The National Nuclear Security Administration and the prime contractor for the Y-12 Nuclear Security Complex at Oak Ridge, Tenn., are working with the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management to shrink the high-security protected area around Y-12 by almost half.
Ground was broken April 7 on the $160-million West End Protected Area Reduction project, designed to allow the Office of Environmental Management (EM) and its Oak Ridge cleanup contractor, URS-CH2M Oak Ridge or UCOR, easier access to old, contaminated buildings at Y-12, according to a press release from the cleanup office.
At the same time, fences and updated security infrastructure will still surround buildings used for operations that support national security missions, the agencies said in press releases.
The project, set for completion in July 2025, will provide updated equipment and cut about 70 acres from the 150-acre footprint for the Y-12 Protected Area, according to a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) press release. The project includes installation of the Perimeter Intrusion Detection Assessment System boundary fence along the H-Road and installation of the new Entry Control Facility with a vehicle portal, NNSA said.
“We look forward to starting this work and are committed to seeing it safely completed on budget and schedule,” Robert Raines, NNSA’s associate administrator for acquisition and project management, said in the release.
Without boundary changes, all EM cleanup workers would need to obtain top security clearances. Also, getting crews and equipment into and out of a high-security area can be costly, according to EM.
“Reducing the amount of high-security acreage will enhance access for our crews and cut cleanup costs by more than 40%,” Jay Mullis, the top manager at EM’s Oak Ridge office said in the press release. “These savings will allow us to dedicate more funds to accelerate the removal of deteriorated Manhattan Project and Cold War-era infrastructure and sources of mercury in the environment.”
Y-12, run by contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security, is a manufacturing facility for the national nuclear deterrent. Y-12 also retrieves and stores nuclear materials.
UCOR last year finished its demolition structures at the East Tennessee Technology Park, previously known as the K-25 gaseous diffusion plant complex at Oak Ridge, and is now moving on to decontamination and tear down of contaminated facilities around Y-12 and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
