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Keyword:Los Alamos National Laboratory

New Monitoring Well Characterizes Hexavalent Chromium Plume at Los Alamos National Laboratory

New Monitoring Well Characterizes Hexavalent Chromium Plume at Los Alamos National Laboratory

LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico — The U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office continues to advance characterization efforts for the hexavalent chromium plume at Los Alamos National Laboratory to inform future remediation alternative selection. According to reports, its legacy cleanup contractor, Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos LLC, has completed drilling of a new groundwater monitoring well. Designated R-80, the well reaches approximately 1,030 feet below ground surface and will be used to further characterize the northeastern extent of the hexavalent chromium plume and evaluate different remediation alternatives. Completion of this monitoring well also marks the achievement of a Fiscal Year 2026 consent order milestone for the hexavalent chromium remediation project...

2026-09-02

ZiaCore Microreactor Achieves Criticality in High-Temperature Zero-Power Experiment

ZiaCore Microreactor Achieves Criticality in High-Temperature Zero-Power Experiment

Los Alamos National Laboratory announced on July 30 that its ZiaCore microreactor design has completed a high-temperature zero-power criticality proof-of-principle experiment at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) in Nevada, successfully achieving initial criticality. ZiaCore is an advanced nuclear energy microreactor design that uses low-enriched uranium dioxide fuel. The experiment lasted approximately four weeks from April to May this year, advancing the ZiaCore system to zero-power criticality under high-temperature conditions. According to the reactor design and verification process, zero-power criticality experiments can be used to validate the effectiveness of reactor physics designs, providing key benchmark data for subsequent engineering development.

2026-07-31