Experiments resumed at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California in late April, following a COVID-19 shutdown, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration said late Friday.
The high-powered laser facility’s MShock series of tests resumed with a shot on April 26, followed by more shots that week, the semiautonomous nuclear-weapon agency said in a press release.
The National Ignition Facility tests materials at conditions similar to those observed in the early stages of a nuclear chain reaction. This helps the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) understand what is happening to U.S. nuclear weapons that are aging, but which cannot be tested at yield, or anything close to it.
Like all NNSA sites, Livermore has confirmed cases of COVID-19. The lab has held steady at four confirmed cases for about the past three weeks, a spokesperson said May 7. Livermore requires employees who are still reporting to work to wear facemasks. The National Ignition Facility is running as many as four staggered shifts to limit how many personnel come near each other.
As with other NNSA non-production sites, most of Livermore’s workforce is still teleworking. The lab employs roughly 7,400 people, about 800 of whom returned to the site over the course of April, according to the lab spokesperson.