County's annual infrastructure tour visited TA-21 and chromium plume site, DOE cleanup office says

LOS ALAMOS - Los Alamos County's annual infrastructure and policies tour included stops at Los Alamos National Laboratory's Technical Area 21 and the chromium plume interim measures in Mortandad Canyon, the Energy Department's Office of Environmental Management said in a Nov. 3 article.

County elected officials, leaders and staff went along, with state Sen. Roberto Gonzales, state Rep. Christine Chandler, Eric Chavez, a field representative for U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, and the county's federal lobbyists and legislative consultants.

The Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office and its cleanup contractor, N3B, showed the group TA-21, a former Manhattan Project and Cold War complex. Acting Manager Stanley Pyram described the analysis needed to safely address its remaining waste. The office said Building 21-257, the former Radiological Liquid Waste Facility, will be removed.

In Mortandad Canyon, county Utilities Manager Philo Shelton addressed the group. The interim measures there have been shut down since the New Mexico Environment Department ordered injections stopped in November 2025; DOE says it is working with the state, the county and Pueblo de San Ildefonso on a path forward. The state agency has said the plume has spread onto pueblo land (see our Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, 2026 stories).