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Lawrence Livermore is responsible for safeguarding the local environment amidst its efforts toward the national security mission. To meet federal, state, and regional requirements, Laboratory subject matter experts work diligently on fronts from meteorology to ecology to sustainability.
“At Lawrence Livermore, we’re good stewards of our resources—resources that we share with the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area, the state of California, and the world. We share the same air and water, and we take that seriously,” says Meg Lawler Fratanduono, Livermore’s Environmental Functional Area (EFA) manager. EFA, part of the Laboratory’s Environment, Safety, and Health Directorate, ensures the Laboratory meets and exceeds the requirements of environmental regulations, upholds employee and environmental safety, and continues innovating and developing in support of the mission.
Meteorological Monitoring
Via two 52-meter-tall meteorological monitoring towers located at Livermore’s main site and at Site 300, respectively, EFA’s Air Quality Office monitors and records meteorological data for reports such as the annual site environmental report, atmospheric modeling by the Laboratory’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC), regulatory work conducted by the Laboratory, and other uses by external stakeholders in the Bay Area. The towers measure horizontal wind speed, horizontal wind direction, and vertical wind speed at 10, 23, and 52 meters above ground level; air temperature at 2, 10, 23, and 52 meters above ground level; relative humidity at 2 and 10 meters above ground level; solar and infrared radiation and barometric pressure at 2 meters above ground level; and rainfall at ground level. With weekly preventive maintenance, as-needed corrective maintenance, and a physical integrity check every few years, the towers have generated a reliable stream of data since 2006 at the main site and since 2007 at Site 300. Data is updated every 15 minutes and made available to the public. The data undergo rigorous quality assurance and quality control internally as well as externally by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District before being cleared for regulatory use.
Many Laboratory operations also depend on this meteorological data to function. For example, the Environmental Restoration Department uses rainfall data for hydrological studies, riggers use wind data to ensure they can operate cranes safely, and firefighters use wind speed and direction data to perform safe prescribed burns at Site 300. The temperature monitors are coordinated with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning controllers in some buildings to improve heating and cooling efficiency. Researchers can also tap into this resource for their studies. According to Tony Wegrecki, an environmental scientist in the Air Quality Office, the data’s most critical use is for emergency response in the event of an accidental release of harmful materials into the air. “Air modelers and decision makers need to know what direction a plume is moving, what the possible concentrations could be, and who could be impacted from what is being released,” says Wegrecki.
NARAC, a national support and resource center for hazardous materials release, relies on Laboratory, regional, and global meteorological data to respond in the event of an emergency involving the release of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear material into the atmosphere. The center combines tower data, weather forecast models, and information about a release to create real-time airborne plume hazard predictions. Specifically, the tower data contribute to powerful time-varying, 3D wind fields used in NARAC’s plume dispersion models, which enable the center to create accurate, timely, and actionable reports about risks to people and resources in the impacted area. The reports, which include plume maps and predicted health effects, inform local authorities in emergency response decision-making; in the Laboratory’s case, response is coordinated through the EOC.
Monitoring radiological and nonradiological air emissions is an important activity at Lawrence Livermore because of its research and development activities. The Laboratory’s Air Quality Office staffs monitoring networks to collect and analyze data for radiological air emissions onsite. The office’s air dispersion modeling evaluates the impact of an unintentional release of radioactive materials to ambient air. These data confirm to the public, Department of Energy (DOE), and regulatory agencies that the Laboratory complies with all applicable regulations and DOE Orders and has performed well to limit such releases. Although not required, the Laboratory’s air monitoring program also determines site-specific nonradiological air quality with beta attenuation monitors measuring airborne particulate matter at the main site and Site 300 to inform worker safety, especially when air quality is poor, such as during wildfire season.
Watching over Wildlife
In addition to safeguarding its human population, the Laboratory’s team of ecologists and wildlife biologists monitor and manage the protected plant and animal species that call the main site and Site 300 home. Similar to other federal properties under DOE management, Site 300 has no public access and contains large areas of land with limited disturbance and development compared to offsite properties. This history of isolation and long-term stewardship makes Site 300 a uniquely preserved habitat that harbors a number of species and habitat types protected under both state and federal laws. The area exists at the intersection of the coastal, intercoastal, and interior habitat types, creating a mix of plant and wildlife communities, many of which are uncommon within the larger landscape.
Livermore’s ecologist Keala Cummings says, “We’re stewards of an incomparable number of endangered and rare species. The assemblage of species on our site is scientifically unique to many other places in California and elsewhere.” Fratanduono adds, “We’re proud that we maintain such a unique ecology alongside the specialized explosives work conducted at Site 300.”
The rarest species there, the large-flowered fiddleneck (Amsinckia grandiflora), is found nowhere else in the world but Site 300, some of its neighboring properties, and Black Diamond Mines Regional Park in the East Bay Area. Livermore has designated a reserve for this species and plans to propagate new populations in the future. Site 300 is also home to federally listed species including the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense), California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii), and Alameda whipsnake (Masticophis lateralis euryxanthus). All of Site 300 is designated critical habitat for the California red-legged frog, and portions are critical habitat for the Alameda whipsnake. A mix of state-threatened and endangered species, including the Swainson’s hawk, tri-colored blackbird, and valley elderberry longhorn beetle, are also found on the site.
Protecting and monitoring the species at both sites requires continual efforts. The biologists conduct frequent surveys to determine quantities and locations of rare species—critical information for requesting permits from environmental regulators. “The data we collect informs avoidance and minimization measures for implementing projects and ensures that we’re conducting our work legally under the Endangered Species Act,” says Cummings. The team, which also includes biologists Caleb Murphy and Amanda Werrell, surveys for amphibians seasonally; surveys rare plants annually, including the diamond-petaled California poppy (Eschscholzia rhombipetala), large-flowered fiddleneck, big tarplant (Blepharizonia plumosa), and adobe navarretia (Navarretia nigelliformis); and completes a general rare plant survey annually by walking transects of Site 300. Subcontractors assist with intensive protocol-level rare plant and animal surveys of the entire site for the Sitewide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS), which was published in 2005 and 2023. A combined SWEIS for Lawrence Livermore and Sandia California national laboratories was prepared and published in 1982 and 1992.
The team also surveys both sites for raptors (including several hawk, falcon, accipiter and owl species, golden eagles, bald eagles, harriers, and kites) and corvids regularly. Since the main Livermore site is largely developed, these surveys are done top-to-bottom as any nest might have the potential to impact projects. When specific projects such as roof work, drone flight, or tree removals take place, the biologists are notified ahead of time so they can complete a localized survey and ensure the work will not interfere with any other songbirds not picked up in the sitewide large raptor surveys.
Weekly raptor surveys inform maps of buffer zones around nests. The team adds new nests as they become active and removes inactive nests—those with no remaining eggs or nestlings. “We provide updated maps to the Project Management Office (PMO), facility and area managers, and other interested parties for ongoing collaboration and coordination on outdoor projects,” says Murphy. Before construction projects begin, the biologists evaluate their potential impact on wildlife in the buffer zones. If necessary, they advise postponement or relocation, or they collaborate to minimize impacts before granting permission to start work. Stephanie Bibby, the group leader for Water Resources and Environmental Planning, says, “We’re trusted to make a lot of decisions on risk management because of our trained, qualified biologists and the respect and relationships they have with our agencies.”
Sustainability into the Future
Another facet of Livermore’s environmental stewardship is incorporating sustainable practices into the daily workflow. In 2024, the Laboratory implemented a formal sustainability program with its Sustainable Operations and Resilience (SOAR) group. SOAR is responsible for creating the annual Site Sustainability Plan and data dashboard as required by DOE and for ensuring that Livermore meets its extensive regulatory requirements. The program also adapts to new DOE sustainability targets as they are set and serves as a stakeholder in the site sustainability strategy, efforts that involve the entire Laboratory. “We’re incorporating sustainability into our process so sustainable practices become simply the way we do business,” says SOAR group leader Heather Ottaway. “We want people in the Lab to have thoughts such as, ‘Do I really need to leave that piece of equipment on 24/7?’ occur to them naturally.”
In pursuit of DOE’s target to cut water usage in half by 2030, SOAR is prioritizing Laboratory water use reduction efforts, especially as supercomputer El Capitan comes online with cooling water requirements expected to increase water usage by 50 percent. Kendall Neilson, SOAR’s sustainable operations environmental analyst, wrote a sitewide water management plan and completed a water balance assessment to determine where the Laboratory’s water is currently being used and identify opportunities for improved efficiency in the face of this challenge.
One promising effort is a landscaping transition project to move away from grass lawns toward drought-tolerant and California native species. SOAR, alongside PMO, the Laboratory’s Landscape Transition Team, and contractor Stantec, created a document titled “4 Levels of Landscaping Conceptual Design,” which outlines a landscape transition design for more than 50 individual facilities and approximately 33 acres of irrigated turf. In addition to transitioning existing facilities, all new Laboratory facilities and major renovations will incorporate drought-tolerant landscaping instead of lawn moving forward. “We identified the landscape transition as a huge opportunity for improvement, with about 94 to 114 million liters of water per year—approximately 10 percent of the site’s annual water use—that we could save just by getting rid of the turf,” says Neilson. Reduced lawn area has the additional benefit of controlling the goose population onsite, allowing for more integrated pest management.
The other major water users onsite are the cooling towers necessary to support high-performance computing and facility comfort cooling. For example, a single cooling tower called U291 is currently responsible for 15 percent of the main site’s water use. To address the addition of the new cooling tower for El Capitan, a pilot study is underway to treat the blowdown from U454, a different cooling tower, and recycle the water back into the system. The Laboratory is also working on a sustainability study exploring whether a water reclamation plant could be placed onsite to treat the site’s waste and reuse the water in the U291 tower. “I love this work because we’re constantly doing something new, and everyone on our team is very excited to be part of the adventure of designing a sustainability program,” says Ottaway.
The combined efforts of EFA enable Livermore to continue meeting its mission while resting assured that goals for the environment are being met, too. “When we experience the next drought or heat wave, our aim is that programs experience no impact and can maintain the cadence needed to meet the national security mission,” says Fratanduono. “We take pride in how unique both of our campuses are and that we do science no one else can do while maintaining completely unique habitats for threatened species.”
—Lilly Ackerman
For further information contact Meg Lawler Fratanduono (925) 423-2036 (fratanduono2 [at] llnl.gov (fratanduono2[at]llnl[dot]gov)).
