Secretary Wright Energized by Visit to Oak Ridge Cleanup Projects

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, center, speaks with U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, right, and U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – During his recent visit to Oak Ridge, Energy Secretary Chris Wright observed cleanup projects that are helping modernize one of the nation’s most important national security sites and opening land for next-generation nuclear companies.

Wright’s visit with the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) began at the Y-12 National Security Complex, where he saw the crucial work underway to protect the nation. However, Y-12’s ongoing missions are happening near many deteriorated, contaminated facilities dating to the Manhattan Project and Cold War.

Leadership from OREM and cleanup contractor UCOR detailed how U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management cleanup efforts are removing those structures to eliminate hazards and provide space for new infrastructure supporting national security missions.

“As a fan of history, this is a critical area for the Manhattan Project, it’s a critical area for winning WWII and it will be a critical area for our future,” said Wright. “Seeing the people, seeing the buildings, seeing the infrastructure, and hearing the bold plans, I'm energized.”

Energy Secretary Chris Wright was joined by U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Manager Jay Mullis, UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter and others to discuss how transferred land at Oak Ridge’s East Tennessee Technology Park is helping attract nuclear industry to the region.

OREM has already torn down the former Biology Complex to make way for the Lithium Processing Facility. Y-12 is a supplier of lithium materials to support U.S. defense missions, and it’s the only DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration facility with lithium processing and production capabilities.

Meanwhile, crews are demolishing Alpha-2, a massive former enrichment facility categorized as “high risk” due to its condition and contents.

Preparations are also underway to demolish other sprawling former enrichment facilities at Y-12. These projects will continue enhancing safety and clearing land to support missions at the site.

Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Manager Jay Mullis, far right, and UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter, far left, highlight cleanup projects underway at the Y-12 National Security Complex to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, second from right.

Wright also gathered with congressional and business leaders at Oak Ridge’s East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP). The meeting highlighted OREM’s efforts to return government-owned land it has cleaned back to the community to attract new economic development.

Those transfers have been successful in bringing next-generation nuclear companies and significant private investments to Oak Ridge.

OREM has transferred 1,800 acres, including a 24-acre area last month. It will continue adding to that total with a 33-acre tract later this year, and a 667-acre parcel next year.

That land is home to businesses making a projected capital investment of $7 billion, and they expect to generate 1,700 private-sector jobs.

“Our goal is to unleash American energy, and one of the key pillars of that is next-generation nuclear,” said Wright. “We want to get nuclear launched again, and I see that energy, that activity, that land, that willingness to do it right here. I think the nuclear renaissance could begin right here.”

Y-12 National Security Complex’s important national security missions are conducted near many deteriorated, contaminated facilities dating to the Manhattan Project and Cold War. Pictured here are massive former uranium enrichment buildings at Y-12 that Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management will demolish to eliminate hazards and provide space for new infrastructure.

OREM completed major field work at ETTP last year, culminating more than 20 years of cleanup. Along the way, Oak Ridge became the first site in the world to remove a former enrichment complex, and the first DOE site to pursue reindustrialization.

OREM’s cleanup and transfers have transformed ETTP from a government-owned, shuttered uranium enrichment complex into a privately owned industrial park that has become a hub for nuclear energy development.

“It's a perfect example of unleashing American Energy, taking federal resources with a legacy use, cleaning them up and getting them ready, and turning them over to the private sector to invest private dollars and innovation to grow energy,” Wright added.

-Contributor: Ben Williams