OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT) – The Department of Energy has completed the demolition of the Alpha-2 uranium enrichment facility, the largest teardown in Oak Ridge history, clearing space for new, modern facilities to support weapons production.
The project took six years to complete — four years to deactivate the building and two more to tear it down. Total cost for deactivation and demolition came in at just under $200 million, with approximately $92 million for demolition alone.
“The purpose of Oak Ridge was to develop uranium for a weapon. And so at that time, it was a race,” said Erik Olds, the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Manager.
NNSA Y-12 Field Office Manager Mary Helen Hitson said the cleared land is critical to the agency’s future.
“They really make our future possible because they clear land for us to recapitalize and modernize,” Hitson said.
Olds described the manual nature of the work involved in the multi-year effort.
“That’s people in those buildings doing things by hand. That’s workers going into those facilities every single day and taking their machinery, piping, other materials out of the building by hand,” Olds said.
Olds said Alpha-2 serves as the blueprint for future demolitions, with work on a steam plant set to begin in June. In total, approximately 70 facilities in the area are slated for demolition.
demolition of the Alpha-2 uranium enrichment facility (wvlt)
