EM crews are deactivating Building K-1600, a former test and demonstration facility for uranium enrichment centrifuges.
Office of Environmental Management
December 17, 2019
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OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – EM crews are deactivating Building K-1600, a former test and demonstration facility for uranium enrichment centrifuges at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP).
The project is key to achieving Vision 2020 by paving the way for the site’s final demolition. Watch a video of the project here.
Vision 2020 is EM’s goal to complete all demolitions and major cleanup at ETTP by the end of 2020. It will mark the first time in the world that an enrichment complex has been successfully cleaned and removed.
The 40,000-square-foot K-1600 facility was transferred to Oak Ridge cleanup contractor UCOR in September 2019 to complete deactivation and demolition. Centrus Energy Corp. had leased Building K-1600 since 2002 and finished decommissioning it earlier this year. The company no longer needed the lease after consolidating its centrifuge testing and demonstration activities into a location in Oak Ridge.
Building K-1600 is one of the most recognizable facilities remaining at ETTP due to its height and location. It sits in the center of the footprint for the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building. K-25 was one of the site’s five massive gaseous diffusion buildings that once held the title of the world’s largest building.
Remaining deactivation work at K-1600 includes rendering the building “cold and dark,” which involves disconnecting utilities to the structure and installing temporary utilities needed for cleanup crews. UCOR will also remove asbestos and equipment.
EM and UCOR are working to convert ETTP into a multi-use industrial park, national park, and conservation area.
To date, Oak Ridge’s EM program has taken down facilities spanning 12 million square feet, transferred more than 1,200 acres of land for economic development, and placed more than 3,000 acres in a conservation easement for community recreational use.
Additionally, more than 100 acres will be used for historic preservation efforts at ETTP. Since the K-25 footprint is part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, the demolition of Building K-1600 will increase accessibility and remove risks in the area for future use.