Decommission Dragging Out

Southside Santa Feans may have noticed the crane outside the old Eberline plant on Airport Road in recent days—the first sign of movement in years toward decommissioning the one-time radioactive manufacturing site.

The facility, once owned by Thermo Fisher Scientific, but now owned by Thermo Eberline LLC, saw its HVAC system removed from the roof last week so it could be tested for the presence of radioactive materials. It’s part of the site characterization process Thermo Eberline must complete in order to declare the property safe after years of community concern about unknown radiation levels coming from the plant.

SFR reported in 2020 that the state expected Thermo to demolish the building by October of that year. Almost two years later, the structure remains intact and the deadline by which the company must tear it down is still in flux, according to state Radiation Control Bureau Chief Santiago Rodriguez.

“The timeline does not come into place until they actually submit a decommissioning funding plan, at which point the two-year clock starts,” Rodrieguez tells SFR. “Mind you, they can complete the process sooner, but they cannot go anywhere further than the two-year mark, so that’s why they’re doing the site characterization and building assessment now.”

The site, which shut down operations in 2007, has riled area residents.

In 2007, officials discovered that Thermo Fisher had failed to maintain adequate records of radioactive material moving in and out of the plant, for which the state agreed to supply city governments around the state with radiation monitors in exchange for not having to pay a $51,000 fine to the New Mexico Environment Department.

A drum holding 2.1 grams of americium, a radioactive material resulting from the decaying of plutonium forged in nuclear reactors, was left sitting on the property in an 80-gallon plastic drum, which the state ordered to be moved in 2015 to Los Alamos National Laboratory. It wasn’t until 2016 that the drum, sitting less than 500 feet away from an elementary school and even closer to some homes and businesses, was finally removed.

State inspectors also found radiation levels at Eberline to be higher than what Thermo Fisher had reported. The company is supposed to regularly take soil and air samples on the lot, which are reviewed by the Environment Department. Rodridguez tells SFR there is no indication the levels of radioactivity are higher than allowed, although the department has not received all the reports yet due to what he described as laboratory supply chain issues.

“So [Thermo] can’t submit data that they have not yet received,” he says. “We want to ensure all of those things are in place and part of the plan prior to commencement of official decommissioning.”

Regulations require radiation levels to be under 25 millirems per year before the property can be released without restrictions. The company, Rodriguez tells SFR, has agreed to meet a level of 15 millirems per year. Once the decommissioning process is complete and the site’s contamination levels meet the criteria for its radioactive materials license to be terminated, the property can be sold.

Calls placed to Thermo Eberline were not returned by publication time.

Meanwhile, the 22-acre piece of land right behind the Eberline plant has been the subject of its own controversy. Santa Fe County had purchased the land off South Meadows years ago and promised neighbors it would be part of the public Open Space and Trails Program, but then sold the tract to nonprofit housing developer Homewise in April. The organization hasn’t received the zoning rights to build its proposed 161-unit complex. The Santa Fe Planning Commission has tabled the zoning application multiple times, citing concerns the proposal does not meet city standards.

Last year, Homewise CEO Mike Loftin told SFR the land’s proximity to Eberline is a concern, adding that the company would conduct soil and environmental tests on the South Meadows lot and would inform potential residents of Eberline’s history. The project’s master plan is on the agenda for the Planning Commission on Oct. 20.

This story was updated from an early version to clarify Santa Fe County’s purchase and original plans for the South Meadows land.