Oak Ridge Today

UCOR, DOE cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, earns 94 percent of award fee

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ucor-k-27-building-fall-2016

UCOR workers take down the final portion of Building K-27, achieving Vision 2016, a DOE goal to remove all of the former uranium enrichment buildings at the East Tennessee Technology Park by the end of 2016. K-27 was the fifth and final gaseous diffusion building to be demolished at the site. Successful demolitions of the four other buildings were completed from 2006 to 2015. (U.S. Department of Energy photo)

 

UCOR, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, received about $3.4 million for its performance from April through September 2016, or 94 percent of the total award fee available, federal officials said.

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, recently issued the six-month fee determination scorecard for UCOR, or URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, after completing its evaluation.

“Contractor award fee evaluations determine what will be paid based on performance against stated objectives in accordance with annual award fee plans,” the DOE Office of Environmental Management, or EM, said in the EM Update electronic newsletter on December 29. “EM releases information relating to contractor fee payments to further transparency.”

According to UCOR’s scorecard, the company received an overall rating of “very good” for project management and “high confidence” for cost and schedule based on cost and schedule indexes, the newsletter said. [Read more…]

Solar plant at Heritage Center honored with sustainability award

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Heritage-Center-Solar-Array

An aerial view of Oak Ridge’s third solar array development at Heritage Center, which was built by a team honored with a U.S. Department of Energy Sustainability Award. (Photo courtesy DOE EM)

 

A solar power plant in west Oak Ridge is one of two projects recognized with 2016 Energy Sustainability Awards by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Teams at the two DOE Environmental Management, or EM, sites were recognized for spearheading projects that have saved taxpayer dollars while promoting efficiency and smart use of DOE resources, a press release said.

“The DOE Sustainability Performance Office highlighted efforts at the Oak Ridge and Savannah River sites as outstanding contributions to the department’s goal of improving environmental, energy, and economic performance while reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” the press release said.

UCOR, the prime contractor for Oak Ridge’s EM program, helped the small business subcontractor Restoration Services Inc. team with community partners to build a one-megawatt utility scale photovoltaic power generating project called Powerhouse Six that became operational in April 2015. [Read more…]

UCOR awards mini-grants for local school projects

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UCOR Education Mini-Grants

UCOR has announced 20 winners in its Education Mini-Grant Program. Schools in Anderson, Knox, Loudon, Knox, Morgan, and Roane counties were eligible to submit proposals. (Photo submitted by UCOR)

 

UCOR has announced 20 winners in its Education Mini-Grant Program.

The Mini-Grant Program was designed to recognize and support excellence in teaching by providing funds to assist classroom teachers for specific projects or curricula, focusing primarily on science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, a press release said.

Schools in Anderson, Knox, Loudon, Knox, Morgan, and Roane counties were eligible to submit proposals. Applications were screened and awardees selected using a blind process that prevented members of the selection panel from knowing the names of the teachers or the schools.

The UCOR Mini-Grant committee has selected the following projects for 2016: [Read more…]

ETTP emergency exercise to be held Tuesday, June 16

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An emergency exercise will be conducted at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16.

The emergency exercise is being conducted by URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC, or UCOR.

The exercise, which should conclude no later than 1 p.m., is being conducted in coordination with the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, a press release said. It will involve participants from multiple state agencies; the city of Oak Ridge; and Anderson, Knox, Loudon, and Roane counties. [Read more…]

Honors: DOE employee listed among area’s rising leaders

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Heather Cloar of U.S Department of Energy

Heather Cloar, a U.S. Department of Energy employee in Oak Ridge, was named as a member of this year’s 40 Under 40.

By Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management

Earlier this year, the Greater Knoxville Business Journal compiled a list of East Tennessee’s top rising business and community leaders under the age of 40. The 2014 listing featured Heather Cloar, a contracting officer with the Energy Department in Oak Ridge.

Specifically, Heather, an Energy Department employee since 2002, is the federal official responsible for administering the $2.2 billion environmental cleanup contract with URS-CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR. She is responsible for reviewing and approving all contract actions and guaranteeing that the contract remains aligned with EM’s priorities. She also certifies that the contractor’s work is performed in a cost-efficient manner to ensure the best value for American taxpayers. As a testament to her watchful oversight and frequent interaction with contractor leadership, UCOR completed the department’s largest-ever demolition project one year ahead of schedule and approximately $300 million under the current budget.

“Heather is making sure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayers under the contract and making sure the contract stays on schedule,” said Karen Shears, chief of the special acquisitions branch for DOE’s procurement and contracts division. “She’s got excellent judgment and great leadership skills, which is something you need because you interact with so many stakeholders.” [Read more…]

Y-12 Community Relations Council adds members

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers, Veronica O’Hearn, and John W. Smith have joined the Y-12 Community Relations Council. The volunteer group is comprised of 29 community and business leaders who are charged with helping to exchange information between Y-12’s management team and the Oak Ridge and East Tennessee region. The new members were selected by the CRC membership, a press release said.

“B&W Y-12 launched the Community Relations Council in 2002 because we understand the importance of having a strong relationship with our neighbors in and around the Oak Ridge area,” said Bill Reis, B&W Y-12’s vice president of public and government affairs. “We work hard to keep the group updated on the projects/programs and activities at Y-12 and look to them to provide us feedback from the community and to serve as ambassadors for Y-12. It’s a wonderful partnership, and we appreciate each and every one of the CRC members for their commitment to Y-12 and the community.”

B&W Y-12 operates the Y-12 National Security Complex for the National Nuclear Security Administration. [Read more…]

DOE, UCOR demolish last piece of K-25, once the world’s largest building

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K-25 Building Demolition Final

The last section of the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge was demolished on Thursday.

It was once the world’s largest building under one roof, built by the U.S. government in less than two years as part of a top-secret race to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

Officials say it also helped win the Cold War.

But five years after demolition started, the K-25 Building is gone. Officials, workers, and invited guests watched the last section of the giant building crash to the ground on Thursday.

The mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building enriched uranium through a process called gaseous diffusion. It was the largest facility in the U.S. Department of Energy complex. Debris shipments are expected to be completed in the spring of 2014.

The $1.1 billion project is under budget and ahead of schedule. [Read more…]

Removal of K-25 north end demolition debris almost complete

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K-25 North End Demolition

With the north end demolished, only a small part of the east wing remains at the once-massive K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

Workers are almost done removing demolition debris from the K-25 Building’s north end.

Only a small section of the giant building’s east wing remains. It is contaminated with technetium-99, a slow-decaying radioactive isotope. Further deactivation of that section is needed before demolition can begin, according to a recent article in “Public Involvement News,” published by the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office. [Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]

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.

[Read more…]