New Mexico Fines Energy Dept. $16M Over Nuclear Waste at Los Alamos

State regulators demand faster cleanup of legacy waste at birthplace of atomic bomb.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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The New Mexico Environment Department announced it will fine the U.S. Department of Energy up to $16 million for violating groundwater safety standards near the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The state is also demanding the Energy Department expedite the cleanup of legacy nuclear and hazardous waste at the lab, which is the birthplace of the atomic bomb.

Why it matters

The continued presence of a large volume of unremedied hazardous and radioactive waste at Los Alamos raises environmental and public health concerns, especially as the lab ramps up plutonium bomb core production for a $1.7 trillion federal nuclear weapons modernization program. New Mexico is the only 'cradle-to-grave' state for nuclear production, and the state is pushing for priority disposal of the lab's legacy waste over new waste being generated.

The details

Over decades, Los Alamos buried nuclear and hazardous waste in unlined landfills, septic tanks and firing sites, leaving an estimated 500,000 cubic meters of legacy waste on campus. The Energy Department also released hexavalent chromium, a toxic carcinogen, into a nearby canyon from 1956-1972, contaminating the regional aquifer. New Mexico regulators say the federal government made deals with other states to ship their nuclear waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad without their input, while not making enough progress on legacy cleanup at Los Alamos.

  • Between 1956 and 1972, workers released water contaminated with hexavalent chromium from the lab's cooling towers into a nearby canyon.
  • In November 2025, the hexavalent chromium was detected outside the lab's eastern border, in the groundwater of the San Ildefonso Pueblo.
  • In 2023, over 500 containers filled with remnants of 34 glove boxes were removed from the plutonium facility at Los Alamos to make room for new ones.

The players

New Mexico Environment Department

The state environmental regulators who announced the fines and demands for faster cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

U.S. Department of Energy

The federal agency that oversees the Los Alamos National Laboratory and is responsible for the nuclear waste cleanup.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

The birthplace of the atomic bomb that is now producing plutonium bomb cores as part of a $1.7 trillion federal nuclear weapons modernization program.

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

The salt mine repository in Carlsbad, New Mexico that is the country's sole facility for long-term storage of Cold War-era nuclear waste.

James Kenney

The head of the New Mexico Environment Department.

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What they’re saying

“The continued presence of a large volume of unremedied hazardous and radioactive waste demonstrates a longstanding lack of urgency by the U.S. Department of Energy, and elevates the risk of waste storage failures at the lab.”

— New Mexico Environment Department (New Mexico Environment Department statement)

“It's a legacy of failed legacy waste cleanups.”

— James Kenney, Head of New Mexico Environment Department (New York Times)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow the Energy Department to defer the cleanup of Material Disposal Area C, an unlined landfill filled with chemicals, sludge and radioactive waste.

The takeaway

This case highlights the ongoing tensions between New Mexico and the federal government over nuclear waste cleanup, as the state pushes for faster action on legacy waste at Los Alamos while the lab ramps up plutonium production for a major nuclear weapons modernization program.