Bayo Canyon

Bayo Canyon (TA-10) Site

The Bayo Canyon Site, owned by Los Alamos County, is located in the Pajarito Plateau Region near Los Alamos, New Mexico. Los Alamos National Laboratory radiochemistry operations and explosives experiments conducted between 1943 and 1961 contaminated buildings, sewer lines, and soils at this site.

The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission remediated contaminated areas from 1960 to 1963. DOE implemented additional remedial action under FUSRAP in 1982 to prevent disturbance of contaminated subsurface soil that remains within a 1.5-acre area. DOE erected six permanent monuments to demarcate the contaminated area and restrict the use of this land by prohibiting excavation until the year 2142, when decay of the remaining residual radioactive material will allow the release of the affected area for unrestricted use.

Institutional controls at the site prevent excavation of contaminated subsurface soil. The governing authority and owner of the site, Los Alamos County, will maintain these controls. DOE does not require on-site monitoring or surveillance. Legacy management activities consist of managing site records and responding to stakeholder inquiries.