Los Alamos Settles Runoff Lawsuit

摘要

Los Alamos National Laboratory, the U.S. Dept. of Energy research complex and former atomic-weapons development center in New Mexico, has settled a three-year-old lawsuit with environmental groups that alleged contaminated stormwater runoff at more than 100 sites on its 36-sq-mile campus. The laboratory did not admit to fault but has agreed to spend $80 million on stormwater control upgrades, including construction of berms, rock dams, weirs and detention ponds. The 2008 lawsuit by eight community groups and two individuals alleges that Los Alamos violated the federal Clean Water Act by allowing elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorine, among other pollutants, to be discharged from sites since the 1950s. The complex denies the charges.