To keep crews safely away from radiation, UCOR has started using the Brokk remotely operated excavator to deactivate the remaining portion of the final hot cell inside ORNL’s former Radioisotope Development Laboratory (Building 3026). This and the five other hot cells that were previously removed from the building were heavily shielded concrete rooms that protected…
The Heritage Center’s Excess Equipment Project has sent the final shipment of excess equipment to the Oak Ridge Reservation Landfills (ORRL), wrapping up this important project. Crews characterized, dismantled, size-reduced, packaged, and loaded more than 100 pieces of heavy equipment used during ETTP demolition that were radiologically contaminated or at the end of the equipment’s…
The ORNL Deactivation and Demolition (D&D) team has safely completed the current phase of characterization scope in Buildings 3042 and 3038. Characterization is necessary to determine the contaminants in the waste stream to ensure proper disposal and compliance with the waste disposal facility acceptance criteria. As obstacles were removed from the facilities and sample locations…
UCOR Nuclear Operations crews are working inside of a large zeolite column for maintenance and repairs at ORNL’s 3608 Wastewater Treatment facility. These tanks filter out contaminants in the groundwater in the facility’s treatment process. This marks the first time that crews have operated welding equipment inside of a vessel of this kind. To learn…
UCOR’s Personal Property Management team has achieved a significant milestone, successfully transferring vital remotely operated demolition equipment from another DOE cleanup site. This strategic acquisition, carried out through the newly implemented Management of Portable Equipment Program, has resulted in an impressive cost savings of over $1.7 million by avoiding the purchase of new equipment. The…
UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter reflects on a successful 2025 and wishes the workforce a happy holiday season. Watch the video here.
This week, UCOR’s Zone 2 Electrical Ductbank project team completed dewatering the last set of vaults on the K-25 footprint at Heritage Center. The ductbank vaults contained cables that once supplied power to K-25 and nearby facilities. Crews initiated dewatering the final 38 vaults on the west side of the K-25 slab in early September and have…
The December episode of Energycast features how UCOR Project Manager Brian Hutson’s questioning attitude is saving taxpayers $16 million and accelerating one of the largest demolitions at the Y-12 National Security Complex by a year and a half. In other news, DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency determined that nearly half of the federally owned…
As part of its proactive 2025 winterization campaign, UCOR’s ORNL Nuclear Operations team has successfully installed innovative monitoring lights on new piping at the 2600 Process Waste Facility. This upgrade is a crucial step in safeguarding the facility’s operations, particularly for its Liquid and Gaseous Waste Operations. “The new red heat trace lights serve as…
UCOR has made substantial progress preparing Y-12’s Beta-4 building for demolition, particularly in establishing critical infrastructure to support ongoing deactivation and demolition efforts. To optimize efficiency and safety during D&D operations, Beta-4 crews have partnered with Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) and other internal and external organizations to construct temporary facilities. This strategic relocation places crews…
