• 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

Crews start demolishing ETTP Centrifuge Complex

Posted at 10:04 am November 4, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ETTP Centrifuge Complex Aerial View
Demolition work has started on the Centrifuge Complex at the front side of the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. The work is part of the project to finish cleanup at ETTP by the end of 2020. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

The largest and most visible buildings remaining at the East Tennessee Technology Park are being removed.

Demolition is under way on the Centrifuge Complex, according to the “EM Update” newsletter published last week by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

The demolition work is part of the project to finish cleanup at ETTP, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge, by the end of 2020. One of the three main sites in Oak Ridge, K-25 was built as part of the Manhattan Project, the top-secret federal program to build atomic weapons during World War II. The site continued to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants through the Cold War. Its operations ended in the mid-1980s, and the site is now being converted into a private industrial park.

The Centrifuge Complex has more than 235,000 square feet, and sections of it reach heights of 180 feet. It was built in stages to develop and test centrifuge uranium enrichment technology, the “EM Update” said. The last of these facilities ceased operation in the mid-1980s.

Workers are currently demolishing a part of the complex that includes the K-1004-J Lab, a Manhattan Project facility built for research and development in 1944. The rest of the complex was constructed around this original site building in the 1970s.

While demolition has started in one section of the sprawling complex, teams are in other buildings conducting deactivation activities to prepare them for removal in the coming months, the “EM Update” said.

“In the deactivation phase, crews remove hazards and ensure safe and efficient demolition of structures,” the newsletter said. “They disconnect all power and utilities, perform characterization and sampling, remove asbestos and other waste, and inspect, drain, and remove a significant amount of piping and equipment.”

“The Centrifuge Complex project will mark one of the most significant landscape changes we’ve achieved at ETTP,” said Jay Mullis, manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. “It highlights our progress, and its removal will transform the appearance at the front of the site and pave the way for ETTP’s next chapter.”

Deactivation of the entire complex is scheduled to be complete early next year, and demolition and waste removal is slated for completion next summer, the “EM Update” said.

ETTP K-1004-J-Lab Centrifuge Complex Demolition Oct 2019
Oak Ridge crews remove debris from the K-1004-J Lab demolition at the Centrifuge Complex at East Tennessee Technology Park. The work began in October 2019. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

OREM and its cleanup contractor UCOR are cleaning ETTP while working to transfer cleaned areas and facilities to the private sector under the site’s reindustrialization program, the newsletter said. Together, they are working to convert the former government complex into a multi-use industrial park.

So far, Oak Ridge’s EM program has taken down facilities that had more than 12 million square feet, transferred more than 1,200 acres of land for economic development, and placed more than 3,000 acres in a conservation easement for recreational use by the community.

—“EM Update” contributor: Wayne McKinney

Demolition is now under way on the Centrifuge Complex, which contains the largest and most visible remaining structures at East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

More information will be added as it becomes available.

You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or [email protected].

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2019 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, K-25, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: centrifuge, Centrifuge Complex, demolition, East Tennessee Technology Park, EM Upate, ETTP, Jay Mullis, K-1004-J Lab, K-25 site, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Office of Environmental Management, OREM, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, uranium enrichment

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

  • Democratic Women’s Club Hosts State Rep. Sam McKenzie
  • 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

Search Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2025 Oak Ridge Today