DOE, UCOR hosting event highlighting economic opportunities at ETTP

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractor UCOR are hosting a virtual event on Feb. 24 that is free and open to the public. The hour-long event, beginning at 9:30 a.m., will highlight the transformation happening at the East Tennessee Technology Park and provide insight into the new economic opportunities the site provides the community moving forward.  
 
Leadership from both organizations will share the final steps required to complete environmental cleanup activities at the former uranium enrichment complex and transition the site to private ownership – a process known as reindustrialization. The event also includes a panel discussion with partners who helped create the vision and blueprint for this ambitious conversion.

Future plans for the East Tennessee Technology Park include multi-million-dollar business commitments, a potential general aviation airport, expansive greenways, and numerous facilities that share the site’s rich history related to the Manhattan Project and Cold War.
 
The public can access the meeting here, and no registration is required. 

The site was originally constructed to support uranium enrichment operations as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. Those operations ceased in 1985, and DOE shut down the site was permanently in 1987. Afterward, DOE launched a massive environmental cleanup effort to transform the site into a multi-use industrial park for the community. That effort involved tearing down 500 structures, which was completed in 2020 four years ahead of schedule saving taxpayers $500 million. 

DOE has already transferred 1,300 acres of land at the site back to the community, and it recently signed an agreement with the state of Tennessee that will transfer another 3,500 acres for conservation and recreation. The East Tennessee Technology Park already has numerous private businesses onsite and also contains an element of a national park.