Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory maintains open-air, high-explosive test facilities at Site 300. In response to the Secretary of Energy’s mandate that environmental, health, and safety concerns be the first priority at all Department of Energy facilities, DMJM designed a containment facility to reduce emissions of hazardous materials from experimental blasts, and to reduce the total amount of waste generated by the experiments. The 26,000–square foot facility consists of three related structures for increasingly safe and environmentally compliant firing of explosive charges. The firing chamber is designed to contain the 20 effects of cased high-explosive materials used in various laboratory experiments. All major structural elements remain elastic to permit a large number of repetitive firings. The support facility provides a staging area for experiment preparation, equipment and materials storage, and personnel areas for lockers, toilets, and decontamination showers. The diagnostic equipment facility is an open-space building housing a variety of diagnostic equipment. |
