While the primary mission for CEMRC is environmental monitoring in the vicinity of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site, a concerted effort is underway to develop a research effort which supports the WIPP and utilizes the unique capabilities of Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring & Research Center (CEMRC). The current research effort at CEMRC is a multi-year program funded by the Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office (DOE/CBFO).
This effort entitled, Low Background Radiation Experiment (LBRE), is supervised by Dr. Geoffrey Smith, a professor of biology at New Mexico State University. Also, programs have been initiated by the lead scientists in radiochemistry (Dr. Punam Thakur), organic chemistry/environmental chemistry (Dr. Praveen Srirama), and internal dosimetry (Dr. Ila Pillalamarri).
Currently CEMRC’s scientific activities are organized into six major areas of specialization which are handled by different departments. Although some of the Center’s projects involve only one or two of the program areas, all of the program areas collaborate in carrying out the WIPP Environmental Monitoring project, and this type of integrative research is anticipated to characterize many of the Center’s future projects.
