LANL plans to release radioactive tritium to prevent explosions, putting water, food and communities at serious risk
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has four drums filled with highly radioactive tritium, which LANL deems to be an explosion risk. For this reason, LANL plans to vent these tritium drums.
Releasing radioactive tritium into the air would not only harm communities near and downwind of LANL, but would be catastrophic if it were to rain; 1 teaspoon of tritium in the form of HTO (tritiated water) contaminates 100 billion gallons of drinking water.
As a Department of Energy (DOE) organization, LANL must follow DOE requirements, which means that a maximum dose of harmful waste is not exceeded for anyone, taking reasonable steps to keep the dose quote as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Given the lack of transparency regarding the venting of the tritium drums, it is unlikely that LANL is following this protocol.
When the venting became known to the public in 2020, Tewa Women United released a petition that totaled more than 3,000 signatures.
In 2020 the All Pueblo Council of Governors distributed a press release titled “Pueblos Concerned about Los Alamos National Laboratories Planned Release of Radioactive Vapors”
