Oil Leak Damages Los Alamos Lasers
Lasers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory were damaged when 5,700 gallons of mineral oil leaked into the room where the lasers were housed, lab officials said Friday.
The damage was estimated at $1.7 million. Officials were still trying to determine whether the lasers can be repaired.
The ultrapure mineral oil leaked through faulty seals on a 12,000-gallon tank, lab spokesman Todd Hanson said. The oil is used to test equipment for the lab’s Atlas pulse power facility that performs high-energy density experiments in support of weapon physics and basic research.
The mineral oil also drenched microscopes in the basement lab.
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