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 Bevatron, which was built in 1954 to accelerate protons, now stands unused since 1993.

This is the structure that UC Berkeley now intends to demolish in order to make way for a new experimental facility. Residents of Berkeley have been pushing to make the Bevatron a landmark, but that status in itself will not hold the Lab back from demolition. The demolition will last three to eight years, take 4,700 truckloads to transport the waste, and cost $72 million.

Activists suspect that UC's disposal methods are not taking the human population and environment thoroughly into account, and point to the history of the Bevatron as a facility intended to further nuclear weapons technology. A UCB physicist says he believes that "physics for peace," in the form of a $2 billion X-ray laser, will be promoted in the new building to occupy the Bevatron site.

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Berkeley Landmarks Commission | Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission | Berkeley Committee To Minimize Toxic Waste | SF Chronicle article | Berkeley Daily Planet article | Environmental Impact Report on Lawrence Berkeley National Lab website