Editing Los Alamos National Laboratory (section)

==Laboratory management and operations==
Within LANL's 35-square-mile property are approximately 2,000 dumpsites which have contaminated the environment. It also contributed to thousands of dumpsites at 108 locations in 29 US states.<ref name=sf>{{cite news|author1=Staci Matlock|title=TRINITY: 70 YEARS LATER 'Los Alamos will never be clean'|url=http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/los-alamos-will-never-be-clean/article_a3cc7ce1-8af0-5113-8f38-5d4aa673fd7a.html|access-date=July 18, 2015|work=The Santa Fe New Mexican|date=July 13, 2015}}</ref>

===Contract changes===
Continuing efforts to make the laboratory more efficient led the Department of Energy to open its contract with the University of California to bids from other vendors in 2003. Though the university and the laboratory had difficult relations many times since their first World War II contract, this was the first time that the university ever had to compete for management of the laboratory. The University of California decided to create a private company with the [[Bechtel]] Corporation, [[Washington Group International]], and the [[BWX Technologies]] to bid on the contract to operate the laboratory. The UC/Bechtel led corporation—[[Los Alamos National Security, LLC]] (LANS)—was pitted against a team formed by the [[University of Texas System]] partnered with [[Lockheed-Martin]]. In December 2005, the Department of Energy announced that LANS had won the next seven-year contract to manage and operate the laboratory.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

On June 1, 2006, the University of California ended its sixty years of direct involvement in operating Los Alamos National Laboratory, and management control of the laboratory was taken over by [[Los Alamos National Security, LLC]] with effect October 1, 2007. Approximately 95% of the former 10,000 plus UC employees at LANL were rehired by LANS to continue working at LANL. Other than UC appointing three members to the eleven member board of directors that oversees LANS, UC now has virtually no responsibility or direct involvement in LANL. UC policies and regulations that apply to UC campuses and its two national laboratories in California ([[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory|Lawrence Berkeley]] and [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory|Lawrence Livermore]]) no longer apply to LANL, and the LANL director no longer reports to the UC Regents or UC Office of the President.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

On June 8, 2018, the NNSA announced that Triad National Security, LLC, a joint venture between [[Battelle Memorial Institute]], the University of California, and Texas A&M University, would assume operation and management of LANL beginning November 1, 2018.<ref>{{cite news |author=National Nuclear Security Administration |date=2018-06-08 |title=NNSA awards Los Alamos National Laboratory Management & Operating Contract |url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/articles/nnsa-awards-los-alamos-national-laboratory-management-operating-contract |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=2018-07-29 }}
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===Safety management===

In August 2011, the close placement of eight plutonium rods for a photo nearly led to a criticality incident. The photo shoot, which was directed by the laboratory's management, was one of several factors relating to unsafe management practices that led to the departure of 12 of the lab's 14 safety staff.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-28 |title=A near-disaster at a federal nuclear weapons laboratory takes a hidden toll on America's arsenal |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/near-disaster-federal-nuclear-weapons-laboratory-takes-hidden-toll-america-s-arsenal |language=en |doi=10.1126/science.aan7026}}</ref> The criticality incident was one of several that led the Department of Energy to seek alternative bids to manage the laboratory after the 2018 expiration of the LANS contract.<ref name=sciencemag-20180119/>

The lab was penalized with a $57&nbsp;million reduction in its 2014 budget over the February 14, 2014, accident at the [[Waste Isolation Pilot Plant]] for which it was partly responsible.<ref>W.J. Hennigan and Ralph Vartabedian: [http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-los-alamos-fine-20150111-story.html ''Los Alamos lab contractor loses $57 million over nuclear waste accident'']. Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2015.</ref>

In August 2017, the improper storage of plutonium metal could have triggered a [[criticality accident]], and subsequently staff failed to declare the failure as required by procedure.<ref name=sciencemag-20180119>{{cite news |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/after-safety-breaches-new-los-alamos-director-pushes-accountability-nuclear-weapons-lab |title=After safety breaches, new Los Alamos director pushes for accountability at nuclear weapons lab |last=Reese |first=April |newspaper=Science |date=January 19, 2018 |access-date=January 20, 2018}}</ref><ref name=abqjournal-20170922>{{cite news |url=https://www.abqjournal.com/1067835/report-criticality-event-occured-at-lanl-plutonium-facility.html |title='Criticality safety event' occurred at LANL's plutonium facility |last=Oswald |first=Mark |newspaper=Albuquerque Journal |date=September 22, 2017 |access-date=January 20, 2018}}</ref>