Nuclear Bevatron to be Demolished

The word “Bevatron” sparks images of science fiction creation, but in actuality, it refers to a very real structure just above the UC Berkeley campus. The “bev” in its name stands for “billion electron volts,” of which it was capable of producing 6.25 through the acceleration of protons, the particle responsible for the latter portion of the structure’s name. The Bevatron, which was built in 1954, now stands unused since 1993 and the radioactivity it is imbued with decomposes and morphs into who-knows-what substances. A 1954 TIME article oozes about the immensity of the project, and states, “When the Bevatron is finally operating at its design energy, 6.25 bev, 20 swarms of 100 million protons each will burst from its chamber every minute. No one knows exactly how dangerous they will be.”

This is the structure that UC Berkeley now intends to demolish in order to make way for new experimental apparatus. Residents of Berkeley have been pushing to make the Bevatron a landmark, but that status in itself will not hold the Lab back from its demolition. In an April 5th 2005 Berkeley Daily Planet article, resident L.A. Wood suggested, “Maybe the Bevatron should be preserved and made a shrine to the 1950s when the lab put these things in place in our community, with no community involvement, because they could.” Could the demolition mean a continuation of the lack of value placed on community input?

The demolition will last 3½ to 8 years and take 4,700 truckloads to transport the waste. The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) states that only concrete deemed non-radioactive will be rubbled. However, the radioactive material must be broken down in some manner. Activists worry that this will mean radioactive and hazardous dust released into the air—all this in close proximity to the children’s science museum, Lawrence Hall of Science. Non-radioactive waste will be dumped in Livermore or Richmond. Radioactive waste will be dumped at a facility outside of Las Vegas. The dumpsites also scream for environmental justice.

Machines built prior to the Bevatron contributed to the development of hydrogen and uranium bombs. After World War II, large amounts of funding were available to further these nuclear weapons. Hence the Bevatron was born. Much of what occurred in the Bevatron remains unknown, but with the irresponsibility abounding with the use and abuse of nuclear technology and waste, how can we trust what occurred there? And, more pertinently, how can we trust that the UC’s disposal methods are taking the human population and environment thoroughly in account?

A UC Berkeley physicist, who shall remain anonymous, did not believe anything contributing to nuclear weapons was studied at the Bevatron. He cited Eisenhower’s “atoms for peace” program, aimed at utilizing nuclear technology for energy and other peaceful means. However, the work of Ernest Lawrence, the founder of the Lab, contributed to the Manhattan Project and the first Atom Bomb. When knowledge is found and disseminated, how can we be sure it is only used for good?

The UCB physicist believes that ‘physics for peace’ will be promoted in the new building to occupy the Bevatron site—a $2 billion x-ray laser (the $72 million clean-up of the Bevatron pales in comparison). The laser will allow scientists to study more effectively the structure of proteins, which could lead to greater understanding of human bodies and its viruses, such as AIDS.

For now, demolition of the Bevatron has yet to begin, the possible pollution to the surrounding community has yet to be fully determined, and the prospects for groundbreaking science with a super-x-ray laser have yet to be realized.