Partnerships for Innovation
ORAU helps reduce the footprint of radiological contamination in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
ORAU successfully completed independent field investigations required to remove five East Tennessee Technology Park boundary land area parcels in Oak Ridge, Tenn., totaling 5,185 acres, from the National Priorities List. The NPL consists of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States, and is intended to guide the Environmental Protection Agency in determining which sites warrant further investigation.
The East Tennessee Technology Park is the site of the former K-25 plant, a WWII-era facility used for uranium enrichment. At the time of its construction, K-25 was the largest building under one roof in the world.
Throughout the project, ORAU worked closely with Federal Facilities Agreement parties, including DOE, EPA and TDEC, to determine the extent of the investigations required, review results and request approval of the final deliverable. Completion of the Oak Ridge project required extensive knowledge and application of the processes used to identify the presence of hazardous substances on property being transferred by federal agencies. ORAU employees conducted on-site investigations of soils, surface water, and groundwater to detect and quantify potential hazardous and radioactive contaminants.
Due to the success of the project, the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management is providing funding for ORAU to assess an additional 16,000 acres on the Oak Ridge Reservation.
