OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - EM workers at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) completed demolition of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Incinerator, moving a step closer to transitioning the former gaseous diffusion complex into a private sector industrial park.
The incinerator was the only one in the U.S. capable of burning radioactive waste containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The facility was in high demand for nearly 20 years, accepting waste streams from DOE sites nationwide, including DOE’s Oak Ridge site.
The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and contractor URS |CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) began demolition in June and safely completed the project this month under budget and three months ahead of schedule.
Watch a video about the project here.
“We are very pleased to complete the demolition of this one-of-a-kind facility under budget and ahead of schedule," said Karen Deacon, OREM’s acting ETTP portfolio federal project director. “This adds to our growing list of accomplishments at ETTP, and it allows our employees to begin preparing for the next demolition scheduled at the site as we pursue Vision 2020."
Oak Ridge is scheduled to begin tearing down Building K-1232, a Poplar Creek facility, in October.
Vision 2020 is OREM and UCOR’s goal to remove all remaining buildings at ETTP by summer 2020 to enhance safety in the region and enable the transfer of land to the community for reuse and economic development.
The incinerator is named after a law passed in 1976 that addressed the production, use, and disposal of specific chemicals. It operated from 1991 until 2009, treating more than 35 million pounds of liquid and solid waste.
“We are pleased to remove yet another major facility at ETTP in a safe and efficient manner," said Ken Rueter, UCOR president and CEO. “As with every demolition project at the site, our team approached the work with safety as a precursor, and their dedication and thoroughness helped us bring in this project ahead of schedule and under budget as we take another major step to helping DOE reach its reindustrialization goal."
ETTP is the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, built as part of the Manhattan Project. It produced enriched uranium for defense and national security purposes until it was shut down in the mid-1980s.
To date, OREM has torn down more than 400 facilities and transferred more than 1,000 acres as part of ETTP’s transformation.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
