Workers have completed demolition on Building K-1414, a garage that was the longest operating facility at the East Tennessee Technology Park.
Workers have completed demolition on Building K-1414, a garage that was the longest operating facility at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Workers recently completed demolition on Building K-1414, a garage that was the longest operating facility at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP).

   The structure was built in 1949 and operated until early 2018—long after the site’s uranium enrichment operations ceased in the mid-1980s. The building covered more than 12,000 square feet and served as the maintenance hub and fueling station for vehicles used to support the site’s enrichment, and later, cleanup missions.

   As part of EM and contractor UCOR’s planning efforts to complete cleanup at ETTP and transfer property to private ownership, the company transitioned its fleet of vehicles to the General Services Administration. This change allowed the fleet to be serviced and fueled by outside private vendors, and it enabled UCOR to close garage operations and prepare the building for demolition.

Earlier this month, crews began taking down the 12,000 square foot Building K-1414, which was built in 1949 and operated until 2018.
Earlier this month, crews began taking down the 12,000 square foot Building K-1414, which was built in 1949 and operated until 2018.
Earlier this month, crews began taking down the 12,000 square foot Building K-1414, which was built in 1949 and operated until 2018.

   "Every demolition matters as we work toward our goal of removing all of the old, excess, and contaminated structures at ETTP by the end of 2020,” said Karen Deacon, acting ETTP portfolio federal project director for the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM). “This project highlights UCOR’s attention to the many facets required to complete cleanup and transfer the site.”

   Cleanup operations at ETTP have included the demolition of the uranium enrichment complex’s five massive gaseous diffusion buildings that spanned 4.5 million square feet, removal of hundreds of various support facilities, and remediation of soil and groundwater.

   Nearby, other crews are currently demolishing ETTP’s largest remaining structure—Building 1037. Additionally, demolition is scheduled to begin this spring on the final Poplar Creek Facility, which will complete the removal of the most contaminated series of buildings left at the site.

   Since OREM began cleanup at ETTP, the program has taken down more than 400 facilities and transferred nearly 1,300 acres from government ownership in its goal to convert the site into a privately-owned and operated industrial park.