With an industry pre-proposal site tour set for Tuesday, the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility contract solicitation In Oak Ridge, Tenn., is already drawing a lot of questions from prospective bidders.
Fourteen questions and answers were posted on the solicitation website April 6. They cover everything from conflict of interest, to weight limits for dump trucks, to restrictions on used equipment at the facility planned for the Y-12 National Security Complex.
In response to one question, DOE said it would probably be a conflict of interest “that cannot be mitigated” for a company to serve as contractor both for the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility, and the upcoming Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) Cleanup contract. The final determination would be made by the ORR cleanup contracting officer, DOE added.
Other than the usual U.S. Department of Transportation standards, neither DOE or Y-12 enforce weight limits for dump trucks, DOE said. Also, DOE said a stipulation requiring that only “new equipment” be used applies only to the Mercury Treatment Facility itself, and not construction equipment or vehicles used on-site.
The request for proposals was issued March 22. DOE is looking for a contractor to build and test the mercury treatment plant for the Y-12 National Security Complex.
Mercury contamination has been a major concern at Oak Ridge for decades. During nuclear weapons research work in the 1950s and 1960s, DOE believes about 2 million pounds of mercury were spilled or lost, with about 700,000 pounds of the total ending up in contaminated buildings, soils, and water.
The planned facility would treat mercury-contaminated water that migrates from the Y-12 storm sewer to East Fork Poplar Creek. The facility is also meant as a hedge against further contamination as more old buildings with mercury inside them are torn down.
