Oak Ridge Begins Installing Tanks for Mercury Treatment Facility

Workers prepare to remove from a specialized transportation trailer the first of three sludge-settling tanks for Oak Ridge's Mercury Treatment Facility.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and contractor UCOR took another step forward in the construction of the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Workers finished installing the first of three large sludge-settling tanks, each of which will be 38 feet tall and 15 feet wide, and have a capacity of 36,000 gallons. With many of the recent tasks for the construction project happening below ground, this latest aboveground completion provides a visible sign of ongoing progress on the critical infrastructure.

"This facility is a linchpin for major cleanup on the horizon at Y-12," said Steve Clemons, OREM project manager. "We understand the importance of this project, and we're continuing our steady approach to get the facility up and operational."

The facility is essential infrastructure that allows OREM to fulfill its regulatory commitments to reduce mercury levels in the East Fork Poplar Creek and begin large-scale cleanup at Y-12. When operational, it will limit and control potential mercury releases as crews demolish massive Manhattan Project and Cold War-era buildings and address the soil beneath them.

Crews install the first of three tanks at the Mercury Treatment Facility's treatment plant at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Each of the 36,000-gallon tanks is 38 feet tall and 15 feet wide.

The project encompasses two components at two locations: a headworks facility and a treatment plant, both connected by a half-mile-long transfer pipeline.

The headworks facility will capture creek flow on the west end of Y-12, store excess stormwater collected during large rainfalls, remove grit, and pump water via the pipeline to the treatment plant on the east side of Y-12.

The tanks crews are installing are part of the treatment plant that removes and concentrates grit, dirt and other solids to be extracted from the water. That treated water will then flow into the creek.

"The installation of the sludge tanks is an important milestone," Richard Bonner, UCOR project director said. "As we continue to progress the construction, the installation of these tanks can serve as a reminder of the desired end result of our cleanup mission."

In coming weeks, crews will install the remaining two tanks. Due to their size, a transportation company is using a specialized trailer to transport each tank from the manufacturer in Arkansas to the project site in Oak Ridge.

Once completed, the facility will process up to 3,000 gallons of water per minute and collect stormwater in a 2-million-gallon storage tank.

-Contributor: Ella Stewart