OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - Oak Ridge’s EM program and cleanup contractor URS | CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR) have begun demolishing the Central Neutralization Facility at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP).
Constructed in the mid-1980s to treat wastewater from operations at the former uranium enrichment complex, the facility consists of tanks, trailers, and other treatment systems used to filter and remove radioactive materials, metals, and suspended solids from wastewater at the site.
All operations at the facility ceased in 2013, and a new wastewater treatment facility, the Chromium Waste Treatment System, began operating on the same footprint.
UCOR deactivated the facility by disabling utilities and cutting tie lines, which are the pipes that transported enriched uranium between the site’s facilities. During previous closure activities, crews removed materials containing radiological, metal, and organic contamination. Workers thoroughly rinsed and sampled remaining process tanks, pipes, and equipment.
“Demolishing the Central Neutralization Facility removes old infrastructure that no longer serves a mission at ETTP, and it greatly improves the aesthetic in the back of the site that reflects our ultimate vision for the site," said James Daffron, federal project manager for the Oak Ridge of Environmental Management.
Demolition is expected to be completed this spring as workers transform the former uranium enrichment complex into a private sector industrial park. To date, EM has torn down more than 400 facilities and transferred more than 1,000 acres.
EM is working to complete major cleanup and building and land transfers at ETTP by 2020, providing the community an asset to attract major industry and enable economic development for the region.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
