April meeting in DC will focus on high-risk DOE buildings that aren’t needed

A meeting in Washington, D.C., in April will focus on high-risk excess facilities at U.S. Department of Energy cleanup sites, possibly including Oak Ridge.

The discussion could include Alpha-5, a 530,000-square-foot, World War II-era building at the Y-12 National Security Complex. It could include other buildings in Oak Ridge as well.

The House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus, a bipartisan caucus co-chaired by U.S. representatives Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, and Ben Lujan, a New Mexico Democrat, will participate in the event. U.S. Assistant Energy Secretary Monica Regalbuto will outline DOE’s plans for deteriorating buildings that are a risk to public health and safety, a press release said.

“The Nuclear Cleanup Caucus serves a very important purpose,” Fleischmann said. “The Manhattan Project site, located in my district, is a prime example of how 50 years of government nuclear weapons development can affect communities throughout our nation. We must not neglect these sites, but instead restore them so they can be productive once again.”

The Cleanup Caucus supports the largest environment cleanup program in the world, while also raising awareness on the issue both in Congress and across the country, the press release said. The event will be hosted by the East Tennessee Environmental Business Association, or ETEBA, the Energy Facility Contractors Group, or EFCOG, and the Nuclear Energy Institute, or NEI, on Wednesday, April 20, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.  The meeting room will be announced at a later date.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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