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Crews start demolishing ETTP Centrifuge Complex

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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.

[Read more…]

Centrus finishes preparing centrifuge testing building for demolition

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The “footprint,” the area where the K-25 Building used to be in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. The white K-1600 Building is pictured in the middle of the “footprint.” The brick building in the foreground is Oak Ridge Fire Station No. 4. (File photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

Centrus Energy Corporation on Wednesday said it has successfully completed a $15 million project to decontaminate and decommission a building at the East Tennessee Technology Park that has been used to test and demonstrate centrifuges that could be used to enrich uranium.

The building is K-1600, which is in the middle of the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge.

Centrus said it finished the work budget and on time, within a year. The work was to occur between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019.

“I’m pleased our team was able to deliver the results the department expected on a very short timetable,” said Centrus President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel B. Poneman.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Centrus a $15 million work authorization on September 27, 2018, to prepare K-1600 for demolition.

[Read more…]

DOE replacing ETTP sirens with new emergency notifications

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The U.S. Department of Energy is replacing the current siren alarm system around the East Tennessee Technology Park with the Hyper-Reach notification system in Roane County.

The change was to happen at the end of July, the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management said in a press release Tuesday.

“With this change, residents can now choose to be notified by texts, phone calls, or emails if an emergency situation occurs in Roane County or at the East Tennessee Technology Park,” the press release said.

[Read more…]

DOE names deputy cleanup manager in Oak Ridge

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Laura Wilkerson

Laura Wilkerson

 

The U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday named a deputy cleanup manager in Oak Ridge.

The new deputy manager, Laura Wilkerson, has been selected as the deputy manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. That’s the program responsible for cleanup projects at federal sites in Oak Ridge, including the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex.

Wilkerson previously served as the director of OREM’s Planning and Execution Division, a press release said. She has more than 25 years of federal service. [Read more…]

(For members) New DOE security contractor will take over in December

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The Joe L. Evins Federal Building is pictured above in Oak Ridge on Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

After a protest was denied this month, a new security contractor will take over protecting U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge at the end of December.

The contract could be worth close to $66 million and be in place for five years.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. 

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Centrus Energy has $15 million project to prepare K-1600 for demolition

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The "footprint," the area where the K-25 Building used to be in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. The white K-1600 Building is pictured in the middle of the "footprint." The brick building in the foreground is Oak Ridge Fire Station No. 4. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

The K-25 “footprint,” the area where the K-25 Building used to be in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. The white K-1600 Building is pictured in the middle of the “footprint.” The brick building in the foreground is Oak Ridge Fire Station No. 4, and it includes the K-25 History Center. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

 

Centrus Energy Corporation has a $15 million project to prepare K-1600, a building in the middle of the historic K-25 “footprint,” for demolition.

On Tuesday, Centrus announced that it had received a work authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy for decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) work at the building. The work will include removing and disposing of equipment and materials to make K-1600 non-radiologically contaminated and non-possessing (i.e. unclassified), a press release said. The work will occur between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019.

After the work is completed, DOE will be able to turn over K-1600 to a contractor to demolish it, the press release said. It’s one of the last remaining “legacy structures” on the 2,200-acre site of the World War II-era K-25 uranium enrichment plant, now known as the East Tennessee Technology Park, the press release said.

Many other buildings have been demolished there, including the five large gaseous diffusion buildings once used to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. ETTP is now being converted into a large industrial park in west Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Workers demolish contaminated building at ETTP

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Crews began tearing down Building K-633 at the East Tennessee Technology Park in May 2018 and completed the project in June. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

Crews began tearing down Building K-633 at the East Tennessee Technology Park in May 2018 and completed the project in June. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

 

One of the most contaminated buildings left at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, has been demolished, federal officials said.

Demolition crews began tearing down Building K-633, which was once used to evaluate uranium enrichment equipment, in May and completed the project in June, according to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

The work was done by the Oak Ridge environmental management, or EM, program and its cleanup contractor URS|CH2M Oak Ridge, or UCOR.

“This project eliminates one of the most contaminated remaining buildings at the East Tennessee Technology Park,” DOE said.

Building K-633—the K-633 Test Loop Facility—is the fourth building Oak Ridge’s EM program has removed from ETTP’s Poplar Creek area since last year, DOE said. [Read more…]

Updated: Council approves $500,000 renovation to Fire Station 4 at ETTP

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Oak Ridge Fire Station

Oak Ridge Fire Department Station 4 is pictured above at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. (File photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. May 15.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday authorized about $500,000 in renovations at Fire Station 4 at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, a federal site in west Oak Ridge.

The funds for the renovations are currently available in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget for the West End Fire Fund, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said in an April 27 memo to City Manager Mark Watson.

The total estimated cost of the renovations, based on a sealed bid process, is not to exceed $515,000, Kerley said. He said funds have been set aside for the past 11 years.

The project was unanimously approved in a 7-0 vote after a brief discussion at the City Council meeting on Monday.

The funds are part of the overall re-industrialization that will convert the ETTP fire station from a U.S. Department of Energy fire station to a municipal fire station through a DOE memorandum of agreement for the operation and maintenance of the fire station. [Read more…]

Spending bill has $639 million for DOE cleanup in Oak Ridge

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Y-12 Biology Complex aerial

An aerial view of the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Plans call for eventually demolishing the complex. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

 

The federal spending bill approved last week includes $639 million for the federal government’s cleanup program in Oak Ridge, including what could be full funding for a top priority deactivation and demolition project at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The $639 million for the current fiscal year is an increase of $141 million or more, compared to recent fiscal years, and it’s the most money appropriated in a while.

Besides Y-12, the fiscal year 2018 funding will be used for U.S. Department of Energy cleanup projects at East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“It’s very positive for us,” said Jay Mullis, manager of the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. Mullis gave a brief update at a meeting of the Oak Ridge Reservation Communities Alliance on Monday.

In addition to $125 million to deactivate and demolish the Biology Complex at Y-12, the fiscal year 2018 spending bill includes $17.1 million in funding for the planned Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12, about $200 million for continued cleanup work at ETTP, and a total of roughly $12 million for the Environmental Management Disposal Facility, or EMDF. That’s a proposed landfill that could be west of Y-12 and accept waste from future cleanup work at Y-12 and ORNL, possibly early in the 2020s. The project plan for EMDF is expected to be open to public comment later this summer. [Read more…]

Five receive Muddy Boot Awards

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Five people won Muddy Boot Awards this year. In the top row, from left, they are Tom Ballard, David Bradshaw, and Sue Cange. In the bottom row are David Millhorn, left, and Ken Rueter.

Five people won Muddy Boot Awards this year. In the top row, from left, they are Tom Ballard, David Bradshaw, and Sue Cange. In the bottom row are David Millhorn, left, and Ken Rueter.

 

Five people received Muddy Boot Awards this year. They include scientists, business leaders, government officials, and a man who has done a little of everything during his career, a press release said.

Here are the winners of the 2017 Muddy Boot Awards, which are from the the East Tennessee Economic Council:

  • Tom Ballard, who has had three careers—with the University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and now Pershing Yoakley and Associates, and still finds time to “spread the gospel of innovation” with his daily Teknovation.biz newsletter.
  • David Bradshaw, another multi-tasker who has worked at the Y-12 National Security Complex, Technology 2020, and most recently Pinnacle Financial Partners, and who has also served as the mayor of Oak Ridge and chairs of dozens of community causes.
  • Sue Cange, whose career with the U.S. Department of Energy saw her rise from a new employee in the environmental management program to the acting head of that same program before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University this fall and who, in many ways over the years, enabled the reindustrialization program at the East Tennessee Technology Park site.
  • David Millhorn, senior vice president of the University of Tennessee and a leader in the revitalization of both the university system and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
  • Ken Rueter, president of URS | CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR), a relative newcomer to East Tennessee who brings energy to everything he does, whether it be the environmental stewardship programs at ETTP or his work building hiking and biking trails while supporting the Foothills Land Conservancy and the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital.

“The one common trait in these five individuals,” ETEC President Jim Campbell said, “is the passion they bring in their own way to the work they do. Their dedication is infectious, and it makes everyone around them better. Clearly each person has made East Tennessee a better place to work, to play, and to thrive.” [Read more…]

New Oak Ridge EM manager Jay Mullis outlines cleanup vision

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Jay Mullis

Jay Mullis

 

Note: This story was published in the November 21 edition of “EM Update” by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management. EM Update recently spoke with Jay Mullis, the new manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM), about his vision and priorities for the EM program in Oak Ridge.

What are your main priorities going forward as the new manager of OREM?

Overall, I want to ensure our program maintains the momentum we’ve achieved during the past several years. First, it is important for us to continue pushing forward to complete cleanup at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP, also known as the former K-25 site) by 2020. This will facilitate the transfer of the site back to the community so it can be transformed into a vibrant industrial park capable of generating jobs and economic growth for the region. It will also allow our program to shift its focus and resources toward cleanup at two important, active DOE sites: the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Before we finish our cleanup mission at ETTP, we must also fulfill our historic preservation commitments to preserve and celebrate the many achievements that occurred there during the Manhattan Project and Cold War. 

Secondly, it is very important that we begin laying the foundation for our next big challenges at Y-12 and ORNL. That began on November 20, when we broke ground on the new Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12. This critical piece of infrastructure will provide an important control measure for mercury and opens the door for us to clean and remove mercury contaminated facilities and soils. Additionally, it is crucial to construct another onsite disposal facility that will provide the space necessary for the waste generated by completing cleanup at Y-12 and ORNL. 

Finally, we will continue our focus on eliminating Oak Ridge’s waste inventory. We are making progress packaging and disposing transuranic waste from ORNL with the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant again accepting shipments. We are working to eliminate the remaining portion of the uranium-233 inventory from ORNL to improve safety and significantly reduce security costs. [Read more…]

DOE names Jay Mullis as new cleanup manager in Oak Ridge

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Jay Mullis

Jay Mullis

 

He’s been the acting manager, and on Wednesday, Jay Mullis was named manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. That’s the office that oversees federal cleanup projects at East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex.

Mullis has served as the OREM acting manager since October 2016, and he has served as the deputy manager since February 2015. He has 30 years of federal service, a press release said.

OREM is responsible for environmental cleanup across the 32,400-acre Oak Ridge Reservation, which includes ETTP, ORNL, and Y-12.

“Specifically, Mullis will oversee environmental cleanup and stewardship, decontamination and decommissioning activities, waste processing and management, surveillance and maintenance programs, historic preservation efforts, and procurement and contract functions,” the press release said. [Read more…]

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