Oak Ridge Today

Five mercury cleanup projects wrapped up in February

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Mercury-contaminated Tank Cleanup

Workers load a mercury-contaminated tank onto inspection saddles. (Image courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy/UCOR)

Five mercury projects being performed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act were completed in February, with URS-CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, issuing the final reports.

The projects ranged from planning new facilities and planning for cost-effective disposition of mercury-contaminated media, to removing old, abandoned tanks containing mercury. All are part of getting ready for an upcoming major focus on mercury cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

In the area of Y-12 known as the West End Mercury Area, or WEMA, multiple facilities produced a lithium isotope fundamental to the development of the hydrogen weapon. Mercury was used in that process. In those facilities, various amounts of mercury are present in the process pipes and equipment, drains and sumps, soil surrounding the facilities, storm sewers, and stream sediments.

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

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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.

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Ferri retires, UCOR organization changing

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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UCOR removes high-risk parts from K-25’s Tc-99 area

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K-25 Sodium Fluoride Trap Removal

UCOR uses cranes to remove high-risk sodium fluoride, or NaF, traps from the K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

The federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge announced on Tuesday that it has removed one of the highest-risk parts left in the K-25 Building.

That building was once the world’s largest building under one roof, but it has been shut down for decades and is now being demolished.

In a press release Tuesday, cleanup contractor UCOR said it had used cranes to remove five sodium fluoride, or NaF, traps. The traps contain a material that was used to absorb uranium, and they were in the section of the K-25 Building known as the Tc-99 area, which is being deactivated so it can be demolished.

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Demolition starts on K-25’s north end

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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.

UCOR announces 21 more subcontractor layoffs

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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.

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

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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.

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UCOR announces last shipment of unusual K-25 wastes

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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.

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Contractor completes K-25 east wing demolition, moves to north end

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K-25 East Wing Demolition

Workers wrap up the demolition of the K-25 east wing, pictured at left, in this Sept. 5 photo. The north end is in the foreground. (Photo submitted by UCOR)

One month after a historic preservation agreement was signed, a federal cleanup contractor announced Friday that it has completed demolition work on the east wing of the K-25 Building and is preparing to demolish the north end.

Historic preservationists had lobbied for years to save the north end, but its deteriorated condition made that option unfeasible, a press release said.

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UCOR and steel workers union approve four-year contract

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A steel workers union has approved a new four-year contract with UCOR, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, for work at the former K-25 site.

The agreement between UCOR and the United Steel Workers Local No. 9-288 of Oak Ridge includes a 2 percent wage increase in each of the next four years and benefit changes similar to those announced for non-union employees earlier this year, a press release said.

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