Contacts

Environmental Communication & Public Involvement
P.O. Box 1663
MS J591
Los Alamos, NM 87545
Phone: 505-667-0216
FAX: 505-665-1812
envoutreach@lanl.gov
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Independent Monitoring of Los Alamos Air Quality

This page presents data collected by sources independent of the Laboratory, and may include our own data and interpretation for comparison.

New Mexico Environment Department (NMED)

The mission of the New Mexico Environment Department's (NMED) Department of Energy (DOE) Oversight Bureau is to help assure that activities at the DOE facilities in New Mexico are protective of public health and safety and the environment. To meet this objective, the Bureau operates a network of air quality monitoring stations, co-located with LANL monitoring locations. The Bureau compares their data with LANL data to determine if the LANL results are verifiable.

Beginning in 1995, the DOE Oversight Bureau and Los Alamos operated co-located sampling stations for ambient air measurements and environmental direct pentrating radiation measurements. Currently, the Bureau has six co-located air sampling stations for radionuclide monitoring and 12 co-located thermoluminescent (TLD) dosimeters for direct penetrating radiation monitoring. (Note: Am = Am-241; Pu = Pu-238, Pu-239; U = U-234, U-235, U-238.)

Station Name	NMED Measurements
Santa Fe	TLD only
Barranca Mesa	TLD only
48th Street	TLD only
LA Airport	TLD, H-3, Am, Pu, U
Shell Station	TLD only
Royal Crest Trailer Court	TLD, Am, Pu, U
White Rock Fire Station	TLD, H-3, Am, Pu, U
Estante Way	TLD only
Well PM-1	TLD, H-3, Am, Pu, U
McDonald's Restaurant	TLD, H-3, Am, Pu, U
Eastgate Business Park	TLD only
White Rock Church of the Nazarene	TLD only

During 1995, the air sampling techniques used by the Bureau and by LANL were very different and hence the results were not comparable. Changes in the Bureau's air sampling protocols were made for 1996, so that a direct comparison of the 1996 and 1997 co-located air sampling data has been conducted. During 1996, the Bureau did not subtract a filter blank from their air concentration data; the Bureau uses glass fiber filters having a greater natural uranium content than LANL's polypropylene filters. Thus the Bureau's 1996 uranium data are higher than LANL's data, as would be expected. In 1997, the Bureau added tritium (H-3) at four of their five air monitoring stations (see table above). These data will be compared to LANL when the Bureau makes them publically available.

At this time, we have not done a direct comparison of TLD data. The specific TLD used by the Bureau is sufficiently different than the Laboratory's and results in the Bureau's data being less than the LANL data at all stations.

There are several national "standards" with which to compare these data. The Environmental Protection Agency and/or DOE have air concentrations guidelines that LANL meets. The following table includes these for your use in evaluating the NMED/LANL comparative data:

Limit/Guidance	EPA 40CFR61 Concentration Guide	DOE Uncontrolled Area Derived Air Concentration Guide	DOE Controlled Area Derived Air Concentration Guide
Alpha (fCi/m3)	---	2,000	20,000
Beta (fCi/m3)	---	9,000	2,000,000
Am-241 (aCi/m3)	1,900	20,000	2,000,000
Pu-238 (aCi/m3)	2,100	30,000	3,000,000
Pu-239 (aCi/m3)	2,000	20,000	2,000,000
Tritium (pCi/m3)	1,500	100,000	20,000,000
U-234 (aCi/m3)	7,700	90,000	20,000,000
U-235 (aCi/m3)	7,100	100,000	20,000,000
U-238 (aCi/m3)	8,300	90,000	20,000,000