An aerial view of the 10 facilities of Isotope Row, located in the heart of ORNL. (Photo: DOE)
Having completed deactivation work, the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) is set to begin demolition in July of a cluster of highly contaminated buildings at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management announced this week.
Located in ORNL’s central campus, Isotope Row consists of 10 facilities constructed between the late 1940s and early 1960s that previously supported the laboratory’s radioisotopes program. For decades, the facilities were used in the production, processing, and research of isotopes used in medical, industrial, scientific, and national defense applications. They have remained in place following the discontinuation of operations in the early 1990s.
In addition to removing hazards at the site, removal of the outdated facilities will provide space to support additional demolition projects and open land for future ORNL research and innovation missions, DOE-EM said.
Preparation: OREM and its contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge began work preparing the Isotope Row buildings for demolition in 2020. According to UCOR, the adjoining buildings presented a unique set of challenges with extremely hazardous risks requiring highly skilled crews.
In 2024, teams removed four 2,000-pound krypton tanks from a former storage facility that supported thermal diffusion operations. Workers also completed complex ventilation isolation and removal activities across multiple facilities.
Earlier this year, workers removed process off-gas and central ventilation system lines containing high levels of transuranic materials. Additional large-scale deactivation efforts included using a 110-ton crane to remove pipe bridges and radiological filter houses from the rooftops of several facilities.
Final steps toward demolition readiness included downsizing and packaging remaining hot cells in the facilities and conducting decontamination surveys across the area.
Quote: “Preparing Isotope Row for demolition represents years of strategic risk-reduction work across one of ORNL’s most historically significant and contaminated footprints,” said Steve Reed, UCOR project manager for Isotope Row. “Every system removed, every hazard reduced, and every facility prepared for teardown helps modernize ORNL’s central campus for future missions.”
