Oak Ridge Today

Demolition starts on last of big five uranium-enriching buildings at K-25

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A high-reach machine is used to start demolishing the four-story, 10-acre K-27 Building on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. K-27 is the last of the big five uranium-enriching buildings at the former K-25 site, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Demolition started Monday on K-27, the last of the big five uranium-enriching buildings at the former K-25 site, and officials expect the work to be complete by the end of the year.

The five buildings—K-25, K-27, K-29, K-31, and K-33—once used a process called gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Officials credit them for helping to win World War II and end the Cold War, and for playing significant roles in technological developments and the nuclear industry.

The K-25 site, which is now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center, was built during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first nuclear weapons. The site is now slowly being converted into a large industrial park.

“The majority of the property will be reused,” said Ken Rueter, president and project manager for UCOR, or URS |CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Williams named UCOR chief operating officer

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Fran-Williams

Fran Williams

Fran Williams has been selected as the chief operating officer for UCOR, the federal government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge.

Williams will fill the position vacated last month by Matt Marston, who left to accept a senior management position within AECOM, one of the parent companies of UCOR, or URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC.

Williams is returning to UCOR, where she previously served as manager of Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality Assurance, a press release said. She retired in 2015 after overseeing UCOR’s successful designation as a Star site in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Voluntary Protection Program. Star status recognizes the safest operating sites in the nation.

She also helped set the company on a course to achieve more than five million work hours without a lost-time accident, the press release said. [Read more…]

Radionuclide levels dropping at Rarity Ridge Treatment Plant, but sludge shipments continue for now

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Ken Glass, Oak Ridge Public Works environmental compliance officer, said levels of technetium 99 in the wastewater system in west Oak Ridge are dropping, but it’s not clear how long UCOR might have to ship sludge from the Rarity Ridge Wastewater Treatment Plant to an out-of-state landfill. Above, Glass stands near a chlorine contact tank at the treatment plant on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:55 a.m.

The radioactive nuclide that was first detected in the city’s wastewater lines more than two years ago near the demolition project at the former K-25 Building doesn’t affect drinking water, and it’s not believed to pose any threat to residents or municipal employees, officials said this month.

The levels of the radionuclide, technetium 99, are dropping at several measuring spots in the sewer system in west Oak Ridge, but it’s not clear how long UCOR, the federal government’s cleanup contractor, might have to ship sludge from the Rarity Ridge Wastewater Treatment Plant to an out-of-state landfill.

Officials said UCOR has already hauled away about 80,000 gallons of sludge using a 5,000-gallon tanker truck about once every one or two months since 2014. The sludge, which is about 3 percent to 4 percent solid, comes from a part of the plant known as a digester, and the shipments vary depending upon how much is processed at the plant each month.

Officials don’t know yet when the shipments might end. The sludge is now being taken to the Perma-Fix Northwest treatment facility in Richland, Washington. The last shipment was this month. [Read more…]

Demolition could start this year on K-27, last of five gaseous diffusion buildings

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The interior of the K-27 Building, which once enriched uranium through a process called gaseous diffusion, is pictured above on March 30, 2015. (DOE photo by Lynn Freeny)

 

Information from Oak Ridge Today and the January 2016 issue of “Advocate,” a publication of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board

Demolition work could start early this year on the K-27 Building, the last of five gaseous diffusion buildings at the former K-25 site, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center. The giant buildings were once used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants, starting during World War II and continuing through the Cold War.

Deactivation work continues at the K-27 Building, preparing it for demolition. At the beginning of December, deactivation of the building was more than 96 percent complete. Workers continue to remove transite paneling on the building, but that job is 80 percent complete.

Sue Cange, manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, has previously said that demolition work could start on the building in early 2016 and be complete by the end of the year.

Demolition work on the former K-31 Building, the fourth of the five buildings to be demolished, was completed in June. [Read more…]

DOE awards contract to demolish electrical switchyard at ETTP

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K-27-ETTP-Switchyard-Oct-20-2015

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $2.1 million fixed-price contract to a small business based in Michigan, CTI and Associates, to perform asset recovery and demolition work at the old electrical switchyard at ETTP. (DOE photo by Lynn Freeny)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $2.1 million fixed-price contract to a small business based in Michigan, CTI and Associates, to perform asset recovery and demolition work at the old electrical switchyard at East Tennessee Technology Park.

The scope of the work includes removal and recycling of electrical equipment. The switchyard is adjacent to the K-27 Building in west Oak Ridge.

Copper, aluminum, and steel from the yard can be recovered for recycling. CTI has engaged an Alabama subcontractor, TCI, that specializes in electrical recycling. [Read more…]

DOE launches K-25 Virtual Museum, helps preserve history of Manhattan Project site

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Photo from K-25 Virtual Museum/U.S. Department of Energy

 

Information from the January 2016 issue of “Advocate,” a publication of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board

A new virtual museum helps preserve the history of the former K-25 site, which was built in west Oak Ridge to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II and once had the world’s largest building under one roof.

The K-25 Virtual Museum was launched in November by the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) as part of a memorandum of agreement for the interpretation of the historic site now known as East Tennessee Technology Park, or ETTP.

The debut of the online museum coincided with the November 10 signing of an agreement between the Department of Energy and the Department of Interior establishing the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal effort to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

The K-25 Virtual Museum can be viewed at http://www.k-25virtualmuseum.org/.

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Record funding in federal budget could help Oak Ridge, senator says

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U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, at a brief press conference with Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, center, and Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The federal budget expected to be complete by mid-December should have record funding, and the money could help Oak Ridge in areas ranging from mercury and Cold War cleanup to scientific research and the proposed Uranium Processing Facility, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander said Friday.

The Oak Ridge area now receives about $3 billion per year in federal funding, and the level will be increased although he doesn’t have a number yet, said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

Alexander held a brief press conference at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building on Friday.

He said the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which provided $1.4 billion to Oak Ridge National Laboratory this year, will have a record level of funding. [Read more…]

Controlled burns scheduled on Oak Ridge Reservation

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office is starting a controlled burn of a small forestland area on the Oak Ridge Reservation for prescribed burning at the East Tennessee Technology Park and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Beginning Monday, November 16, weather permitting, a controlled burn was expected to take place on approximately four acres south of West Bear Creek Road near the DOE Central Training Facility southeast of ETTP.

The planned burn is being conducted as an effort to reduce the risk of wildfires and will be overseen by the State of Tennessee Division of Forestry, which maintains fire control equipment, certified burn managers, and trained personnel at the burn area with the support of the Oak Ridge Fire Department and the ORNL forester, a press release said.

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Photos: Oak Ridge celebrates new national park

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Ed Westcott and National Park Staff at Celebration on Nov. 12, 2015

Ed Westcott, left, the official government photographer in Oak Ridge during World War II, is pictured above with National Park Service staff members during a celebration of the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This post was last updated at 8:05 a.m. Nov. 13.

Oak Ridge residents and officials celebrated the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park on Thursday, two days after the park was formally established in a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. Here are photos of Thursday’s celebration at Oak Ridge High School and Jackson Square by John Huotari of Oak Ridge Today.

We will add captions to the photos as we can.

The new park includes Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret program to build the world’s first atomic weapons in World War II, before Germany could. The new park is the first of its type to commemorate the Manhattan Project, which is considered one of the top scientific achievements of the 20th century.

The new park includes four buildings in Oak Ridge: the Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the footprint of the former K-25 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park, and Building 9731 and Building 9204-3, or Beta-3, at Y-12 National Security Complex. The Alexander Inn, which is not a U.S. Department of Energy building, is also eligible for inclusion.

See a story on the establishment of the park on Tuesday here, and see a story on Thursday’s celebration here.

Colin Colverson, Tracy Atkins, and Warren Gooch at Manhattan Project Park Celebration on Nov. 12, 2015

From left above at a celebration for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, are Colin Colverson, Oak Ridge Reservation lead for the park in the DOE Oak Ridge Office; Tracy Atkins, project manager for the agreement between DOE and the National Park Service; and Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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Oak Ridge celebrates new national park

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National Park Celebration at Jackson Square on Nov. 12, 2015

The iconic “War Ends” photo is recreated in part on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, with a “Park Opens” photo that celebrates the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8:20 a.m. Nov. 13.

Federal officials established the new national park that includes Oak Ridge on Tuesday. Oak Ridge residents celebrated on Thursday.

The new park, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, commemorates the Manhattan Project. That was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II, before Germany could.

Oak Ridge was the main production site for the Manhattan Project, and uranium enriched at the Y-12 National Security Complex fueled the first atomic bomb used in wartime. It was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, shortly before the war ended. [Read more…]

DOE, Interior to sign agreement for Manhattan Project Park on Nov. 10

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building, pictured above, was once used to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Located in west Oak Ridge, the site could become part of a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. There is a separate effort to preserve the site’s history; that work could be incorporated into the new park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

 

The U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Department of Energy will sign an agreement on Tuesday, November 10, that establishes the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.

The memorandum of agreement, or MOA, will be signed by federal officials that Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C.

Besides Oak Ridge, the park will include Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington. [Read more…]

Alexander Guest House renovation restores grandeur at historic hotel

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Alexander Guest House Ballroom and Cafeteria Sept. 23, 2015

The ballroom and cafeteria area is pictured above at the Alexander Guest House, which converted the beloved but long-vacant Alexander Inn hotel into an assisted living center. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

It’s been a dream for years, and now the preservation and transformation of the former Alexander Inn is nearly complete.

The two-year, $8 million construction and renovation project is almost finished, and Alexander Guest House could open as an assisted living facility in about two weeks, said Rick Dover of Dover Development of East Tennessee.

Sixty percent of the 64 apartments are already reserved, Executive Director Jody Daugherty said during a media tour Wednesday. Among those who will live there are Jean Stone of Oak Ridge and Dean Ford of Oliver Springs. They participated in the media tour on Wednesday.

“I think they’ve done a remarkable job of restoring it to its grandeur,” said Stone, a longtime Oak Ridge resident who has “many fine memories” of parties, weddings, wedding receptions, and club meetings, among other events, at the historic two-story hotel. “Once I saw what they’re doing here, I wanted to come here. I think it will be a lovely place to live. It’s absolutely tremendous.”

The historic two-story hotel was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II, and top scientists and dignitaries once stayed there. [Read more…]