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Workers devise strategies to clean up high-risk contaminated lab at ORNL

Posted at 3:05 pm February 17, 2022
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Workers lower detection equipment through an opening in the roof of the East Cell Bank at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to capture readings inside the facility. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management/UCOR)

Innovation has been required as federal cleanup crews work to deactivate and demolish the final portion of the former Radioisotope Development Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The structure is known as the East Cell Bank, and it is on the U.S. Department of Energy’s list of high-risk excess contaminated facilities, said a press release from DOE Office of Environmental Management. The East Cell Bank is located in the heart of ORNL, near ongoing research missions.

Workers with cleanup contractor UCOR characterized the final cell to identify potential radiological and hazardous contamination, the press release said. They conducted the work in stages under a six-story protective structure erected to ensure nearby facilities and ongoing research missions at ORNL aren’t impacted by the cleanup.

The crews began by taking surveys and readings from an opening at the front of the structure, the release said. They used long-reach tools and a specialized radiation detector. The detector overlays a radiation-intensity color map on a picture of the environment and identifies gamma-ray emitting nuclides and their locations.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: deactivation, demolition, DOE, East Cell Bank, federal cleanup, high-risk contaminated facilities, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Environmental Management, ORNL, Radioisotope Development Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR

Mercury cleanup: COLEX equipment deactivated at Y-12

Posted at 7:54 pm November 8, 2021
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge workers remove mercury and mercury-contaminated solids from process pipes in the column exchange, or COLEX, equipment at the Alpha-4 facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Submitted photo)

Crews are nearly finished deactivating the second of three collections of old, mercury-contaminated equipment around the Alpha-4 facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex at Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The project addresses potential environmental risks and moves the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management a step closer to preparing one of Y-12’s largest high-risk contaminated facilities for demolition, the press release said.

The column exchange, or COLEX, structures are connected to the four-story 500,000-square-foot Alpha-4 building, which was used for uranium separation from 1944 to 1945. Workers finished installing the COLEX equipment in 1955 for lithium separation, a process that required large amounts of mercury. A significant amount of the mercury was lost into the equipment, buildings, and surrounding soils, and its cleanup is one of EM’s top priorities.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Alpha-4, COLEX, column exchange, Dan Macias, DOE, mercury, mercury cleanup, Mercury Treatment Facility, Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, Y-12 National Security Complex

Demolition started on centrifuge site, largest remaining complex at ETTP

Posted at 11:34 am March 2, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Workers have begun taking down the second of four sections of the Centrifuge Complex at East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge. Completing this project will move the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management closer to its goal of finishing all major demolitions at ETTP by the end 2020. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

Cleanup crews have started tearing down the largest remaining collection of buildings at the former K-25 site, which was built during World War II and enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and power plants through the Cold War.

The demolition work is occurring at the Centrifuge Complex at the K-25 site, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center. The Centrifuge Complex is on the south side of ETTP. It includes the tall, white buildings visible from Highway 58.

Oak Ridge crews began demolishing the K-1200 section of the Centrifuge Complex in February. It’s the second of four sections.

Deactivation and demolition work in the first section of the complex was recently completed. That portion was a Manhattan Project facility built for research and development in 1944.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, K-25, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: centrifuge, Centrifuge Complex, demolition, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Heritage Center, James Daffron, K-25, Manhattan Project, Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy

Preparing for demolition, workers removing asbestos, hazardous waste from Biology Complex

Posted at 8:54 am November 8, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Workers are preparing the six-story 9207 Facility for demolition at the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. The building has more than 256,600 square feet. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

Workers are making significant progress removing asbestos and other hazardous waste from the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex in a deactivation project that’s more than 60 percent complete, the U.S. Department of Energy said this week.

The work prepares the Biology Complex for demolition, possibly next year. The Biology Complex was originally built to recover uranium from process streams. It was later used for DOE’s research on the genetic effects of radiation from the late 1940s. When they operated, the facilities once had more people with doctorates than anywhere in the world, according to DOE.

Asbestos abatement teams from UCOR are working inside the six-story 9207 Facility and the three-story 9210 Facility. The first building is 256,600 square feet, and the second is 64,700 square feet.

“This project paves the way for EM (Environmental Management) to begin demolishing remaining buildings that comprise the Biology Complex next year,” the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management said in an “EM Update” newsletter on Tuesday.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: 9207, 9210, asbestos, Biology Complex, demolition, DOE, EM Upate, hazardous waste, National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex

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.

[Read more…]

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

Safety training helps Oak Ridge employee save life

Posted at 1:29 pm August 15, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Eric Glenn
Eric Glenn, a radiological control technician at Isotek, used his training to help save a life on his lunch break. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

Information and photo from U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management

The U.S. Department of Energy said its Office of Environmental Management and its contractors know the importance of training to ensure safety.

Recently, that training helped save a life in an unlikely place, DOE said in a story published Tuesday.

While eating lunch at a local restaurant, Eric Glenn, a radiological control technician at Isotek, noticed a man choking on his sandwich.

“I just heard a man coughing and he did the choking sign, so I ran over and gave him the Heimlich maneuver six or seven times,” Glenn said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Health, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: DOE, Eric Glenn, first aid, Heimlich maneuver, Isotek, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Office of Environmental Management, Robert McGrath, safety training, U.S. Department of Energy

Crews start work for Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12

Posted at 12:05 pm August 1, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Workers remove asphalt on the east end of the Y-12 National Security Complex, where the Mercury Treatment Facility treatment plant will be built. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

Work began in June to build the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The Mercury Treatment Facility will allow the U.S. Department of Energy to clean up and demolish several large Y-12 buildings that used mercury to separate lithium for nuclear weapons during the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s. The facility is expected to help reduce the amount of mercury in East Fork Poplar Creek, which flows through Oak Ridge.

DOE announced in December that it had awarded a $91 million contract to build the Mercury Treatment Facility. The contract, which could be in place for up to four years, was awarded to APTIM-North Wind Construction JV LLC.

A groundbreaking was held at the site in November 2017, and site preparations were completed by December 2018.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: APTIM-North Wind Construction JV LLC, Brian Henry, Cold War, DOE, East Fork Poplar Creek, Headworks Facility, lithium, mercury, Mercury Treatment Facility, nuclear weapons, Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex

Vacuum helps crews remove contaminated sludge, debris at ORNL

Posted at 1:35 pm September 3, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management now has a powerful, trailer-mounted vacuum for cleaning and maintaining the important liquid and gaseous waste operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy DOE EM)

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management now has a powerful, trailer-mounted vacuum for cleaning and maintaining the important liquid and gaseous waste operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy DOE EM)

 

Federal site cleanup workers reported in August that they had begun removing contaminated sludge and debris from tanks, sumps, and valve boxes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s liquid and gaseous waste operations using a powerful, new trailer-mounted vacuum.

The equipment has already enhanced safety and operational efficiency, according to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

“Without the vacuum, personnel would be required to fully dress in personal protective equipment and remove the sludge and debris with shovels and buckets,” DOE said. “In addition to being closer to contaminated materials in confined spaces, workers would face an increased chance of slips and falls while climbing in and out of slippery areas in the protective suits.”

Using the vacuum technology has eliminated the risk of heat stress for employees, who would otherwise perform manual labor in protective suits during the hot Tennessee summer, DOE said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Bill McMillan, contaminated sludge and debris, DOE, EM, Liquid and Gaseous Waste Operations, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Environmental Management, ORNL, trailer-mounted vacuum, U.S. Department of Energy, waste treatment facilities

Workers demolish contaminated building at ETTP

Posted at 2:09 pm July 2, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Building K-633, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, EM, environmental management, ETTP, gas centrifuge enrichment, gaseous diffusion, K-25 site, K-633 Test Loop Facility, Karen Deacon, Office of Environmental Management, Poplar Creek area, Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, uranium enrichment equipment, URS|CH2M Oak Ridge

Workers removing asbestos, reducing risks at former ORNL research reactor

Posted at 2:14 pm October 24, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

A worker removes asbestos from Building 7500, a former research reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy DOE Office of Environmental Management)

A worker removes asbestos from Building 7500, a former research reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy DOE Office of Environmental Management)

 

Note: This is an edited version of a story that was first published by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management in an EM Update on Tuesday, Oct. 24.

Workers recently passed the halfway mark removing asbestos from a former research reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as part of an effort to remove risks and prepare excess facilities in Oak Ridge for eventual demolition.

The asbestos abatement could continue until early 2018 inside Building 7500, also known as the Homogenous Reactor Experiment facility at ORNL, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. Crews are pulling out ceiling and floor tile, pipe and vessel insulation, and wall board.

The project further reduces risks after OREM and cleanup contractor URS | CH2M Oak Ridge, or UCOR, cleared all combustible materials and deactivated the heat detection system inside the building earlier this year.

Deactivating the system eliminated the need for personnel to enter the building for periodic inspections, and it allowed for removal of all hazardous energy sources as required before asbestos abatement. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Ben Williams, Building 7500, demolition, DOE, EM Update, Excess Contaminated Facilities Initiative, excess facilities, Homogenous Reactor Experiment, Jay Mullis, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Office of Environmental Management, ORNL, research reactor, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, URS | CH2M Oak Ridge, Y-12 National Security Complex

DOE disposing of uranium-233 waste stored at ORNL

Posted at 7:55 pm August 27, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ORNL CEUSP Waste Shipping

During training, workers removed a type of shipping cask that was expected to be used to transport 403 canisters of uranium-tainted waste from Oak Ridge National Laboratory to Nevada National Security Site northwest of Las Vegas. (File photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Office of Environmental Management)

 

This story was updated at 5 p.m. Aug. 30.

They haven’t agreed on a final budget number, but the Trump administration and the U.S. House and Senate have proposed spending between about $33 million and $52 million in the next fiscal year to continue disposing of uranium-233 waste materials that are stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in a building that is the oldest continuously operating nuclear facility in the U.S. Department of Energy complex.

The uranium-233, or U-233, waste is now stored in secure vaults in Building 3019, which was built in the 1940s at ORNL. Removing the waste could allow ORNL to relax its overall security posture, which will reduce costs, eliminate nuclear safety issues, and make the campus more conducive to collaborative science, according to a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee report published in July.

Some of the waste is from a 1960s research and development test in New York, and it is being shipped to the Nevada National Security Site, a former nuclear weapons proving ground about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. In interviews this summer, DOE officials in Oak Ridge declined to discuss the amount of that waste that has been shipped to Nevada or to say how long the shipments might continue. But they are making progress, said Jay Mullis, acting manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management.

Once all of those materials are shipped, the remaining U-233 at ORNL will be treated in “hot cell” facilities across the street from Building 3019, at Building 2026. The DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management owns both buildings.

Mullis said there is other U-233 waste stored in Building 3019, including from glovebox research at ORNL, from reactor plates, and from conglomerate materials. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DOE, Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Area 5, Ben Williams, Brian Sandoval, Building 2026, Building 3019, CEUSP, CEUSP low-level waste, CEUSP waste, Consolidated Edison Indian Point-1, Consolidated Edison Uranium Solidification Program, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, DNFSB, DOE, EMWMF, Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, Ernest Moniz, House appropriations bill, Isotek Systems LLC, Jay Mullis, low-level waste, Mark Whitney, Nevada National Security Site, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Reservation, Office of Environmental Management, Office of Science, Office of Secure Transportation, ORNL, Senate, Senate appropriations bill, Trump administration, U-233, U-233 disposition, U-233 processing, U-235, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. House, U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, uranium, uranium-233, uranium-233 waste, uranium-233 waste materials, uranyl nitrate, UT-Battelle

UCOR wins international innovation award

Posted at 1:21 am July 24, 2017
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC’s Gary Kephart and Bill Evans, far left, accept the Innovation Award from the event hosts. (Photo courtesy DOE Office of Environmental Management)

URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC’s Gary Kephart and Bill Evans, far left, accept the Innovation Award from the event hosts. (Photo courtesy DOE Office of Environmental Management)

 

The federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge was among 11 international winners of the Environmental Health and Safety Innovation Awards.

URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, is the cleanup contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management.

UCOR was the public sector category winner, DOE said in a story published by the Office of Environmental Management on June 28. The award highlights the company’s use of sensors, drones, information technology, wearables, and occupational health and safety software in cleanup projects at the East Tennessee Technology Park, Y-12 National Security Complex, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“They’ve done a tremendous job fostering a culture where employees are encouraged to approach and perform sensitive and complex projects in new and creative ways,” said Jay Mullis, OREM acting manager. “Our mission is reaping the benefits as we continue making progress while helping keep the workforce safe.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Office, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Bill Evans, DOE, Environmental Health and Safety Innovation Award, Gary Kephart, innovation award, Jay Mullis, Ken Rueter, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, URS | CH2M Oak Ridge

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