Cleanup crews from UCOR, a contractor for the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, used a barge on Poplar Creek to access a sediment cleanup site at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

A 225-ton crane was used to assemble a work platform in the creek, and a small excavator and eight soil containers were loaded onto the platform after contamination controls were in place. The platform was then moved into position to access the cleanup area with the help of a push boat, according to a March 21 news release.

“Access to that area was not possible from the land side without removing almost an acre of wooded creek bank and up to 8,000 cubic yards of soil,” Joanna Hardin, acting ETTP portfolio federal project director, said in the release. “We’re pleased the team was able to identify a path forward to address this area.”

Time was a factor in the operation, as the area is located at the end of a ditch that empties into Poplar Creek, the release said. The 500-square-foot area of contaminated sediment is visible from December until March due to the water drawdown of the nearby Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Reservoir, meaning the crews only had a limited amount of time.

Excavation, soil packaging and site restoration are complete after crews removed the containers of soil from the work platform for characterization and disposal, according to the release. They also installed an impermeable barrier over the excavated area and covered the area in riprap, or a bed of small stones.

“This was a first-of-a-kind operation for UCOR, so over a three-month period we evaluated all work hazards, in detail, to ensure our combined teams had a safe, successful, compliant and efficient cleanup effort,” UCOR Operational Excellence Manager and Deputy Chief Operating Officer Joe Aylor said in the release.