The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (EM) recently disclosed that EM crews have successfully extracted over 1 million gallons of water from the basement of the Beta-1 building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM), in collaboration with cleanup contractor UCOR, is conducting this water removal process as part of the preparations for the eventual demolition of the Manhattan Project-era Beta-1 building, according to a press release.

In the span of 42 working days, dedicated workers efficiently removed this substantial volume of water from the Beta-1 building's basement. As the cleanup efforts continue, approximately 450,000 additional gallons of water will require extraction according to a press release.

“The conditions in Beta-1 are a prime example of the type of circumstances crews are facing as they prepare aging, deteriorated structures for demolition at the site,” said Brian Henry, Y-12 portfolio federal project director for OREM, according to a press release. “We have numerous projects like this one ramping up at Y-12 that will be changing the landscape in the years ahead.”

The planned demolition of this extensive structure aims to clear outdated and unused infrastructure, creating space for future Department of Energy (DOE) missions. The water removal process is anticipated to conclude by the end of October according to a press release.

“Our team has been working diligently to make sure we can safely move deactivation activities to the basement area, which has been problematic because of the water infiltration,” said Billy Lloyd, UCOR project manager according to a press release. “Demolition of the building, expected to begin in 2026, will not proceed until we are certain we have successfully completed deactivation of the entire facility and have removed any obstacles or hazards to safely bring down the building.”