Beryllium (Be), a light metal with many desirable material properties, has been used at approximately 20 technical areas at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) since the late 1940s. The purpose of this study was to determine the concentrations, distributions, and trends of Be in surface soils collected at sites within and around the perimeter of the Laboratory. To this end, samples of soil were collected from 17 on-site areas and from 11 perimeter areas from 1992 to 2006. In addition, soil

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... ples were collected around Area G, the Laboratory's principal low-level radioactive waste site, and at the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) facility, the Laboratory's principal explosive test site. All samples were compared to regional background. Concentrations of Be measured in soils collected from on-site (n = 153) and perimeter (n = 111) areas over the years ranged from 0.27 to 1.8 µg/g (mean = 0.72 µg/g) and from 0.20 to 1.3 µg/g (mean = 0.65 µg/g), respectively. Most (97%) of the values in soils collected from LANL areas were below the upper-limit regional background concentration (mean plus three standard deviations = 99% confidence level) of 1.2 µg/g and the few values that were above the Regional Statistical Reference Level were far below the New Mexico Environment Department (industrial/occupational) screening level of 2,250 µg/g. The mean Be concentrations in soils collected around Area G and the DARHT facility were 0.57 µg/g and 0.78 µg/g, respectively. There were no significant (α = 0.05) increasing trends in Be concentrations in any of the on-site or perimeter sites over time. ____________________________ I.