BELLA

The BELLA project will create an experimental facility for further advancing the development of laser-driven plasma acceleration.  It will produce laser light pulses to excite plasma with sufficient amplitude to accelerate electrons by 10 GeV or more in the distance of approximately one meter.  The BELLA project includes 1) modifications to existing Building 71 to house the laser system; 2) procurement and installation of the laser system; 3) ancillary systems to support the laser; and 4) operation of the laser for research and development. This technology holds great promise for dramatic reduction of the size, cost, energy usage, and environmental impact of future accelerators, particularly high-energy electron-positron colliders.  It could pave the way for future accelerators to be hundreds of times shorter and more compact than currently required while still producing electron beams with the same energy levels.

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Building 51 and the Bevatron Demolition

Building 51, which housed the Bevatron, was an approximately 125,000 gross-square-foot, steel-frame structure built in the early 1950s. Located in the west-central part of Berkeley Lab, the building occupied approximately 2.25 acres. During its operation from 1954 until 1993, the Bevatron was among the world’s leading particle accelerators, and during the 1950s and 1960s four Nobel Prizes were awarded for work conducted in whole or in part there.

The objective of the project was to remove a substandard building and its contents. Neither the Bevatron nor Building 51 were needed by the Lab. Building 51 was seismically inadequate, old, and deteriorating. Demolition freed up the site for future development, although no specific long term plans or projects have been identified. Immediate plans are to construct a parking lot and provide a temporary storage location.

Demolition spanned from August 2008 to January 2012. Go here for more information. Go here for a FAQ sheet.

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Old Town Demolition

The demolition of Old Town Area Buildings 25A, 40, 41, 44, 44A, 44B, 52 and 52A has been completed to make way for the construction of the Solar Energy Research Center (SERC) and a General Purpose Laboratory (GPL). A phased plan has been developed to abate and demolish the remaining buildings within the Old Town Area, namely Buildings 4, 5, 7, 14 and 16. Subsurface remediation is subsequently planned to take place to address existing subsurface contamination. Project schedule is dependent upon receipt of funding.

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Seismic Upgrades: Phase 2

The Seismic Phase 2 project includes: modernization of Building 74 for the Earth Sciences Division; construction of a new 43,000 gsf General Purpose Laboratory, which will be LEED Gold certified; seismic upgrades and slope stabilization of Building 85, the site-wide Hazardous Waste Handling Facility; and demolition of seismically “very poor” and “poor” (University of California Seismic Rating) space to offset the new construction square footage. Go here for more information.

The Final NEPA Environmental Assessment for the Seismic Phase 2B Project can be found here.

The Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), in compliance with CEQA, for the Seismic Phase 2B Project can be found here.

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Seismic Upgrades: Phase 3

Additional seismic upgrades are proposed for Berkeley Lab as part of the Seismic Phase 3 project. If funded, this project may extend through 2015.

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