OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WATE) — Clean up efforts at Y-12’s demolished Alpha-2 facility, one of the facilities that helped create the first atomic bombs, are nearing completion after crews removed 81 million pounds of debris.
Wednesday morning, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) shared photos of the cleanup efforts that included United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) crews removing nearly 3,500 truckloads of debris left behind by the demolition of the 325,000-square-foot former uranium enrichment building, which was used during the Manhattan Project.
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According to OREM, crews completed the demolition process six months ahead of schedule, and the waste disposal signifies a final chapter of the demolition project. Demolition began in December 2024 and was initially expected to continue into 2027.
“Bringing the Alpha-2 building down was a significant achievement, but now the team has accomplished something equally as important by removing all the waste,” said Morgan Carden, Y-12 portfolio federal project director. “It’s rewarding to see how our cleanup progress is modernizing the site and providing the space necessary for new infrastructure.”
The Alpha-2 demolition project yielded 81 million pounds of debris and rubble. (United Cleanup Oak Ridge)
Oak Ridge crews load one of the final truckloads of waste for shipment from the former Alpha-2 building footprint at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (United Cleanup Oak Ridge)
In 2021, plans were shared that three 1940s-era buildings at Y-12 would be demolished. The Alpha-2 facility was the largest of the three, and notably is one of nine uranium enrichment buildings that have been constructed at Y-12.
Constructed in 1944, Alpha-2 housed the famous “Calutron Girls” who ran the machines producing uranium-235, which was part of the first atomic bomb dropped in 1945.
As the 2.5-acre area of land moves closer to being reused for national security missions, OREM expects the next step in the clean-up process to include reducing 800,000 pounds of lead that was removed from Alpha-2 and packaging it for specialized shipments offsite, which is expected to begin in June.
Earlier this year, officials shared with 6 News that OREM is planning to demolish around 70 more legacy facilities at Y-12.
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The next demolition project expected to begin this summer will be focusing on the 210,000-square-foot Beta-1 facility, another Manhattan Project-era uranium enrichment building at Y-12, OREM shared. Demolition of the Beta-1 facility is expected to conclude in 2028, and crews will then begin removing the Old Steam Plant at Y-12.
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