In early July, Tri-Valley CAREs convened a meeting that brought together the Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. EPA, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, contractors, and community members from Tri-Valley CAREs. These meetings are about the Superfund cleanup at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) main site in Livermore and its Site 300 High Explosives Testing Range near Tracy. Tri-Valley CAREs has been convening these meetings for decades and they are key to ensuring the directly affected community has updated information regarding the cleanup so that it can effectively participate in decision making. It also offers an opportunity for Tri-Valley CAREs staff, our technical advisors and community members to ask questions.
Cleanup and Monitoring at LLNL Livermore Site
At the meeting, the Lab gave presentations on the ongoing groundwater cleanup and monitoring at LLNL’s Livermore Main Site. While there’s been steady progress in tackling contamination, efforts continue to be hampered by limited funding and ongoing infrastructure hurdles.
In 2023, severe storms damaged equipment and forced several treatment systems offline, raising serious concerns about the Lab’s ability to maintain essential groundwater cleanup operations under worsening climate conditions. Although treatment resumed in 2024, the disruption revealed how vulnerable LLNL’s aging infrastructure remains. Tri-Valley CAREs continue to push for long-overdue investment in resilient, climate-ready systems to ensure public health and environmental protection aren’t compromised by future weather events.
Budget cuts have already stalled critical cleanup work, including a planned drill of a well program that was supposed to kick off in 2024. In terms of new technology, LLNL is relying primarily on in‑situ treatments like ethyl lactate injections and the KB‑1 bacterial culture to break down contaminants at the source. They’re also testing abiotic methods such as ZBI, but these approaches risk unintended consequences, like mobilizing metals (for example, chromium), which jump‑start fresh community concerns. Future underfunding could compromise the Lab’s ability to address contamination at its roots.
LLNL Livermore Site CERCLA Groundwater Cleanup Project Status Update: 2024 Annual Report.pdf
LLNL Livermore Site CERCLA Groundwater Cleanup Project Remedial Project Managers’ Meeting.pdf
Cleanup and Monitoring at Site 300
In 2024, LLNL monitored 577 groundwater wells, 39 guard wells, and 22 piezometers across Site 300. Despite heavy rainfall and major storm events, the lab’s hydraulic containment system appeared to hold along the western and southern boundaries. At the Pit 6 Landfill, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) still exceeded regulatory limits, posing potential risks to groundwater and nearby neighborhoods. While the lab points to declining levels of tritium and perchlorate in some areas and attributes lower VOC mass removal to past treatment efficiency, the reality is that vast volumes of legacy pollution remain in the subsurface. The pace of cleanup is too slow, and without stronger community oversight and adequate funding, real progress toward a safer environment will continue to lag.
Further, the June 1, 2024 Corral Fire burned 14,168 acres, damaging five groundwater treatment facilities and two soil vapor treatment facilities. An estimated 6,150 gallons of untreated groundwater was released from a damaged pipeline in Building 832 as a result of the fire. The pipeline release was halted upon its discovery on June 3, 2024. In total, four groundwater treatment facilities and two soil vapor treatment systems were sited for repair and return to operation.
LLNL Site 300 CERCLA Groundwater Cleanup Project Remedial Project Managers’ Meeting.pdf
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