EM Crews Begin Demolition of Final Five DOE Buildings at ETEC

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – EM workers have started demolition on the final five DOE-owned buildings at the former Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC).

The first of the five buildings being removed is Building 4038, constructed in 1963-1965 to serve as ETEC’s office building. The demolition entails removing the metal siding and roof, then cutting apart the steel frame that anchored the building to a concrete slab.

The other four DOE-owned buildings include a SNAP Reactor Environmental Test Facility. The building was once part of the government-sponsored System for Nuclear Auxiliary Power (SNAP) program that developed lightweight power devices for use in space as well as on Earth. The three other buildings include a sodium test rig house, and sodium pump test facilities.

Crews with North Wind, EM’s cleanup contractor at ETEC, started to take down the final five buildings on March 15. Completion of DOE building demolition at ETEC is one of EM’s 2021 priorities.

“We’ve reached the last demolition phase at ETEC, which we anticipate will take to the end of the year. Our crews are committed to careful, safe demolition to ensure we protect the public and the environment, and the surrounding communities,” said John Jones, the EM ETEC federal project director.

DOE will ship demolition debris to a licensed disposal facility outside the state of California.
Following the removal of the last five ETEC buildings, EM intends to continue working with the State of California on final cleanup, including cleanup of groundwater and soils.