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Eight firms show interest in designing ETTP museum

Posted at 1:03 pm March 5, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

ETTP After Cleanup

An artist’s rendering of what the East Tennessee Technology Park could look like after cleanup and historic preservation activities are completed. (Image courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy/UCOR)

The pre-qualification window for companies to bid on the professional site design for a museum at the East Tennessee Technology Park closed in February. Eight firms that specialize in museum planning and exhibit design responded to the pre-qualification request.

Planning for the museum is one of several activities under way to commemorate ETTP’s history, including a history center located on the second floor of the Oak Ridge Fire Station and an observation tower overlooking the K-25 Building footprint.

The museum will house artifact and historic materials removed from the K-25 Building, which was built during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons. The building and ETTP, often referred to as the K-25 site, were also used to enrich uranium after the war.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories Tagged With: DOE Oak Ridge Office, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, history center, K-25, K-25 Building, K-25 virtual museum, K-27, Manhattan Project, museum, Oak Ridge Fire Station, Oak Ridge Office, observation tower, pre-qualification request, Public Involvement News, U.S. Department of Energy, World War II

UCOR: Highest-risk components safely removed from K-27

Posted at 8:30 am March 4, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

NaF Trap Removed at K-27

Ernie Gunter, left, and Michael Shirks watch as a NaF trip is lifted through the roof of K-27. (Submitted photos)

UCOR has removed the highest-risk components remaining in the K-27 building at East Tennessee Technology Park, a press release said.

Six components known as NaF, or sodium fluoride, traps have been removed by crane, the press release said.

The K-27 building is a “sister” to the mile-long K-25 gaseous diffusion process building, which is now nearly demolished, the release said. Both are Manhattan Project buildings built to produce materials for nuclear weapons. As work is completed at K-25, crews are shifting to K-27.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Top Stories Tagged With: Dell Simpson, East Tennessee Technology Park, gaseous diffusion, K-27, K-27 Building, Manhattan Project, NaF traps, purge cascade, sodium fluoride, Steve Dahlgren, UCOR, uranium

Ferri retires, UCOR organization changing

Posted at 11:29 am February 5, 2013
By UCOR 4 Comments

Mark Ferri

Mark Ferri

Jeff Bradford

Jeff Bradford

Mark Ferri, who has led the safe, successful deactivation and demolition work at K-25 since UCOR arrived in Oak Ridge in August 2011, has announced that he will retire from the company at the end of February and will accept a CH2M Hill corporate opportunity in the United Kingdom.

Ferri was part of UCOR’s original, handpicked leadership team. His selection proved a wise one, as progress under his leadership has been stellar. Workers have demolished more than two million square feet of the old gaseous diffusion facility, and more than 15,000 loads of waste have been shipped under the “pack as you go” philosophy that he and his counterpart, Waste Management Manager Jeff Bradford, installed as part of the UCOR way of doing business.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge, Roane County, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: CH2M Hill, D&D, deactivation and demolition, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Jeff Bradford, K-25, K-27, Leo Sain, Mark Ferri, Steve Dahlgren, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, URS-CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, Waste Management

Senate officials expect Manhattan Project park bill to be reintroduced

Posted at 2:15 pm January 30, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Building 9204-3 at Y-12

Building 9204-3 at the Y-12 National Security Complex could be included in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park under legislation that could be reintroduced in Congress early this year. (Photo courtesy of Y-12 National Security Complex.)

A U.S. Senate committee assistant said officials expect a bill to be reintroduced early this year to create a Manhattan Project national park that could include sites in Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash.

An earlier bill to create the park died in the last session of Congress, and one of its key sponsors, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat, has retired.

Bingaman was chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has replaced him as chair.

“As you know, Sen. Bingaman sponsored the bill to create a Manhattan Project National Historical Park with components in New Mexico, Washington, and Tennessee, because one of the areas to be included (Los Alamos, N.M.) was in his home state,” said Sam Offerdahl, press assistant for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “We expect the bill to be reintroduced early this year, likely with a member from one of the states that is home to the proposed parks as lead sponsor (following Senate custom).”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Federal, Government, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Alexander Inn, Atomic Heritage Foundation, Building 9204-3, Buildings 9731, Cindy Kelly, Congress, East Tennessee Technology Park, Guest House, Hanford, Jeff Bingaman, K-25 Building, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge, Ron Wyden, Sam Offerdahl, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Senate, World War II, Y-12 National Security Complex

UCOR ships 15,000 loads of waste from K-25

Posted at 8:00 am December 24, 2012
By UCOR Leave a Comment

K-25 Building Demolition Debris

Some of the debris from the demolition of K-25’s east wing. (Submitted photo)

UCOR has shipped 15,000 loads of demolition debris from the K-25 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the company announced last week.

The 15,000 loads represent approximately two million square feet of the deteriorated former gaseous diffusion building, built during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. That square footage is the equivalent of 40 NFL football fields combined.

The material has been sent to the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility in Oak Ridge for permanent disposition.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: demolition, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, gaseous diffusion, Heritage Center, K-25, K-25 Building, Manhattan Project, Mark Ferri, UCOR, uranium enrichment, URS-CH2M Oak Ridge LLC

One-of-a-kind waste incinerator in ‘safe shutdown’ at ETTP

Posted at 10:21 am December 20, 2012
By UCOR Leave a Comment

Filling the Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator

Workers fill the sumps at the Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator with grout, as part of the work to close it. (Submitted photo)

A one-of-a-kind waste incinerator, which began operations at the East Tennessee Technology Park more than 20 years ago, has been safely shut down.

When the Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator, or TSCAI, began operations in 1990, the intent was to run it for five years to prove the technology worked. It was the only incinerator in the nation permitted to burn certain hazardous and radioactive wastes.

Operations ceased in December 2009, after a safe and successful run that saw the facility burn 35 million pounds of liquids and solids from DOE sites across the United States—even some from Hawaii.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, EPA, ETTP, Oak Ridge Reservation, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Environmental Protection Agency, Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator, TSCAI, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, UCOR Project Manager Mary Magleby, URS-CH2M Oak Ridge LLC

Ride with Santa on Secret City Scenic Excursion Train

Posted at 11:06 am November 28, 2012
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Santa on Secret City Excursion Train

Santa will be on the Secret City Excursion Train in west Oak Ridge for the next two weekends. (Submitted photo)

For the next two weekends, a train ride that starts in west Oak Ridge and rolls north of the former K-25 site in Roane County will feature a special guest—Santa.

“Santa will leave his sleigh in the garage and climb aboard the Secret City Scenic Excursion Train,” a press release said. “He’s sure to delight all the children as he and Mrs. Claus make their way through the coaches passing out Christmas gift bags and posing for pictures with the children.”

Santa will be the excursion rides that run Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1 and 2, and again Dec. 8 and 9.  The Southern Appalachia Railway Museum volunteers will have the train “all decked out in true holiday style to add to the enjoyment of the trips and the season.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Top Stories Tagged With: East Tennessee Technology Park, Heritage Center, K-25, Santa, SARM, Secret City Scenic Excursion Train, Southern Appalachia Railway Museum

Demolition starts on K-25’s north end

Posted at 4:13 pm October 24, 2012
By John Huotari

K-25 North End Demolition

Demolition started Wednesday on the north end of the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge. (Photo submitted by UCOR)

Demolition work started Wednesday on the north end of the K-25 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge.

The building was constructed to enrich uranium during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, and it was once the world’s largest building under one roof.

Previous plans had called for the north end of the mile-long, U-shaped building to be preserved for historic purposes. But an agreement signed this summer by federal, state, and local historic preservation groups allowed for the entire building to be demolished, including the north end, while still recognizing the historic significance of the site.

Demolition of the building’s east and west wings is complete, except for a small section of the east wing that has technetium-99, or Tc-99, a slow-decaying radioactive metal, according to a Wednesday press release from UCOR, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge. The north end forms the base of the “U” and is the smallest of the three sections.

“This is a tremendous day for employees,” said Leo Sain, UCOR president and project manager. “We have been working toward this since we arrived at ETTP, and it’s a testament to people here, at the Department of Energy, and at all the agencies who worked together to make this happen.”

DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or EM, expects the north end demolition to be complete in January. After that, workers will continue pre-demolition activities in the remaining Tc-99 area of K-25’s east wing, the release said.

“Completing demolition of the K-25 Building is our highest priority, and this is another significant step toward that goal,” said Mark Whitney, Oak Ridge’s EM manager.

The preservation agreement approved this summer calls for a replica equipment building and viewing tower, proposes a history center at a city-owned fire station at ETTP, and provides a $500,000 grant for the run-down Alexander Inn in central Oak Ridge.

During the decade-long discussion over preserving the north end, federal officials had expressed concerns about safety, the deteriorated condition of the building, and the cost of trying to keep that section.

Filed Under: Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: cleanup contractor, East Tennessee Technology Park, EM, environmental management, ETTP, K-25, K-25 Building, Leo Sain, Manhattan Project, Mark Whitney, north end, preservation agreement, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR

UCOR announces 21 more subcontractor layoffs

Posted at 11:45 pm October 2, 2012
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

UCOR announced that 21 staff support subcontractors were laid off Monday, and more subcontractor and trade jobs could be cut later this week.

“This is to restructure the workforce to meet our changing needs as work is completed, and also to stay within expected funding for Fiscal Year 2013,” the company said in a statement. “No UCOR employees are being affected.”

UCOR is the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: East Tennessee Technology Park, Heritage Center, K-25, layoffs, subcontractors, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, Wayne McKinney

Forty-one workers laid off at ETTP, the former K-25 site

Posted at 5:04 pm September 20, 2012
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 8:04 p.m.

Forty-one employees have been laid off at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, a spokesperson said Thursday.

Thirty-five employees worked on the K-25 Building demolition, and six worked on the K-27 project, said Wayne McKinney, spokesperson for UCOR, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge.

McKinney said the employees, who worked for subcontractors, were notified of the layoffs Thursday. He said it’s part of the normal ebb and flow of subcontracting.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: East Tennessee Technology Park, K-25, K-25 Building, K-27, layoffs, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR

DOE public bus tour has 1,600 visitors this summer

Posted at 5:11 pm September 16, 2012
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

About 1,600 people toured the Oak Ridge Reservation during this summer’s public bus tour, the U.S. Department of Energy announced.

The annual tour of Oak Ridge facilities ended Aug. 31, and it attracted visitors from 40 states, a press release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: bus tour, East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex

UCOR announces last shipment of unusual K-25 wastes

Posted at 4:55 pm September 16, 2012
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Workers have finished shipping a stockpile of unusual classified, radioactive wastes from the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, federal cleanup contractor UCOR announced last week.

The waste was generated at the K-25 site more than a decade ago, and it was stored in Vault 1X at the K-25 Building, UCOR said. It required off-site disposal.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: cleanup, East Tennessee Materials and Energy Corporation, East Tennessee Technology Park, K-25 Building, Nevada National Security Site, radioactive, UCOR, Vault 1X, wastes

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Classifieds

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