Dr. Joshua Vajda is an award-winning project engineer with the Site Integration and Cleanup Group working at ORNL. Vajda received the American Nuclear Society President’s Award for his work on a special task force on credentialing and certifications. Outside of work, Josh is a dedicated runner who completes in half marathons and is preparing to…
UCOR Radiological Protection (RP) Continuing Training Program developed a new and exciting training method for 160 radiological technicians, lead techs, and supervisors. The program created an interactive escape room combining multiple elements from previous training. Lead RP Training Instructor Gina Allison and RP group member Tim Hughes developed this escape room with a series of…
From Alpha-2 Building demolition to construction of the Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12, a lot is happening in Oak Ridge. Have a look at all the progress we made across the Oak Ridge Reservation in December..
As UCOR’s Emergency Services Manager, Melissa leads a team of emergency management specialists to ensure UCOR is ready should an emergency situation arise. Her husband works as a division chief at Rural Metro Fire Department, so both of them live in protection mode. To see more of Melissa’s story, watch the video.
Crews deactivating ORNL’s former Acid Neutralization Plant, Building 3518, are busy with electrical isolations as they draw closer to completing cold and dark for the entire Process Waste Treatment Plant. Building 3518 was constructed in 1956 and processed ORNL wastewater until Building 3544 came online. Characterization and deactivation will begin in late FY 2025. Removing…
David Barton is a member of the UCOR Executive Communications team. He previously served in the Air Force and is still with the Air National Guard. David and his wife, Meagan, who also served in the Air Force, have four children. Watch the video to find out more.
At the ORNL Oak Ridge Research Reactor (Building 3042), crews have completed the reactor pool cleanup and are busy demobilizing from that activity. They have resumed removing and packaging 22,000 pounds of lead bricks from the second and third floors. The lead bricks acted as a shield around the reactor pool to provide contamination protection…
Landon Graham has been with UCOR for nearly a year. He went from laborer to concrete foremen to general foreman in just four months at the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility construction project. He has two stepdaughters and also has a new child on the way. Watch this video to see more of his sLandon…
Significant demolition progress has been made at the main Alpha-2 building at Y-12 over the last several weeks. Crews have sheared and demolished over 17,000 square feet of the facility. They have also removed the steel beams above the large electrical transformer that previously fed the building. This second phase of demo follows the successful…
At ORNL Building 3038 (Isotope Development Lab), the project team developed a new way to deploy its RADCOM team. Building 3038 is separated by an internal wall that required two separate Boundary Control Stations and four RADCON technicians to support the work there. The team built an external corridor connecting the two sides of the…
Crews on Isotope Row moved a mini excavator into Building 3118, Radioisotope Laboratory H. for the demolition of the 3031 Hot Cell. UCOR continues making great progress for @OREM toward deactivation and eventual demolition of the 12 buildings on Isotope Row, eliminating risks and freeing up valuable space on @ORNL’s Central Campus for the lab’s…
Kenneth Williams joined UCOR just a few months ago and is the company’s lead counselor in our new well-being clinic. Williams is a veteran who started his career with degrees in physics and mathematics and worked as a defense contractor. Thirty-three years ago, he made a career change to become a licensed counselor. With UCOR’s…
Crews in the Y-12 Beta-1 facility are conducting characterization and nondestructive assay surveys of potentially radiologically contaminated pipe in the basement to prepare for demolition. This work is taking place simultaneously with asbestos abatement of basement piping. Our workers continue to pump infiltrating water from the basement. Pumping out the water will allow workers to…
UCOR’s Sustainability Program and Heritage Center teams were able to certify a specific area of the site as a Monarch butterfly waystation through Monarch Watch, an education, conservation, and research organization. UCOR craft workers manage this nine-acre parcel of land in the Poplar Creek area of ETTP. It once housed some of the most contaminated…
Workers are doing a number of activities at the Oak Ridge Graphite Reactor (ORG) support facilities to get it ready for demolition next year. They are removing sludge from the Graphite Reactor Filter House canal. When completed, that effort is expected to generate almost 130 steel drums, holding 55 gallons each, of sludge waste. Workers…
Congratulations to Tommy Morgan (pictured left) and Josh Vajda (pictured right) who were honored at the 2024 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida recently. Morgan, who works for the Chief Operating Officer group, was named to ANS’s inaugural 40 under 40 list. This competitive list recognizes 40 individuals who strengthen…
Workers are making great progress demolishing the Alpha-2 complex during the second phase of demolition. Starting on the southwest corner of the main building, crews have demolished more than 11,700 square feet of the facility. Main building demolition began after the successful demolition of the carpentry building—part of the Alpha-2 complex—earlier this year. Enough debris…
UCOR D&D crews are currently testing their new BROKK B110 remote demolition unit. Last week, they tested it at the ORNL Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor site and did a mockup of the 3026 hot cell. This remotely operated equipment allows the project to significantly increase workers’ distance from potential hazards. The BROKK unit is small enough…
Meet radiological professionals Paula Eich, Summer York, Nicole Wilson, and Amy Moore who support the UCOR team working deactivating the ORNL Oak Ridge Research Reactor Building. These four women make a strong team, which has extended beyond the boundaries of work into a friendship. They share personal and professional experiences to guide one another through…
Crews are in the process of removing over 20,500 linear feet, or about 3.8 miles, of fence around the ETTP Heritage Center site. The fence removal project facilitates the continued transfer of parcels for future land use for private and public use. It has proven beneficial to prospective owners, especially clean energy companies that need…
ORRL Operations completed sediment cleanout of Pond 4 at Construction/Demolition Landfill VII this month, maximizing the capacity of this sediment settling pond in time for the upcoming wet season. Even with the very limited access into the sediment pond area and with ongoing waste management activities, the team completed the cleanout in just 12 working…
Meet Henry Devault, a popular UCOR truck and tour driver. Henry’s been with UCOR for 15 years and with the Teamsters for 39 years. His passion outside of work is cooking, and he’s won several competitions. View the video to hear his story.
Crews at Y-12 Alpha-2 are getting down to the wire doing prep work to start demolition on the main Alpha-2 Fusion Energy facility. Part of this prep work included removing transite panels on two “dog houses” on the north low bay roof and universal and hazardous waste. They have also completed pouring 30,600 cubic yards…
This year, Strata-G joined UCOR in our annual Coats for the Cold campaign in support of the Knoxville Area Rescue Ministry (KARM). Together we collected and donated 146 coats. Campaign coordinator Justice Wright is pictured with the coats that have been bagged for delivery to KARM.
Crews are removing two structures from the EU-20 footprint at ETTP Heritage Center as part of the remaining facilities disposition effort. This area includes the north end of the previously demolished-25 Building. The K-2500-J tent, also known as the Segmentation Shop Storage Facility, was demolished and hauled to the ORRL last week. The K-2500-AB demolition…
Meet Walt Czekaj, our environmental, safety and radiological controls manager at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center (TWPC). Walt enjoys working on DOE sites because of the emphasis on safety. He recently climbed 19,341 feet to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, talk about a trip of a lifetime!
UCOR has begun converting a former Disposal Area Remedial Action (DARA) storage facility for a new purpose. The facility, located just outside the Y-12 security footprint, will house a Technology Demonstration Testbed that will give space to test technologies that might aid in our cleanup mission. Workers will be installing a large overhead door in…
Crews at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) Landfills recently completed construction of new sediment control and drainage features to allow for a 13-acre expansion of the Spoils Area. Once completed, this expansion will provide additional space for staging and potential reuse of excess clean soil and building debris from ORR cleanup and construction activities.
We are excited to have been honored with the Top Workplaces 2024 Culture Excellence Award for Professional Development. It is the sixth award UCOR has received since it started participating in the Top Workplaces program. The Culture Excellence Award for Professional Development places a special focus on developing employee careers and enabling people to grow…
Meet Joe Barletto, a relatively new senior project manager for UCOR’s work at ORNL Building 3038 and the Isotope Row facilities. Hear him talk about living on a submarine, his family, and becoming a recent grandfather.
Workers at Oak Ridge Graphite Reactor (OGR) Buildings 3001/3002 have removed a 4,300-lb cement duct cap to perform radiological surveys, take characterization samples, and install a form to be used for pouring a concrete mixture into an outside ventilation duct. Once the characterization sample data has been verified, the entire duct will be filled with…
Crews at Y-12’s Alpha-2 complex are in the home stretch. They have completed the outside demolition prep work for the main facility, including asbestos pipe abatement and removing tie-lines. They are also wrapping up final pumping and CLSM pours in the basement. The plan is to start demolition on the southwest corner in just a…
UCOR’s workforce rallied to support our East Tennessee neighbors who were devastated by Hurricane Helene. Here how we partnered with Teamsters Local 519 to send employee-donated supplies to the affected areas. A true Culture of Caring demonstrated by all parties.
Workers in ORNL’s former Isotope Development Lab (Building 3038) are removing the water tanks that shielded hot cells as they prepare to remove the hot cells from the portion of the building known as the Alpha Handling Facility. Removing this equipment is necessary to support ongoing deactivation and prepping the facility for demolition.
The UCOR team’s commitment to safety has again earned national recognition. We received DOE’s Voluntary Protection Program “Star of Excellence” for our workers’ safety record while doing high-hazard work. PLUS, we got our fifth consecutive “Safety Innovation Award” from the Voluntary Protection Program Participants’ Association for our enhanced fall protection program. Earlier this year, UCOR…
Meet Casey Kennedy who is an administrative assistant for UCOR’s Navigate Program. Casey is passionate about our new behavioral and mental health program and how it can serve the UCOR family.
eThe team at ORNL Building 3042 Oak Ridge Research Reactor has completed a significant milestone cleaning up the reactor pool. For almost two years, crews have been working to segment and remove the reactor vessel and internal pool components, clarify and drain the pool water, and remove sediment from the bottom of the pool. There…
Workers with the Y‐12 Alpha‐2 Utility Reroutes Project have made significant progress with pipe replacement along Second Street reaching the Alpha‐2 building. The reroutes crews are working near where the Alpha‐2 team is prepping for building demo. Both teams are closely focused on their individual work areas to keep the Alpha‐2 demolition schedule on track.…
The landscape is starting to change at the Mercury Treatment Facility (MTF) project at Y-12. Until recently, much of the work has been taking place below ground level. However, crews have now installed the first of three sludge settling tanks. These tanks are essential to the project’s commitment to reduce mercury levels in the East…
Meet Mary Alice Douglass, UCOR’s Human Resources Manager. Hear Mary Alice talk about the importance of people as well as how she spends her time away from work.
Crews continue deactivating the hot cell structure that used to be part of the Radioisotope Development Laboratory at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They installed a sleeve through an opening to provide a protective, smooth pathway for the crew to move tools and waste in and out of the cell opening. The structure is scheduled…
UCOR has once again been recognized for its efforts to have a more environmentally friendly future. The NAFA Fleet Management Association, the vehicle fleet industry’s largest membership association, has presented UCOR a Green Fleet Award. The Green Fleet Awards recognize peak-performing fleet sustainability efforts and honor fleets who have enhanced practices to make a positive…
Crews at the ORNL Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor have been working for months to get the last waste loadout of asbestos, metal debris, and hazardous waste materials from the building’s experimental cells and utility tunnel—a total of 39,840 pounds—ready for shipping. Now workers can pour 8,300 cubic yards of concrete in the areas below the ground…
Meet Clay Hartman, a project engineer for Waste Operations. Clay helps ensure that waste shipments keep rolling as UCOR works to clean up the Oak Ridge Reservation
Our Characterization Operations team is collecting surface soil samples as part of their early site characterization work at the 30-acre White Wing Scrap Yard. This parcel will be the site of the recently announced Orano USA multi-billion-dollar uranium enrichment facility. Pictured are workers using hand augers to collect samples from the top two feet of…
Congratulations to two of our safety & health professionals for being honored for the contributions to their field. Mel McKenzie received the President’s Award at the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Safety24 Conference and Expo. As a member of the Leadership Conference Planning Committee, Mel received the award “for transforming ASSP’s Leadership Conference into…
Workers have started demolishing the Alpha-2 Complex, starting with the Carpentry Shop. The Carpentry Shop is one of four structures making up the complex. The other three are Building 9201-2, the Fusion Energy Building (referred to as Alpha-2); Building 9401-1, the Old Steam Plant Building; and Building 9501-2, a 161 kV steel transformer. Crews have…
It’s nice to be first, or at least one of the first. That’s where the Transuranic Waste Processing Center (TWPC) is after the DOE Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) approved their new waste-treatment process for non-compliant cellulosic waste. TWPC is one of the first sites in the entire DOE complex to develop and implement a process…
Congrats to our team at the Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF) project and our Sustainability Program team. At last week’s Tennessee Sustainability Conference, their work was recognized by the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the organization’s Outstanding Achievement in Environmental Excellence Award. Specifically, the award was for best overall efforts in environmental innovation…
It’s been a long, hot summer for the team at our Y-12 Alpha-2 project, working tropical and night shifts to get the job done. But it sure is paying off. They have reached a significant milestone, getting the west side of the massive building as well as the carpenter shop 9732-2 condemned. Congratulations, team!! They…
Watch Larry Brede, UCOR site integration and cleanup manager, and Hoss Brown, Oak Ridge Research Reactor building manager, discuss the recent accomplishments on the project. https://youtu.be/iwtQS_BetQo
UCOR is continuously taking actions to ensure that our landfills stay safe and effective. Our landfill team improved stormwater drainage across the landfill cap on a sanitary landfill that has been closed for almost 30 years. The team worked with the TN Department of Environment and Conservation to decide a sustainable, cost-effective approach to improve…
UCOR was one of six organizations on a project team to receive an Environmental Protection Agency’s Federal Facility Excellence in Site Reuse award for work at the East Tennessee Technology Park. The project team also included the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, CROET, EPA Region 4, City of Oak Ridge, and the Tennessee…
Our final special workforce spotlight to celebrate Vision 2024 is Courtney Julius. Courtney, who has a long tenure with UCOR, is the Waste Program Manager at the East Tennessee Technology Park,. In her spotlight, Courtney talks about the magnitude of the project to complete field work and soil remediation at ETTP, especially after we removed…
Next up in our series of special workforce spotlights celebrating Vision 2024 is Ryan Cannady. Ryan is the Environmental Safety and Health Manager at the East Tennessee Technology Park,. He has been a key player in completing the milestone we call Vision 2024, which is completing field work and soil remediation at ETTP. At UCOR,…
The second in our series of special workforce spotlights for Vision 2024 is Jimmy Hughes. Jimmy is the Area Project Manager at the East Tennessee Technology Park, where we have completed field work and soil remediation. We call that milestone Vision 2024 and we are celebrating achieving it. https://youtu.be/N54fjSa6Wxk
UCOR successfully removed the lower reactor vessel from the Oak Ridge Research Reactor (Building 3042) at the Oak Ridge national Lab. Workers lowered a 72-inch diamond wire saw to cut the final pieces that held the lower reactor vessel in place at the bottom of the reactor pool. They used a 20-ton overhead crane to…
As we approach our celebration event for completion of Vision 2024 (completion of field work and soil remediation at the East Tennessee Technology Park), we are showcasing some of the leaders who helped drive the project. First up, meet Amanda Human, one of the project managers at ETTP. https://youtu.be/tuEC5UHwxO0
Workers at Y-12 National Security Complex continue cleanup activities in the basement of the Alpha-2 building as UCOR prepares for demolition of the massive facility this fall. Workers are filling the basement area zones 1 & 2, covering approximately 3000 cubic yards with a concrete mixture that will create a slab for heavy equipment to…
Meet Bradley Russell, UCOR’s new Sustainability Manager. Before coming to UCOR, Bradly oversaw the sustainability program for NNSA’s Y-12 and Pantex facilities. Hear how this father of two small boys also pursues his passion for falconry.
At ORNL’s Isotope Row, our crews are making steady progress deactivating the buildings there. Recently, they removed four krypton tanks from Building 3093, a former storage facility. The 2,000-pound, 9-foot-long tanks stored krypton, which was used in thermal diffusion operations. Building 3093 was constructed in the 1950s as part of the Isotopes Program. The processing…
Being named a Top Workplace is a pretty big honor. But the best part about it is that the award is the result of feedback from our employees. In the spring, we conducted our third annual Top Workplaces survey through Energage. Employees have the opportunity to anonymously tell tell us how they feel about their…
UCOR teamed with East Tennessee Children’s Hospital for the 4th NAACP Oak Ridge/Anderson County Back to School Fair at the Scarboro Community Center in July. UCOR donated 200 backpacks containing a starter kit of school supplies along with water bottles and back to school stress management tips from East Tennessee Children’s Hospital.
One of many technologies UCOR is evaluating is spraying FerroBlack® on walls inside facilities where mercury vapors are present. Our Technology Development team recently demonstrated the technique. Marketing materials from supplier Redox Solutions explain that FerroBlack® is a green chemistry that eliminates mercury vapors upon contact with contaminated surfaces and debris. It oxidizes and incorporates…
UCOR is continuing to deactivate the massive Alpha-2 building at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Before we can demolish the facility, workers have to fill the basement area with a concrete mixture, creating a slab that will allow heavy equipment to maneuver during demolition. Check out the video. https://youtu.be/l0N76iQ9uOI
For more than 30 years, the last of a long list of legacy wastes on the Oak Ridge Reservation has been awaiting a final solution for disposition. Twenty-five drums holding up to 55 gallons each of mixed low-level liquid chemical waste have been safely stored at ORNL. Until now, no treatment options were available, challenging…
Hear from Tiffany Edwards, a UCOR chemical operator, about her experience working at the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment facility at ORNL. She previously served 8 years in the Tennessee Army National Guard as an automated logistical specialist.
A UCOR initiative diverted substantial amounts of construction materials from landfills by recycling asphalt from the decommissioned portion of Bear Creek Road. After removing the old road surface, 440 tons of asphalt was used at the Environmental Management Disposal Facility construction site. Additionally, 3,140 tons was transported to DuraCap Asphalt Company, who, in collaboration with…
UCOR’s intern program provides unique opportunities for non-traditional students like Jessica Ariks. After 15 years serving as the nurse for a local elementary school, Ariks was looking for a fresh start in a new career. A newly single mom, she sought the schedule stability of her former career but with an income to better provide…
Our team at the Y-12 Alpha-2 facility are in the last stages of deactivation before we begin demolition this fall. Recently, they cut concrete on the first floor to create additional access to remove waste from the basement. This allows more effective access and moves the project closer to being ready to demolish. Alpha-2 will…
UCOR’s Dr. Joshua Vajda has received the 2024 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Special Award. Vajda is a project engineer in UCOR’s site integration and cleanup engineering group. The ANS Special Award recognizes an individual for meritorious contributions in research and/or developing understanding in important areas of current activity. The ANS Board of Directors selects this…
Our interns are getting involved with technology development. Three interns completed LiDAR scanning at ORNL Building 3042, the Oak Ridge Research Reactor. LiDAR is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges. Using LiDAR, the team can develop data points and images to create a 3D…
Hear how UCOR is a family matter for senior industrial hygienist technician Cole Ayers. This avid scuba diver is a graduate of Tennessee Tech, majoring in cellular molecular biology. Check out his workforce spotlight.
UCOR continues to grow its commitment to behavioral and mental health. After developing a wellness program focused on the issue, our Navigate program, we are making additional steps to help our workforce deal with issues that impact their behavioral and mental health. You’ll be hearing more about those over the coming weeks. In our community,…
Workers at Y-12 are busy at Alpha-4 with mercury cleanup and containment throughout several floors. Critical safety measures are followed to prevent vapors from escaping into the air inside and outside of the building by covering ventilation louvers. The hazardous waste is captured and placed in glove boxes and inside the fume hoods to be…
We loved what our Top Workplaces survey told us about how our employees feel about working at UCOR!
Getting former nuclear facilities ready for demolition can involve a wide variety of activities, from removing asbestos lined pipes and tiles to decontaminating old equipment. We have workers right now preparing the ORNL Fission Production Development Lab (Building 3517) for eventual demo. They are investigating the facility’s hot cells by taking radiation measurements and gathering…
The East Tennessee Technology Park team celebrated with a cookout as they close in on completing soil remediation work at the site. Area Project Manager Jimmy Hughes congratulates this highly experienced team for their ongoing safe work and dedication to our cleanup mission. What a great way to head into the Memorial Day holiday weekend,…
UCOR welcomed its summer intern class on May 20 and its our largest one to date. Our 2024 class has 42 students from 14 schools across 10 states. The students will work across a broad range of fields needed to complete our cleanup work for DOE, including supply chain, business analytics, engineering, human resources,…
Welcome to “The Future is Cleanup,” UCOR’s blog that will showcase the work we are doing on the Oak Ridge Reservation for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management and the people who do that work. We’ll also share special events and achievements here. To kick off the blog, have a look at this…
Chris Caldwell, Communications Manager
Email: Christopher.Caldwell@orcc.doe.gov
Phone: (804) 658-8367
Susanne Dupes, Media Relations
Email: Susanne.Dupes@orcc.doe.gov
Phone: (865) 803-2759
