BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and N3B employees were notified late today that an N3B subcontractor has tested positive for COVID-19.  Sources told the Los Alamos Reporter the person is not a resident of Los Alamos County. N3B is the legacy waste cleanup contractor for LANL.

The email from LANL director Thom Mason stated that while the person is not an employee of the Laboratory “we wanted to make sure you are aware of this development”.

“The individual is in self-isolation and will remain at home until they fully recover and are released back to work through their appropriate medical provider,” the email said. “The safety of our employees is our top priority, Currently there is no indication of LANL/Triad employees or facilities having contact with this employee. The New Mexico Department of Heath is reaching out to people who had direct contact with this individual and will provide appropriate instructions.”

N3B also announced to its employees that a member of their team had tested positive.

“We are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Mexico Department of Health to ensure coworkers who had contact with the individual take appropriate action and seek medical attention if symptoms arise,” the N3B email stated. “The health and safety of our employee team is paramount. As such, much of our administrative workforce began working remotely over the last two weeks to help limit any potential for exposure.”

N3B also reduced field work last Friday to “essential mission critical activities, which reduced the number of personnel working in the field to only those necessary to keep systems and facilities in a safe configuration”.