First of four containers of tritium waste at LANL has been vented

The first of four flanged tritium waste containers at Los Alamos National Laboratory has been vented, the New Mexico Environment Department announced Tuesday afternoon.

The container can now be moved for treatment at LANL and then, eventually, to an off-site disposal area.

No internal pressure was found in the first container, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration, suggesting the inner containers in the flanged tritium waste container hadn't leaked. Air monitoring did not show an increase of tritium beyond background levels, the federal agency wrote.

No tritium emissions were released, the Environment Department wrote in its Tuesday post on X, formerly Twitter. Both the state agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are monitoring the process.

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