Massive cleanup initiative removes hundreds of acres of radioactive soil in wake of new nuclear technology site: 'A significant and meaningful step'
Cleanup on a site that housed radioactive diffusion plants during the Manhattan Project and the Cold War has reclaimed land where once stood the largest building in the world, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel .
In Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the U.S. Department of Energy and United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) removed 50,000 dump trucks of contaminated soil from the land that housed the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant during the Manhattan Project.
Now, the land is transferring back from federal control to Oak Ridge and private companies that are developing new technologies for nuclear technology. Kairos Power, one company that purchased land, began construction this summer on its Hermes test reactor, which uses fluoride salt rather than water to cool the reactor, reserving the limited resource for community use.
According to the News Sentinel, the 25 private companies planning to build on the newly cleaned land will bring in $1.35 billion in investments and around 1,400 jobs.
On Aug. 21, elected officials and private sector representatives joined UCOR and the DOE's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) at a ceremony to mark the occasion.
"Today is a significant and meaningful step toward completing our ultimate mission at the East Tennessee Technology Park," OREM Manager Jay Mullis said in a news release. "Our progress has transformed the site from an unusable liability into an economic asset for the Oak Ridge community."
Watch now: Uber-wealthy couple makes unprecedented move with $300 million land
"This is a remarkable achievement and the first uranium enrichment complex in the world to be deactivated, demolished, and have soils remediated for reuse of the property," said Caroline Freeman, director of the EPA's Superfund and Emergency Management Division in Region 4.
The K-25 (the codename used by those working during WWII) Gaseous Diffusion Plant was instrumental during the Manhattan Project, enriching uranium. At the time, the main building was the largest building at the time. With over five million square feet and a mile long, workers had to bike from one end of the building to the other.
Would you be comfortable having a nuclear power plant in your town or city?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
It was decommissioned in 1980 and demolished in 2020. The cleanup involved tearing down more than 500 buildings and then removing foundation slabs and radioactive soil.
Nuclear reactors have a finite lifespan, around 30 years for some of the earliest buildings. Across the world, over 700 reactor sites are decommissioned . On these sites, nuclear waste not in use contains highly toxic chemicals that can threaten agriculture, water sources, ecosystems, and humans.
The cleanup of Oak Ridge is a great example of clearing a site of its potentially deadly chemicals and bringing new clean projects that bring jobs and investment into Oak Ridge.
"We are not only helping to restore the environment while reducing site risks, but we are also facilitating continued regional economic and recreational development," UCOR president and CEO Ken Rueter said.
The state will continue to fund restoration in the area. In July, the DOE and Tennessee pledged $42 million to create public trails and native habitats in Oak Ridge.
Across the country, the Department of Energy is continuing to turn old nuclear sites into affordable energy projects. The Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative aims to transform nuclear weapon sites into clean energy. The DOE has recently started cleaning a site in Hanford, Washington . So far, the DOE has completed its cleanup mission at 92 of the 107 major nuclear weapons and nuclear research sites.
