OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) is advancing toward Vision 2020 - its goal to complete cleanup at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) by 2020 and continue transferring the remaining land to private industry, benefiting the regional economy.
The latest progress comes with removal of Building K-731. OREM and cleanup contractor URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) began demolishing it on Aug. 30, moments after taking down the final pieces of Building K-27 and fulfilling Vision 2016. That was Oak Ridge’s ambitious goal to be the world’s first to successfully remove all of its former uranium enrichment facilities by the end of 2016.
“I’m very proud of the focus and effort shown by our employees and UCOR to maintain the outstanding cleanup momentum happening at ETTP," said OREM Acting Manager Jay Mullis. “K-731’s removal noticeably changes the landscape at the site, and its completion moves us closer toward our ultimate goal of a clean, transferred ETTP."
Constructed in 1944, Building K-731 powered the K-27 and K-29 process buildings. The facility contained three floors measuring 31,350 square feet each, including two above-ground floors and a basement.
OREM has already demolished hundreds of ETTP facilities as it transforms the site into a private-sector industrial park.
The office has transferred 880 acres of the 2,200-acre site to private entities to date.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
