Safely Reducing Environmental Risks. We are cleaning up contaminated, unused facilities on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). In addition to removing excess facilities, we maintain facilities across ORR that are waiting for disposition. We also provide critical upgrades to extend the life of active, but aging, facilities. This continues the same work done by the former UCOR from 2011 to 2022.
Latest Updates
from UCOR’s Social Media
Meet Kiersten Douglass, a member of our accounts payable team. She has been with us for four years and recently took over as leader of THE HIVE Local Safety Improvement Team. Outside of work, Kiersten has two sons that keep her busy with sporting events, but she tries to always make time to go to the gym and work out. To learn more about Kiersten, watch the video below.
youtu.be/hRc7Bmxjl-c?si=waufFOmxoVDqQCG7
#TeamUCOR #UCORToday
UCOR crews just wrapped up a 2.5-year project to replace critical piping at Oak Ridge National Laboratory!
Teams replaced 2,500 feet of carbon steel pipe with stainless steel at the Process Waste Facility. We also installed updated valves and heat-trace systems to prevent winter freezes.
The system treats 110 million gallons of waste each year. Through strong teamwork, our crews finished this job with zero pauses to daily waste treatment.
Read the full article: www.energy.gov/em/articles/em-upgrades-ensure-ornls-crucial-missions-continue-uninterrupted
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Great news! UCOR has earned its seventh straight national innovation award from the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association! 🏆
UCOR President Jim Blankenhorn accepted the award, which recognizes our team's outstanding Vegetation Management Program. Tree felling is one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. To keep our workers safe, UCOR built a specialized safety program that gives crews the exact tools, training, and protective measures they need to handle tough terrain.
Thanks to this innovative program, our crews safely cleared:
🌲 Over 40 acres for the new Environmental Management Disposal Facility.
🌲 39 acres at a legacy Cold War site—with zero injuries or illnesses!
These efforts clear the way for environmental cleanup and open up land for future research and national security missions at Oak Ridge.
Join us in congratulating our team for keeping safety first every single day!
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UCOR teams are now demolishing Isotope Row, a group of old isotope research buildings at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that haven’t been used since the early 1990s. These facilities once played a key role in producing and studying elements for medical and national defense uses, but their aging equipment and contamination require careful cleanup. As UCOR safely removes each building, the team reduces risks, supports ORNL’s modernization, and helps prepare the campus for future scientific advances. Learn more here: www.energy.gov/em/articles/first-bite-demolition-begins-legacy-isotope-labs-ornl
What's New
Innovative approaches fuel UCOR’s national safety award streak
UCOR has earned its seventh consecutive national innovation award, continuing a multi-year record of improving workplace practices while safely advancing environmental cleanup across the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). UCOR President and Program Manager Jim Blankenhorn accepted the Innovation Award at the annual Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA) national conference. VPPPA represents 300,000 workers across the United States and helps worksites improve safety and health practices.
What's New
EM Upgrades Ensure ORNL’s Crucial Missions Continue Uninterrupted
The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) finished a 2.5-year piping replacement project that is crucial to maintain ongoing missions and daily operations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This life-extension effort involved replacing all above-ground piping for the Liquid and Gaseous Waste Operations (LGWO) system’s Process Waste Facility. The upgrades significantly reduce the risk of outages that would pause operations at the site and the need for frequent maintenance and repairs on the aging infrastructure.
What's New
First Bite: Demolition Begins on Legacy Isotope Labs at ORNL
An Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) team has begun demolishing a tight cluster of highly contaminated buildings on one of the most challenging footprints at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The aging, contaminated infrastructure presents risks within its tight quarters in the heart of the laboratory’s central campus. With each teardown OREM eliminates hazards, enables modernization and provides land for new facilities to advance research and innovation.
What's New
Major Deactivation Progress Moves Oak Ridge Reactor Closer to Teardown
The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has made significant headway deactivating the Oak Ridge Research Reactor since crews successfully removed its reactor vessel two years ago. With the extracted vessel loaded into a 32,000-pound protective shipping cask for offsite disposal, crews shifted focus to address hazards in the basement of the large facility in the central campus of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), bringing the structure a step closer to demolition.
Safety
We Strive to Set the Standard in Safety
Safety is always the top priority at UCOR. We are a DOE Voluntary Protection Program Star site, a designation given to only the safest sites in the DOE Complex. Our award-winning safety performance has earned us many accolades.
Employee involvement is a key aspect of our safety culture. We empower our workers to stop work if they see something questionable. We also have strong worker engagement program to ensure our team members feel safe in their work environment.
