The Oak Ridge Site, located in eastern Tennessee, is one of the three original sites in the Manhattan Project. The K-25 and Y-12 plants were built to explore different methods to enrich uranium, while the X-10 Site was established as a pilot plant for the Graphite Reactor and to explore methods for the production of plutonium. Throughout the following decades, the three sites purified isotopes, conducted advanced research, manufactured weapons components, and enriched uranium. These activities created environmental legacies that placed the Oak Ridge Reservation on EPA’s National Priorities List in 1989. Watch the video below to learn more about the cleanup progress and transformation happening at the Oak Ridge Site.
Oak Ridge News
-
West Valley Demonstration Project officials met with representatives from the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management in Tennessee to share lessons learned from the ongoing demolition of the Main Plant Process Building.February 4, 2025
-
The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and contractor UCOR have successfully reestablished full production capacity at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center.February 3, 2025
-
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management successfully completed the majority of its 2024 priorities, advancing critical cleanup work with the support of state, tribal and local partners.January 17, 2025
-
OREM and Isotek are working to eliminate the nation’s inventory of uranium-233 from storage at ORNL.January 14, 2025
-
The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractors are advancing the momentum achieved during a successful 2024.January 7, 2025
-
The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractors recorded another successful year by completing all of their 2024 priorities and reaching an ambitious milestone decades in the making.December 17, 2024
John Arthur (Jay) Mullis II serves as the Manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM). He has served in this position since November 2017. Mullis is responsible for safely executing the environmental cleanup of the 30,000-acre Oak Ridge Reservation, which entails successfully managing the cleanup of the East Tennessee Technology Park, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Y-12 National Security Complex.
Click here to view full bio.
High-Level Budget Information
FY22 Enacted (in the millions) | FY23 Request (in the millions) | FY23 Enacted (in the millions) | FY24 Enacted (in the millions) | FY24 Enacted (in the millions) | FY25 Requested (in the millions) |
| $630 | $612 | $637 | $635 | $694 | $658 |
For more information on the Office of Environmental Management's budget process and performance check out the Budget & Performance page.