Two excavators dug into a portion of a calutron facility called Alpha-2 in the middle of Y-12 National Security Complex on Tuesday. Berms installed to contain debris surrounded the roughly 325,000-square-foot facility, which was used to enrich uranium for the Manhattan Project during World War II. The goal following the demolition is to make way for projects led by the National Nuclear Security Administration.
“We can build newer facilities to support the national security mission, which is critical.” said Susan Morris, the deputy manager for NNSA’s Y-12 field office.
Alpha-2 marks the biggest on-air demolition project in the complex. The project is an effort between the Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and United Cleanup Oak Ridge. Joanna Hardin, the acting DOE Y-12 portfolio federal project director, said it took four years to fully deactivate the facility to ensure crews could safely tear it down.
“These facilities were over-designed, over-engineered, and they were not built to be taken down,” she said. “So, it takes a long time to get ready to take them down.”
At that time, the contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge shut down utilities and removed radioactive material in the building.
“This is a very deliberate, slow process to control the building and the debris as it falls into the field so it can be safely packaged, dispositioned into a landfill,” said Larry Brede, the Y-12 project manager for United Cleanup Oak Ridge.
Alpha-2 was used for other energy-related federal projects until it closed in the 1990s. Today, it’s considered high-risk due to its age and deterioration.
“I am excited to see facilities [Alpha-2] that were standing here unused, that did have a risk, go away and get dispositioned safely, and then be able to reuse this for something,” Brede said.
The demolition phase of Alpha-2 started in fall 2024. Earlier this year, crews demolished the south side of the building, about 34,000 square feet. Now, they are switching gears to focus on the northeast section of Alpha-2 and the tallest portion of the building called the “high-bay” area.
The demolition comes 4 years after the Y-12 Biology Complex was fully demolished to make way for a new lithium processing facility, according to Gene Sievers, the vice president for production and operations at Y-12.
“There are nine total calutron buildings on this site, this is [the] first to go,” Sievers said, pointing to Alpha-2. “There are seven more in line right after that, and that will set the stage for what will remain for posterity.”
Beta-1 will be the next calutron building to go.
Once it's fully demolished, Hardin says crews will conduct soil and water cleanup. Then, it will be ready for preparation for future projects related to national security.
According to the DOE, the demolition of Alpha-2 is slated to be fully completed by next year.
