Cleanup Progresses on Large Scale Across 13 ORNL Buildings

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management crews are preparing to apply grout and concrete in the final hot cell of the former Radioisotope Development Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - Cleanup crews are making steady progress on deactivation projects across Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to prepare for the next wave of demolitions as they continue transforming the site.

Crews with Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and cleanup contractor UCOR are performing deactivation in 13 buildings at ORNL. A precursor to demolition, deactivation places an excess facility into a stable condition to minimize existing risks and protect workers, the public and the environment.

The projects, underway in a wide range of structures, come on the heels of two successful teardowns and a significant milestone toward a third. Workers demolished the Bulk Shielding Reactor and Low Intensity Test Reactor, and in recent weeks, they removed the reactor vessel from the Oak Ridge Research Reactor to prepare it for knockdown.

Work continues in six former isotope labs in an area known as Isotope Row. The other buildings where deactivation is progressing include the Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor, two development laboratories, an old process waste treatment facility and the Graphite Reactor support facilities.

"We have a tremendous amount of work going on in the heart of ORNL's campus," said James Daffron, ORNL portfolio federal project director. "We're laying the foundation for significant, visible changes in the years ahead that will open land to support important research missions."

Workers have transitioned the 107,000-square-foot Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to the cold and dark state and completed initial deactivation activities, primarily in the underground areas.

Deactivation is nearing completion at the Graphite Reactor support facilities, where demolition is expected to begin in 2025. The former Radioisotope Development Laboratory is also scheduled for demolition next year.

In the Fission Product Development Laboratory, crews continue to investigate and characterize the facility's numerous hot cells. They are taking radiation measurements and high-resolution videos to better understand the contents of each cell to support future deactivation activities. Hot cells are thick, concrete rooms, heavily shielded to provide protection from highly radioactive material.

Teams have placed the former Process Waste Treatment Plant in the cold and dark state by isolating all potential energy sources.

Deactivation work is ongoing in six of the 11 buildings comprising Isotope Row. In the largest of those, the Isotope Development Laboratory, workers have made the first shipment of transuranic waste for permanent disposal from the facility, and they are isolating and removing equipment.

Crews have also removed four large krypton tanks from the Isotope Row facilities. Krypton-85 was stored in four 2,000-pound, 9-foot-long horizontal tanks used in thermal diffusion operations.

Deactivation activities are in full swing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Isotope Row facilities. Crews used a scaffolding staircase system equipped with handrails and landings that proved invaluable in providing safe access to and from the rooftop.

Workers transitioned the 107,000-square-foot Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor to the cold and dark state and completed initial deactivation activities, primarily in the underground areas.

"I am continually amazed by our workers. Even during these long hot summer days, they keep the projects moving forward. It is a significant challenge for them when we have extreme heat to work in the protective equipment required in these high-risk facilities," said Larry Brede, UCOR site integration and cleanup manager. "Fortunately, our workforce has a high-level commitment to keeping themselves and their co-workers safe every day."

In addition to the work underway at ORNL, OREM and UCOR are moving forward on major cleanup projects at the Y-12 National Security Complex, where demolition began last month on the Alpha-2 complex.

-Contributor: Carol Hendrycks