Categorized as a high-risk, excess contaminated facility due to its contents and condition, Y-12’s Beta-1 building was constructed in 1944 to enrich uranium during World War II. It was later converted to laboratory space for fusion-energy technology. Demolition of the massive structure will eliminate old, unused infrastructure and open land to support future DOE missions.
Demolition of the building will begin once crews finish tearing down the nearby 325,000-square-foot Alpha-2 building. The Alpha-2 demolition project, scheduled to be completed in 2027, is OREM’s first effort to remove a former Manhattan Project–era uranium enrichment facility at Y-12. Beta-1 will mark the second.
Groundwater challenge: At Beta-1, UCOR has completed deactivation of the above-ground floors, and teams are now busy deactivating the basement, where water intrusion has been an ongoing challenge.
“Battling water intrusion to keep the levels in the 111,000-square-foot basement drained affects access to perform work,” explained Larry Brede, UCOR’s Y-12 cleanup area project manager. “Deactivation activities cannot be performed in areas with standing water.”
Crews deactivating the basement level of the 300,000-square-feet building have pumped, processed, and eliminated more than 10 million gallons of water. To process the basement water, UCOR built a water treatment skid outside the facility that uses micron bag filters and carbon vessels to filter the water to meet stringent water quality standards before it is discharged. To maintain dry conditions for deactivation, pipefitters are installing a second water treatment system to reduce downtime caused by groundwater flooding.
A critical step in preparing the facility for demolition is pouring controlled low-strength material (CLSM), similar to concrete, into the basement. To accomplish this, workers core-drilled 526 holes from the first floor to allow the team to pour more than 3,000 truckloads of material into the basement.
Filling the basement helps prevent water intrusion and stabilizes the slab at ground level to support heavy equipment used during demolition. CLSM placement is already underway and scheduled for completion this fall.
