DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY COMPLETES FIVE RECOVERY ACT PROJECTS

Moves Closer to Completing Recovery Act Funded Work at Oak Ridge Site

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) program recently completed five projects at the Oak Ridge site funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The projects included the expansion of two landfills at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). The Sanitary Landfill, a designated area for non-hazardous waste, was expanded by 385,000 cubic yards (25,600 dump truck loads). The Environmental Management Waste Management Facility (EMWMF), ORR’s mixed waste disposal facility, added another disposal cell with a capacity of 465,000 cubic yards (31,000 dump truck loads).  The expansions allow the EM program to locally dispose of waste generated by environmental cleanup initiatives, eliminating costly shipping expenses.

“Our employees are doing a fantastic job of steadily accomplishing Recovery Act work,” said EM Assistant Manager John Eschenberg.  “Completing these projects obviously brings us closer to finishing our Recovery Act work, which has given us a unique opportunity to accomplish much needed cleanup in Oak Ridge.”

Pre-demolition and demolition projects at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) and Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) were also recently completed.  Workers removed waste and conducted pre-demolition activities at ETTP’s Building K-27, a former uranium enrichment factory that was shut down in 1964, and demolished the 9206 Filter House and Building 9735 at Y-12.  The removal of these outdated facilities reduces unneeded footprint and increases safety and efficiency at Y-12.

The final close-out of these projects moves the site closer to completing Recovery Act work that began in 2009. DOE’s EM program received $755 million in Recovery Act funds for Oak Ridge that have allowed the site to begin environmental cleanup and restoration projects at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12, ETTP, and the Transuranic Waste Processing Center.

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