Oak Ridge Outreach Keeps Community Informed About Cleanup Progress

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management hosts outreach events to help educate the public about the work underway and provide a venue for people to ask questions to the projects managers leading cleanup at the site.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) held an open-house public information session on Jan. 29 to keep the community updated on the priorities and latest cleanup happening across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation.

The session at the Oak Ridge Conference Center included poster stations that highlighted recent achievements, projects on the horizon and goals for 2026. Federal and contractor project managers were also on hand to speak with participants.

The progress on display at the event demonstrates how the DOE Office of Environmental Management is removing risks, supporting DOE modernization efforts to advance important national missions and providing land for Oak Ridge to serve as a hub for nuclear energy technology and innovation.

“The support and involvement we receive from the Oak Ridge community has been a driving factor behind our success,” said OREM Public Affairs Specialist Ben Williams. “Events like this help ensure residents, local officials and partners are equipped with the latest information and have opportunities to ask questions and provide input directly to the project managers who are leading the work.”

United Cleanup Oak Ridge Project Manager Brian Hutson discusses cleanup efforts underway at the Y-12 National Security Complex, including the Alpha-4 project, where he helped avoid $16 million in costs to taxpayers and accelerated the deactivation schedule by 1.5 years.

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) poster station included maps showing the real time status of deactivation and demolition efforts, and employees shared plans for removing the final hot cell at the former Radioisotope Development Laboratory, which is one of the most contaminated structures at the site. They also highlighted how they’re starting the teardown of 11 former isotope labs and production facilities.

Team members also discussed how OREM is steadily removing inventories of nuclear and radiological waste from ORNL that have been in storage for decades, including the nation’s inventory of uranium-233, legacy transuranic waste and reactive metals.

The Y-12 National Security Complex station showcased the completion of OREM’s largest demolition yet at the site. Crews finished tearing down Alpha-2 only days before the event. Posters also walked attendees through the deactivation process and provided details about the next big takedowns including Alpha-4, Beta-1 and Beta-4. All are former Manhattan Project uranium enrichment facilities.

Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Regulatory Affairs Specialist Roger Petrie answers questions about the cleanup and transformation at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

Stations focusing on the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) revealed how cleanup is creating new economic opportunities for the region. Land OREM has transferred from government ownership is now home to nuclear businesses that have announced capital investments of $10 billion, and they expect to generate 2,500 private sector jobs.

OREM employees also shared how the organization has fulfilled its major historic preservation commitments at ETTP with the recent opening of the William J. Wilcox, Jr. K-25 Interpretive Center. The facility’s elevated view provides a look at K-25’s 44-acre footprint.

Other stations highlighted OREM’s joint success with regulators confirming half of federal acreage in Oak Ridge was not impacted by historic operations. That designation simplifies future land transfers and supports beneficial reuse on those parcels.

Employees also provided updates about the Environmental Management Disposal Facility project, which provides crucial waste disposal capacity needed to finish ORNL and Y-12 cleanup. This year, teams will finish gathering groundwater-level samples to inform the facility’s design, and they are scheduled to begin constructing support facilities.

-Contributor: Ryan Getsi