By DOE Office of Environmental Management

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management recently finished repairs to an aging Y-12 National Security Complex building as part of an initiative that is designed to improve safety, reduce cleanup costs, lower risks, and stabilize excess facilities that are contaminated and are expected to be demolished.

Maintaining the roofs of aging, contaminated facilities prevents water damage, the greatest threat to rapid deterioration and the spread of contamination. These factors create a more hazardous environment for future demolition crews that must enter the facility, and they increase the cost of cleanup exponentially.

“We are applying lessons we’ve learned from previous cleanup projects,” said Jay Mullis, acting manager of Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. “Buildings that are neglected cause cleanup to be much more costly and complicated. Performing smaller tasks like this one to maintain facilities will create considerable savings by the time we begin major demolition at Y-12.” [Read more…]