OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge demolished an ‘aging, contaminated’ building at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The organizations started demolishing Building 3003 in June and recently finished removing debris, clearing 10,000 square feet of space. This space will make it easier to destroy the nearby facilities like the adjacent Buildings 3002 and 3018 in the coming years, UCOR said.
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Building 3003 was built in 1943 to provide ventilation for the graphite reactor, an important part of the Manhattan Project. UCOR remarked that demolishing it was especially difficult because of how heavily congested the area was.
“While finishing up deactivation and making our way to demolition start, challenges would arise, but all were faced with teamwork and problem-solving mindsets,” said UCOR ORNL Area Cleanup Project Manager Zachary Dew. “The skill of our craft and strength of our partnerships provided us with a clear path to success. I’m thankful to all involved for their part in making this project a success.”
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The demolition is part of a large-scale cleanup meant to make more land available for new businesses. According to the Department of Energy, 1,800 acres of land formerly belonging to the government have been transferred to the community for economic development. The Oak Ridge community hopes this will attract billions of dollars in investment. OREM got a new manager in June…