EM Nevada Brings Down Train Shed at Legacy Nuclear Facility

At left is the Train Shed, shown in 2021. At right Is a view of an indoor crane being removed from the Train Shed earlier this year.

LAS VEGAS — The Environmental Management (EM) Nevada Program has completed the demolition of the largest ancillary structure remaining at the Engine Maintenance, Assembly and Disassembly (EMAD) Facility at the Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS).

The building brought down at the NNSS was formally known as Building 3901, but more commonly is referred to as the “Train Shed.”

“We are pleased to get this structure to the ground as part of our long term cleanup mission,” EM Nevada Program Manager Robert Boehlecke said. “The project was completed safely and furthers our progress in remediating contaminated sites at the NNSS.”

The Train Shed sat for a generation in the shadow of the massive EMAD facility, which was built in the 1960s and was once the largest hot cell in the world. EMAD, along with Test Cell C, are part of EM’s ongoing cleanup effort, and both were key components of the NNSS Area 25 Nuclear Rocket Development Station.

The next phase of demolition at EMAD will focus on the 100,000-square-foot main structure. To get there, however, crews have followed a methodical process of asbestos abatement and removal, as well as removing the ancillary structures. To date, these structures included a large stand-alone water tower, two exhaust stacks on the main building and the Train Shed.

A view of the Train Shed pad in May following demolition of the building.

Jason Sofie, Industrial Sites manager for Navarro Research & Engineering Inc., EM Nevada’s environmental program services contractor, is proud of the deliberate, detailed approach the team took toward the Train Shed. Before demolition began, the building interior was sprayed with an encapsulant to prevent spreading airborne contaminants during demolition. All debris from the Train Shed demolition was packaged and will be properly disposed of at the NNSS.

“We all worked together as a team and successfully brought the building down,” Sofie said. “We have an end product that changes the horizon and the landscape at the EMAD compound and the NNSS, so it is fulfilling at the end of the day.”

-Contributor: Glenn Puit