New Mexico’s Nuclear Town Has Big Housing Problem

LOS ALAMOS, N.M.—Weekends bring a brief respite and slower pace to the Los Alamos townsite in New Mexico, the birthplace of the atomic bomb nearly 80 years ago.

Silent mountains thick with Ponderosa pine surround the town where some of the nation’s best-kept military secrets reside.

The urban sidewalks are empty, except for the occasional tourist or dog walker, and many of the shops, restaurants, and office buildings are closed.

There’s no traffic on the road from Trinity Drive to Oppenheimer Drive.

But, it’s just a matter of time before Los Alamos townsite jumps back into action.

“You will see it on Monday,” said one resident, who lives in White Rock, 10 miles from the greenscaped Los Alamos urban center.

Sure enough, on Monday morning, Los Alamos townsite roars back to life as commuters arrive by the thousands. The population nearly doubles in this “census-designated place” of 13,460.

Cars line up at security checkpoints to enter the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the county’s biggest employer and the reason for the sudden increase in population.

Employees clear the first barriers, then move through more checkpoints to get to their jobs four days a week.

Many drove from residential areas across Los Alamos County (population 19,187) and as far away as Albuquerque, 96 miles south, and the state capital of Sante Fe, about 35 miles north.

There has always been a housing shortage in the county, local officials say, but the pressures are growing as LANL reaches peak employment at around 19,000. The lab hopes to begin offering round-the-clock shifts in 2025.

The study also found that in 2021, nearly 55 percent of the LANL workforce lived outside the county.

“Over 9,300 people commuted in for work, and only 21.8 percent, or 2,200 people, commuted out of the county while living here,” the study said.

‘One Horse Town’

“We’re a one horse town. Everything the lab does affects everybody,” said local realtor Chris Ortega, owner/broker of ReMax Los Alamos.

“The hiring has increased demand. There are fewer houses on the market than there were five or six years ago,” Ortega told The Epoch Times.

“People are coming and going all the time. Half of the lab lives here in Los Alamos. The other half lives off the hill somewhere—Santa Fe, Espanola, Albuquerque.”

In 2022, there were 8,149 households, 5,229 with families, in Los Alamos County. They were usually made up of two or three people per household and had an average income of $135,801.

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“Based on employment rates and high wages, a family household making more than median income is likely to have a member of the family employed at Los Alamos National Laboratory,” according to the study.

A plurality of LANL employees agreed in a previous study that it would be beneficial to live in Los Alamos, provided they can find suitable housing near the lab.

Housing is hard to find and has been for a long time. Now, it’s worse because of LANL’s latest hiring surge that started around 2022 with the government’s plan to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

“It’s difficult [to find housing]. We hear it anecdotally from people we’re hiring—people from the lab,” said Linda Matteson, assistant county manager for Los Alamos County.

Only 14 percent of the land around Los Alamos is county-owned or privately owned, she said. The U.S. Forest Service, Park Service, and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) own the rest.

“We’re very constrained,” Matteson told The Epoch Times. “Of that 14 percent, think about private houses, private land. Think of our geography with mesas and canyons. It’s limited. We, the county, own less than 10 parcels that we could develop. Some are open spaces that you wouldn’t want to develop.”

The plan found that because there isn’t enough housing, many people who do essential work in the community can’t live in the community.

The median sold price of homes in Los Alamos was $599,583 in September, representing a 6.3 percent increase from last year, according to a Rocket Homes

report

.

In the same month, 61 homes were listed for sale. Rental costs have tripled according to the housing plan, with 33 current rentals available on Zillow. A 3 bed, 1 bath house is listed for about $3,000 per month. The lab employed 11,743 workers in 2018, which increased to 15,707 workers in 2022. It is hiring hundreds more this year and next before slowing down. The county population only grew by 400 people in the same four-year timeframe due to housing constraints. The plan projects the need for 1,300 new homes between 2024 and 2029 to preserve the status quo, and 2,400 new homes to meet future housing demand.

LANL’s fiscal year 2022 budget included $2 billion in salaries for employees and $155 million in tax revenues for the county. The lab created 24,169 jobs and contributed $3.12 billion to businesses in New Mexico. LANL accounts for about 85% of Los Alamos County’s gross property tax revenues.

LANL announced its master development plan for the next 30 years in September 2022. The plan includes an upgraded facility powered by 100% renewable energy from solar and wind, aiming for zero carbon emissions by 2040.

The lab has evolved significantly since its involvement in the Manhattan Project that led to the creation of atomic bombs used at the end of World War II. LANL played a crucial role in the development and production of the U.S. nuclear arsenal during the Cold War. The facility covers nearly 40 square miles of DOE property, nearly 900 buildings, and 13 nuclear facilities.

Plutonium production for U.S. nuclear weapons took place at the Rocky Flats plant near Denver from 1952 to 1989. After Rocky Flats closed, PF-4 at Los Alamos became the only plutonium facility in the country, where the recycling of plutonium from old pits to make new ones is overseen by the National Nuclear Safety Administration.

LANL declined a tour request by The Epoch Times. The Laboratory is laying the groundwork for manufacturing new pits for the W87-1 nuclear warhead in the stockpile. It remains the only place in the country where pits can be made, serving as a critical mission for national security through deterrence. The Department of Defense has identified the improvement of America’s nuclear deterrent as a top priority in response to emerging global threats and challenges. This modernization effort, planned for the next two decades, will involve upgrading all three components of the nuclear triad. The new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system will replace the aging Minuteman III, while the Columbia class ICBM submarine will replace the Ohio class submarines, and the B-21 Raider will replace the B-2A Spirit bomber. Upgrades to nuclear warheads at LANL, under the DOE’s control, are also part of this modernization effort. The program aims to produce 30 plutonium warhead cores annually by 2026 for use in replacing cores in the aging nuclear stockpile, including warheads like the W87-1, W93, W76, W78, and W88. The total known nuclear warheads in the world as of 2024 is 12,121, with the US and Russia holding the majority. The US initiatives to manage and upgrade nuclear weapons are projected to cost $756 billion over the next decade. The levels of exposure at Acid Canyon are well below the safe limits set by the agencies, at less than 0.1 millirem/year, which is significantly lower than the DOE public dose limit of 100 millirem/year.

Jay Coghlan, director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, disagreed with Mason’s assertion that Acid Canyon is safe. Coghlan expressed concerns about the potential risk of plant uptake and wildfires in the area, citing a previous wildfire in 2000 that came close to Acid Canyon.

Coghlan also highlighted the issue of waste management and expanded plutonium pit production, which could result in a significant amount of radioactive waste over the next 30 years. The availability of space for storing these waste products is still uncertain.

Nuclear Watch New Mexico has taken legal action against the NNSA to obtain an environmental impact statement for expanded plutonium core production, with a decision expected by the end of the year.

In a recent meeting, NNSA Los Alamos Field Officer Manager Ted Wyka discussed the growth and expansion of LANL, including plans to hire 1,400 more employees by 2025. To address challenges associated with the growing workforce, LANL is implementing remote work options and adjusting work schedules.

Wyka also mentioned the need for additional power infrastructure to accommodate the increasing electricity consumption at LANL. Plans are in place to install extra power lines and internal distribution systems to meet the demand by 2027.

LANL is exploring ways to reduce traffic congestion in Los Alamos, such as carpooling, public transportation, and promoting shorter commutes. Safety culture is emphasized, with a focus on reducing aggressive driving and improving road safety.

The challenge of balancing housing supply and demand in Los Alamos County was also highlighted, with limited active listings and high demand. The relationship between LANL’s growth and the local housing market was acknowledged, with a constant demand expected to continue in the near future. Please rewrite this sentence. Please rewrite the following sentence:
Original: “The cat ran quickly across the street.”

Rewritten: “The quick cat dashed across the street.” Please rewrite this sentence. Could you please rewrite this?

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