Inc. does not provide medical advice. Information on this web site is collected from various internet resources, and the FluTrackers board of directors makes no warranty to the safety, efficacy, correctness or completeness of the information posted on this site by any author or poster. The information collated here is for instructional and/or discussion purposes only and is NOT intended to diagnose or treat any disease, illness, or other medical condition. Every individual reader or poster should seek advice from their personal physician/healthcare practitioner before considering or using any interventions that are discussed on this website. By continuing to access this website you agree to consult your personal physican before using any interventions posted on this website, and you agree to hold harmless FluTrackers.com Inc., the board of directors, the members, and all authors and posters for any effects from use of any medication, supplement, vitamin or other substance, device, intervention, etc. mentioned in posts on this website, or other internet venues referenced in posts on this website.
  • We are not asking for any donations. Do not donate to any entity who says they are raising funds for us.

New Mexico - Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Emily

Emily

Editor, Senior Moderator
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2177093.shtml?cat=504
Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos
Posted at: 06/28/2011 4:52 PM | Updated at: 06/28/2011 5:13 PM
By: The Associated Press
Click to expand...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hjX8C7YbGDQSrZJ4xU7By0c5vItQ?docId=ee59c54a220c40f9810ead9eaf75734b
Towns near NM fire, nuclear lab wary of smoke
By P. SOLOMON BANDA, Associated Press ? 32 minutes ago LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) ? 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....
Click to expand...

The article says the fire is about 3.5 miles from the waste now. NASA photos of the fire are here:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/usa/20110627-new-mexico.html
 
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Physicist Speaks On Concerns With Material At Los Alamos Lab

POSTED: 2:28 pm MDT June 28, 2011
UPDATED: 2:35 pm MDT June 28, 2011​

Excerpt:

Kaku said around 20,000 to 30,000 barrels of plutonium contaminated waste is stored at the lab. That waste includes everything from gloves to fuel rods, according to Kaku.


?Plutonium is one of the most toxic particles known to science. A particle you can?t even see lodged in your lungs could cause lung cancer,? Kaku said. ?What we?re worried about is what happens when the fires go right into these buildings and perhaps pop open some of these 55-gallon drums.?

Read more + video:
​
 
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

565170main_NewMexico-FIRE-_946-710.jpg


<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>addThisSocialPlugins();</SCRIPT>
Las Conchas Fire Grows Near Los Alamos, New Mexico

Closings and evacuations continue from the Las Conchas Fire in New Mexico. Fire and smoke from the wildfire were visible from NASA's Aqua satellite yesterday as it flew over New Mexico. Aqua's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) captured an image on June 28 at 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT) that shows the smoke and heat (in red) from the Las Conchas fire near Los Alamos.

MODIS is an instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite and its fire product detects heat signatures that indicate high surface area temperatures. The image also shows the brownish colored smoke blowing northeast into Colorado.

This fire has increased in coverage to 60,741 acres on June 28 from 43,597 acres on June 27 according to reports on InciWeb, The "Incident Information System" website. InciWeb reports wildfire conditions throughout the country.

According to InciWeb's update on June 28 at 21:30 UTC (5:30 p.m. EDT), in the northern extent of the fire, the Pajarito Ski Resort is being affected by the fire and firefighters are providing structural protection. To the east, structural protection continues in Bandelier National Monument. South of the fire, firefighters continue to scout for potential fire lines.

The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument will close to the public on Wednesday June 29. The Los Alamos National Laboratory will be closed due to the fire. Check the LANL web page for updates.

Evacuations are still in effect. The city of Los Alamos is under an evacuation order. White Rock is currently under a voluntary evacuation. According the website, the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society and the Espanola Valley Humane Society are taking in dogs, cats and other small pets to help those displaced by the Las Conches Fire.

For updated information on the fire from Inciweb, go to: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2385/

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team.
Caption by Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/usa/20110629-new-mexico.html
 
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Pre-Burns to Occur on Lanl Western Boundary

Incident: Las Conchas Wildfire
Released: 18 min. ago
10:45 a.m.
Media Information: 505-820-1226
NR#20
Pre-Burns to Occur on LANL Western Boundary ​

LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico June 29, 2011 - Fire crews on Wednesday morning will begin a series of targeted, preventative burns along the western edge of Los Alamos National Laboratory in an effort to further remove available fuels from the Las Conchas Fire. Observers may notice increased smoke coming from the LANL border. At this time there is no wildfire on Laboratory property. Laboratory facilities will be closed for all activities and nonessential employees are directed to remain off site. Personnel are considered nonessential unless they have received specific instructions from their supervisors to report to the Laboratory. Employees should check local news sources, Los Alamos County Emergency Radio on AM 1610, the LANL Update Hotline (505-667-6622) and the LANL web page (http://www.lanl.gov/) for updates.The Laboratory has posted a number of pictures to its Flickr photo site, http://www.flickr.com/photos/losalamosnatlab/ A Joint Information Center has been established at the Regional Development Corporation, 2209 Miguel Chavez Rd. in Santa Fe.

More...
http://www.inciweb.org/incident/article/2385/12096/
 
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Fire updates from the Emergency Operations Center

No Wildfire on Laboratory Property: Active Air Montoring Underway

Los Alamos, New Mexico, June 29, 2011, 12:40pm?Despite no wildfire currently on Los Alamos Laboratory property, the Laboratory has established a network of seven high-volume air samplers along the southern, northern and eastern boundaries of Laboratory property to verify that hazardous materials are not leaving the Laboratory in smoke from the fire. Preliminary results of air samples taken at Los Alamos National Laboratory boundaries show no radioactive materials from Laboratory operations or legacy waste in smoke from the Las Conchas fire. ?There are no wildfires burning on Lab property and our nuclear and hazardous materials are accounted for and protected,? said Laboratory Director Charles McMillan. ?As scientists we need data to ensure that our employees and regional neighbors are not affected by our operations. Preliminary air sampling results confirm this.? The high-volume air sample filters are being split with one half of each filter being analyzed on site for a quick turnaround of results and the other half being sent to an offsite, independent laboratory for analysis and corroboration of the preliminary results. In addition to the high-volume samplers, the Laboratory has sixty AIRNET (http://www.lanl.gov/environment/air/airnet/description.shtml) sampling stations near Los Alamos, White Rock, on Laboratory property, and in the region. A subset of these stations is in place to ensure compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency?s airborne dose limit for the public. The AIRNET samples will help verify the high-volume sampling results. The preliminary data shows no levels of radioactive materials in concentrations higher than that seen in smoke elsewhere in the region. Director McMillan on Tuesday pledged to make air-sampling data available to the public as soon as possible. Routine updates to the New Mexico Community Foundation?s RACER environmental monitoring website will reflect these data and other information at http://racernm.com. ?New Mexicans should know that there are no radioactive materials from the Laboratory in the smoke,? McMillan said. ?As with any smoke, however, we urge our employees and regional residents, particularly those with health conditions such as asthma, to minimize their exposure.?

Pre-Burns to Occur on LANL Western Boundary

Los Alamos, New Mexico, June 29, 2011, 11:00am?Fire crews on Wednesday morning will begin a series of targeted, preventative burns along the western edge of Los Alamos National Laboratory in an effort to further remove available fuels from the Las Conchas Fire. Observers may notice increased smoke coming from the LANL border. At this time there is no wildfire on Laboratory property. Laboratory facilities will be closed for all activities and nonessential employees are directed to remain off site. Personnel are considered nonessential unless they have received specific instructions from their supervisors to report to the Laboratory.

FACT SHEET: Fire Safety Improvements at Los Alamos National Laboratory since the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire

Los Alamos, New Mexico, June 28, 2011, 8:33pm?Los Alamos National Laboratory has implemented a multiyear fire safety improvement program since the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire. Starting with an emergency Congressional appropriation shortly after the fire, LANL ? Purchased more than 35 new fire trucks, service vehicles, and pieces of heavy equipment ? Built a multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art emergency operations center (photo) ? Conducted $20 million worth of tree-thinning operations, clearing of ground fuels, and construction of fire breaks and roads across the Lab ? Built a new interagency fire center with a helicopter base and water dip tanks ? Enacted interagency agreements and training with the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Los Alamos County, and the state of New Mexico. ? Improved storm water runoff and erosion controls, planted more than 10,000 willows, and built structures to help prevent contaminants from flowing down canyons ?The Lab and our interagency partners have applied the lessons learned from Cerro Grande,? said NNSA Los Alamos Site Office Manager Kevin Smith. ?The improvements between then and now are substantial and they are making a difference in this fire.?

LANL Announces Closure for Thursday, June 30

Los Alamos, New Mexico, June 28, 2011, 7:00pm?Los Alamos National Laboratory tonight announced it will remain closed through Thursday, June 30 because of risks presented by the Las Conchas Fire and the mandatory evacuation of Los Alamos town site. Laboratory facilities will be closed for all activities and nonessential employees are directed to remain off site. Personnel are considered nonessential unless they have received specific instructions from their supervisors to report to the Laboratory. Employees should check local news sources, Los Alamos County Emergency Radio on AM 1610, the LANL Update Hotline (505-667-6622) and the LANL web page (www.lanl.gov) for updates.

More...
http://www.lanl.gov/news/releases/fire_updates.html
 
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

?There are no wildfires burning on Lab property and our nuclear and hazardous materials are accounted for and protected,? said Laboratory Director Charles McMillan.
Click to expand...

That might be a statement from earlier today since there are reports that a fire did break out and was put out today on lab property.

As of mid-day Tuesday, the flames are only 2 miles from the nuclear waste.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/29/los-alamos-nuclear-laboratory-wildfire
Los Alamos nuclear laboratory threatened by wildfire

Efforts to protect New Mexico site stepped up as lab officials give assurances that dangerous materials can resist blaze

A wildfire has advanced on the Los Alamos laboratory and thousands of outdoor drums of plutonium-contaminated waste as authorities step up efforts to protect the site and monitor the air for radiation.
[snip]
A small patch of land at the laboratory caught fire on Monday before firefighters quickly put it out.....
Click to expand...

Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety thinks there could be a threat from nuclear contaminated soil if the fire reaches those areas. Small burrowing animals have brought it up in places.

(Hanford has problems with wildlife distributing insecure waste, too.)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/11/05/1238751/radioactive-rabbit-trapped-near.html
Friday, Nov. 05, 2010
Radioactive rabbit trapped near Richland
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer

A radioactive rabbit caught at Hanford just north of Richland had Washington State Department of Health workers looking for contaminated droppings Thursday.

Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/11/05/1238751/radioactive-rabbit-trapped-near.html#ixzz1QhBWf3Ww
Click to expand...

A grad student has extensive information on his blog and in a Youtube video regarding radioactive debris scattered around Los Alamos.

http://carlwillis.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/more-radioactive-goodies-from-bayo-canyon/
 
Last edited:
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Interview with Los Alamos retiree Charles Mansfield, who worked as a physicist at the lab for 17 years and as a forest smokejumper firefighter for 11 years:


http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/06/los-alamos-fire-why-nuclear-wast.html
Los Alamos Fire: Why Nuclear Waste Is Probably Safe
by Eli Kintisch on 29 June 2011, 5:58 PM

The waste discussed here is specifically the 'Area G' drums with plutonium.
 
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Los Alamos Fire: Perimeter of Nuclear Lab Set Ablaze

By RYAN OWENS
June 30, 2011

Firefighters working against the wildfire that surrounds the nuclear lab in Los Alamos, N.M., have set part of the perimeter of the lab ablaze in hopes of starving the wildfire of fuel in the event it heads back toward the stash of radioactive material stored inside the lab.

After creating a blackened ring that now circles the lab, crews are betting that starting fires to stop them is a gamble that will pay off.
"We are in the best shape we've been in since thing started," Chief Doug Tucker of the Los Alamos County Fire Department told ABC News.

Meanwhile, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez examined some of the first air-quality tests herself Wednesday. Although they show a lot of smoke, officials expressed relief on discovering no radiation had been released.

More...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/los-alamos-fire-perimeter-nuclear-lab-set-ablaze/story?id=13964006
 
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

NM fire poised to become largest in state history

</SPAN>Associated Press
Posted on June 30, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Updated today at 11:32 AM

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) ? With firefighters bracing for another day of strong, erratic winds, a wildfire near the nation's premier nuclear weapons laboratory and a northern New Mexico community was poised Thursday to become the largest in state history.

But fire officials remained confident that the fire would not spread onto the Los Alamos National Laboratory or into the town of Los Alamos. Crews lit brush to create a 10-mile-long burned-out area between the fire and the facility that created the first atomic bomb.

"It's looking good right now," Los Alamos County Fire Chief Doug Tucker said.

The fire has chewed up tens of thousands of acres a day since it started Sunday, charring a total of nearly 145 square miles, or 92,735 acres.

Fire officials believe the blaze will soon surpass the Dry Lakes fire, which burned more than 94,000 acres of the Gila National Forest in 2003.

Crews have contained only 3 percent of the fire near Los Alamos. They were bracing for winds that could gust up to 40 mph Thursday afternoon.

More...
http://www.wwltv.com/news/national/124763784.html
 
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Video of a ?controlled burn? carried out on Wednesday near the western boundary of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

<object width="560" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ETd8OCXVvkM?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ETd8OCXVvkM?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="349" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Watching that fire and smoke is a good reminder of how critical it is for firefighters to have the best protective equipment possible. There are a couple more videos here at the Lede and some optimism about today's operations from lab officials:

Wildfire Continues to Burn Near Nuclear Facility in New Mexico

Here is the Los Alamos Lab Twitter feed:

http://twitter.com/#!/LosAlamosNatLab
 
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Las Conchas Fire Burns More Than 6,000 acres of Santa Clara Pueblo Land ? 6/30

Posted on June 30, 2011 by npsnmfireinfo
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joe Baca​
June 30, 2011 (505) 929-7061

Las Conchas Fire Burns More Than 6,000 acres of Santa Clara Pueblo Land​

Santa Clara Pueblo, NM ? The Las Conchas Fire has charred more than 6,000 acres of the watershed of Santa Clara Pueblo and continues to destroy cultural sites, forest resources, plants and animals that the people of Santa Clara depend upon for their livelihood and culture. Wildfires have burned two-thirds of Santa Clara?s forest over the past 13 years, including 8,300 acres burned by the 1998 Oso Complex Fire and the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire. In response, Santa Clara Pueblo Governor Walter Dasheno has issued a Declaration of Emergency.

?We are devastated to witness the destruction of our precious homeland,? said Governor Dasheno. ?From time immemorial to this day our community has been stewards of this land, have fought to regain portions taken from us and have invested millions of dollars in restoring the forest and resources.?

Since the fire began on June 26 Santa Clara officials, staff and community members have attended briefings and given recommendations and data to the Incident Command. Pueblo officials repeatedly asked that adequate resources be devoted to the north end of the fire to keep it from impacting the Pueblo?s lands. ?We want to reassure our Santa Clara community that we have made every effort to work with the Incident Command to try to keep the fire from reaching Santa Clara,? explained Governor Dasheno.

Nevertheless, after two days of extreme fire behavior, the Las Conchas Fire entered Santa Clara Pueblo lands mid-day on June 29. In the last 24 hours the fire has exploded across the western third of the reservation. This includes the area known as ?P?opii Khanu,? the headwaters of the creek, which the Pueblo regained in 2000 after 140 years of struggle.

?Our canyon is the source of our Santa Clara Creek that we rely upon for irrigation but, more than that, it was a beautiful place of abundance in wildlife, clean water, culturally-significant trees and medicinal plants,? said Governor Dasheno. ?This is the fourth fire that has impacted our homelands and all of them have begun outside our reservation. Santa Clara alone cannot bear the extreme costs to help Mother Nature restore herself.?

Pueblo officials have discussed their immediate concerns with Senator Tom Udall and Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, including stopping the progression of the fire and preventing flooding from impacting homes, public buildings and irrigation systems. Secondly, the Pueblo has stressed that financial and technical assistance will be needed over the next several years to address the fire?s impact. These include: cultural, recreation, and grazing sites; traditional plants and herbs; wildlife and their habitat; air quality monitoring stations; commercial timber; environmental monitoring equipment; cabins; water quality; aquatic life and the fishery programs of the four lakes or ponds in the area.

The Pueblo will have a community meeting tonight at 5:00 pm at the Santa Clara Senior Citizens? Center to appraise the community of the fire and address the medical plans for those who have asthmatic and respiratory conditions.

?We want to commend all of the people who have been assisting with the fire response,? said Governor Dasheno. ?We appreciate all of the prayers and assistance that have been offered to our community.?

http://nmfireinfo.wordpress.com/201...an-6000-acres-of-santa-clara-pueblo-land-630/
 
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Chief Doug Tucker said "The burn scars are burning and that is unusual," so old burn areas such as Cerro Grande mentioned in the interview in post #7 are unfortunately not providing the fire break hoped for. (Cerro Grande was itself a controlled burn that got out of hand due to low humidity and high winds.)

Downed logs in the old burn areas are at only 3% humidity which is "as dry as it gets" and are "torching" so rain is needed.

Uploaded by KRQE on Jun 30, 2011

"One of the unhappy surprises of the Las Conchas Fire is that areas burned by the Cerro Grande and other fires are burning again."

<object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZCPaoY0H_KA?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZCPaoY0H_KA?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
 
Last edited:
Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Re: Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Potential Visibility Concerns on 1-25 Between Albuquerque and Santa Fe Toni

Incident: Las Conchas Wildfire
Released: 1:57 hrs. ago
<!-- cached related article links at 21:41:13cached id 0ff4df3cef85d3c7391d82ff0f911e66-->Related Information

Experimental smoke modeling of the Los Conchas fire predicts that there will be heavy smoke that could reduce visibility to less than 1.5 miles on I-25 between 2 and 4 am tonight. The model run was a joint effort from the USFS Airfire Team using high resolution meteorological data provided by National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. There is uncertainty in the model as wind patterns have been highly erratic in the area due to thunderstorm activity and shifting weather. The model is also sensitive to both meteorological assumptions as well as assumptions regarding fire activity. However, this prediction was based on the best information at the time.

http://www.inciweb.org/incident/article/2385/12129/
 
New Mexico - Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

Fire menacing Los Alamos lab nears record size

By Zelie Pollon
SANTA FE, New Mexico | Fri Jul 1, 2011 7:56am EDT

SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - Firefighters inside a nuclear weapons complex in New Mexico scrambled on Thursday to clear brush near barrels of plutonium-contaminated waste stored just a few miles from a monster blaze roaring through surrounding forests.
...
"We're seeing fire behavior we've never seen down here, and it's really aggressive," Los Alamos County Fire Chief Douglas Tucker told reporters, adding that earlier hopes of lifting evacuations in the area by this weekend had been dashed.
...
One concern at Los Alamos has been the presence of about 20,000 metal barrels of plutonium-contaminated waste, such as old, tainted clothing and equipment, stored on a corner of the complex within about 3 miles of the fire's edge.

Lab officials say most of the low-level radioactive waste is kept on pavement and the 55-gallon sealed drums are built to withstand heat three times the temperature of a wildfire.

Full text:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/01/us-wildfires-losalamos-idUSTRE75R12820110701
 
Re: New Mexico - Nuclear experts, more fire crews head to Los Alamos

New Mexico fire creeps away from weapons lab

By Zelie Pollon
LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico | Fri Jul 1, 2011 5:17pm EDT

LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico (Reuters) - The wildfire raging for six days near the Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory reached record proportions on Friday but has ceased to threaten the sprawling government complex or adjacent town in northern New Mexico, officials said.

The so-called Las Conchas Fire, believed sparked by a downed power line, has blackened nearly 104,000 acres -- or 162 square miles -- of thickly wooded slopes of the Jemez Mountains, mostly in the Santa Fe National Forest, since erupting on Sunday.

Now ranked as the largest wild-lands blaze ever in New Mexico, the fire surpasses the previous record set in 2003 by the 94,000-acre Dry Lakes Fire in the Gila National Forest.

"This is the biggest fire in the history of our state, and it's not over yet," U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, said at a midday news conference.

More...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/01/us-wildfires-losalamos-idUSTRE75R12820110701
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom