• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

DOE: Oak Ridge’s Building K-27 being torn down quickly

Posted at 1:46 am June 7, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

K-27 Demolition

Crews are moving at an impressive pace on Building K-27, completing more than 65 percent of the demolition since February. (Photo by DOE)

 

In February 2016, demolition crews started tearing down the K-27 gaseous diffusion building.

Now, only months later, the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractor UCOR have already completed demolition on more than 65 percent of the four-story, 383,000-square-foot facility, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

K-27 is the last of five large gaseous diffusion facilities to be torn down at the East Tennessee Technology Park, or ETTP, which was formerly known as the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant and often referred to as the former K-25 site.

“Due to the heavy contamination and state of the 1940s facility, K-27 was one of the environmental management’s highest cleanup priorities,” the DOE Office of Environmental Management, or EM, said in a May 31 newsletter. “The progress taking down the facility moves EM closer to fulfilling its Vision 2016—the removal of all five gaseous diffusion buildings from the site by year’s end. It is not only a significant goal for EM and Oak Ridge, but it will also mark the first time in the world that a uranium enrichment complex has been cleaned and removed.”

A significant amount of work occurred inside K-27 during the past two years before demolition crews could begin.

“The men and women working on this project are doing a phenomenal job,” ETTP Portfolio Federal Project Director Wendy Cain said. “I think we can attribute our success and impressive pace of work to our talented team and our organization’s ability to continually learn and apply lessons from previous projects to help us perform as efficiently as possible.”

Deactivation, which concluded in January, included removing hazardous and radioactive materials to ensure protection of workers, the public, and the environment; isolating utility systems; and ensuring structural stability. In addition, all materials that could cause a nuclear criticality were removed.

To date, demolition crews have produced more than 4,000 truckloads of debris from the K-27 work site that have been shipped to the onsite disposal facility, known as the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility (it’s on Bear Creek Road west of the Y-12 National Security Complex). Most importantly, all of this work is being achieved safely, the DOE Office of Environmental Management said.

The K-27 teardown follows successful demolition of four other uranium enrichment process buildings, including K-29, K-33, K-31, and the mile-long K-25 building. All of these facilities once produced highly enriched uranium for national defense and commercial energy production.

“All of these cleanup projects are paving the way to OREM’s ultimate goal for the site as a privately-owned and operated industrial park,” the newsletter said. “Each project and accomplishment adds to the inventory of clean land that can be made available for reuse and economic development purposes.

UCOR is also known as URS | CH2M Oak Ridge.

The K-25 site was built during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret program to build the world’s first atomic weapons. The site enriched uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants through the Cold War. Operations ended in 1985, and the site was permanently shut down in 1987. Now, it is being slowly converted into a large industrial park.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

K-27 Demolition II

Oak Ridge is moving quickly toward fulfilling its Vision 2016 by the year’s end. (Photo by DOE)

 

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: atomic weapons, Building K-27, demolition, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, ETTP, gaseous diffusion, K-25, K-25 site, K-27 Building, K-29, K-31, K-33, Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, OREM, UCOR, URS | CH2M Oak Ridge, Vision 2016, Wendy Cain, World War II

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More U.S. Department of Energy News

Kairos Power begins construction on demonstration reactor​

Kairos Power has started construction on a test nuclear reactor in west Oak Ridge. The Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor is the first of its type to be approved for construction by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory … [Read More...]

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for Off-Site Depleted Uranium Manufacturing, which analyzes the … [Read More...]

Manhattan Project Park: Walk through Wheat

You can walk through Wheat with a National Park Service ranger on Saturday, July 13, and learn more about the history of this community before the Manhattan Project. Wheat was in an area that is now west Oak Ridge, … [Read More...]

Crews preparing for first demolition of uranium enrichment building at Y-12

From U.S. Department of Energy "EM Update" email newsletter U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management crews at Oak Ridge are moving closer toward completing the first-ever demolition of a former … [Read More...]

K-25 cleanup shifting to groundwater

Crews are expected to finish remediating soil, reversing or stopping environmental damage at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge this year, and federal cleanup managers are shifting their focus to groundwater. It's … [Read More...]

More DOE

Recent Posts

  • Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival Announces 2025 Storytellers
  • Laser-Engraved Bricks Will Line Walkway of New Chamber Headquarters
  • Democratic Women’s Club to Discuss Climate Change, Energy and Policy
  • Estate Jewelry Show at Karen’s Jewelers Features Celebrity Jewelry
  • Keri Cagle named new ORAU senior vice president and ORISE director
  • ORAU Annual Giving Campaign exceeds $100,000 goal+ORAU Annual Giving Campaign exceeds $100,000 goal More than $1 million raised in past 10 years benefits United Way and Community Shares Oak Ridge, Tenn. —ORAU exceeded its goal of raising $100,000 in donations as part of its internal annual giving campaign that benefits the United Way and Community Shares nonprofit organizations. ORAU has raised more than $1 million over the past 10 years through this campaign. A total of $126,839 was pledged during the 2024 ORAU Annual Giving Campaign. Employees donate via payroll deduction and could earmark their donation for United Way, Community Shares or both. “ORAU has remained a strong pillar in the community for more than 75 years, and we encourage our employees to consider participating in our annual giving campaign each year to help our less fortunate neighbors in need,” said ORAU President and CEO Andy Page. “Each one of our employees has the power to positively impact the lives of those who need help in the communities where we do business across the country and demonstrate the ORAU way – taking care of each other.” ORAU, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, provides science, health and workforce solutions that address national priorities and serve the public interest. Through our specialized teams of experts and access to a consortium of more than 150 major Ph.D.-granting institutions, ORAU works with federal, state, local and commercial customers to provide innovative scientific and technical solutions and help advance their missions. ORAU manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Learn more about ORAU at www.orau.org. Learn more about ORAU at www.orau.org. Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OakRidgeAssociatedUniversities Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/orau Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/orau ###
  • Children’s Museum Gala Celebrates the Rainforest
  • Jim Sears joins ORAU as senior vice president
  • Oak Ridge Housing Authority Receives Funding Assistance of up to $51.8 Million For Renovating Public Housing and Building New Workforce Housing
  • Two fires reported early Friday

Search Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2025 Oak Ridge Today