Oak Ridge Today

K-25 Building demolition nears completion

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K-25 Building Demolition

Workers continue demolishing and hauling away debris at the K-25 Building. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/UCOR)

Demolition of the last standing section of the K-25 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park is more than 75 percent complete.

UCOR workers began tearing down the last six units in the east wing of the mile-long Manhattan Project-era gaseous diffusion building in September. The majority of those six units—4.5 of them—are already on the ground, and work is continuing at a steady pace, the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office reported in the December issue of Public Involvement News.

The entire project, including waste removal, should be completed next year, the Oak Ridge Office said.

The historic, U-shaped K-25 Building was erected to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II, and it was once the world’s largest building under one roof. It once had 54 units. [Read more…]

More than 20,000 loads of debris hauled away from K-25 demolition

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K-25 Building Demolition Progress November 2013

Demolition of the K-25 Building’s remaining section continues as the contractor performing the work hit a waste disposal milestone last month. (Photos courtesy DOE Oak Ridge Office/Public Involvement News)

Demolition of the K-25 Building’s remaining section continues as the contractor performing the work hit a waste disposal milestone last month, officials said.

UCOR, a partnership between URS and CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, has safely shipped more than 20,000 loads of demolition debris from the K-25 project, according to the November 2013 issue of Public Involvement News, published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

Most of the debris is being disposed at the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility near the Y-12 National Security Complex.

“Demolition continues at a steady pace, with the project expected to be completed next year,” the monthly newsletter said. [Read more…]

ETTP water tower to be demolished in August

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ETTP Water Tower

The water tower, the tallest structure at the East Tennessee Technology Park, will be demolished in early August. It’s been part of the skyline at the former K-25 site for more than 50 years. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge Office)

The water tower, the tallest structure at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge, will be demolished in early August, officials said.

The checkerboard water tower has been part of the skyline at ETTP, the former K-25 site, for more than 50 years.

The 382-foot-tall structure is officially called the K-1206-F Fire Water Tower, and it has a capacity of 400,000 gallons. It serviced the site’s fire protection system until a few weeks ago. The structure has become deteriorated over the years, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office said in the August issue of “Public Involvement News.”

“The tower will be brought down through a controlled explosive demolition by UCOR and its subcontracting partners—Veterans Contracting Solutions LLC and Controlled Demolition Inc.,” DOE said. [Read more…]

DOE prepares to ‘recompete’ TRU Waste Processing Center contract

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Transuranic Waste Processing Center

The Transuranic Waste Processing Center is in west Oak Ridge, south of Bethel Valley Road off Highway 95. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge Office)

The U.S. Department of Energy is preparing to “recompete” the contract to manage the Transuranic Waste Processing Center off Highway 95 in west Oak Ridge.

The facility is currently managed by a contractor, Wastren Advantage Inc., and the work is overseen by officials at DOE’s Oak Ridge Office.

DOE has issued a “sources sought notice” to begin performing market research to gauge whether there are small businesses capable of performing the work, the Oak Ridge Office said in the August issue of “Public Involvement News.” [Read more…]

K-33 demolition project recognized for cost savings

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K-33 Demolition

Workers demolished the K-33 building five months early and almost $8 million under budget. (Submitted photo)

The project to demolish a building in west Oak Ridge that was once used to enrich uranium was one of two this year to receive a Secretary’s Achievement Award from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The DOE Oak Ridge Office reported that the K-33 building at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, was demolished five months early and almost $8 million under budget. K-33 was built in 1954 for uranium enrichment operations, and the two-story, 32-acre building was one of the largest buildings in the world. [Read more…]

Eight firms show interest in designing ETTP museum

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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…]