TA-43 Brief Description

4.23.1 Site Description TA-43 [Table 4-21 and Figure 4-23 (index map of TA-43)] is a small site located adjacent to the Los Alamos Medical Center on Diamond Drive. Two major facilities are located at the site: the Health Research Laboratory (HRL) Complex is the focal point of biosciences and biotechnology at the Laboratory. Research performed at HRL includes structural, molecular, and cellular radiobiology; biophysics; mammalian radiobiology; biochemistry; and genetics. The HRL facility has no perimeter fence, but the dock/service area has a security fence and gate. Access to the facility is controlled by badge reader, and the main lobby and business office area are accessible to the public during working hours. The other major facility is the DOE’s local area office (Building 39), where the contract for operating the Laboratory is managed. 4.23.2 Facilities Description The HRL Complex at TA-43 is the location of the Laboratory’s core competency in bioscience and biotechnology. Originally, the Atomic Energy Commission sponsored research at the Laboratory on how radionuclides associated with the Manhattan Project were taken up, transported, deposited, and eliminated by the human body. This research was needed to protect workers. Studies were also begun on the ways different types of radiation affect living systems. Later, the Laboratory established the Center for Human Genome Studies to provide the massive computer capability needed for mapping the human genome. These early research activities have evolved into HRL’s current research programs. At the HRL Complex, investigators seek to understand the relationships between energy and health through research on the effects of different types of radiation and chemicals on cells and subcellular components. This research is important because of DOE’s work in nuclear fission and fossil fuels, both of which can generate by-products that damage deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and lead to carcinogenesis. HRL research addresses the molecular basis of mutagenesis, repair of DNA, and regulation of gene expression. HRL also supports DOE’s national security needs. One research area addresses the mechanisms by which the pulmonary system protects itself and repairs itself after having been damaged by foreign materials, including toxic inhalants. Finally, researchers in microbial ecology and plant genetics seek to identify and understand responses of microorganism communities and plants to environmental stressors, including drought and the aftermath of national-defense-related activities. Although LANL personnel have participated in human radiation experiments in the past, this research has been discontinued. Two operations currently conducted at HRL, neurobiology and invivo monitoring, involve monitoring humans; neither procedure is invasive. Neurobiology research involves measuring magnetic waves emanating from the brain. In-vivo monitoring detects any incorporation of radioactive material in personnel, which usually occurs as the result of accidental inhalation. These operations are part of the Laboratory’s radiation protection program. The HRL Complex includes offices and laboratories (Buildings 1, 20, 24, and 37); a sewage lift station (Building 10); storage buildings (Buildings 12, 28, 36, and 46); a cooling tower (Building 44); a computer and instrument building (Building 45); and chemical storage structures (Buildings 47, 49, and 61).   ©2004 lasg.org