Workers prepare to remove from a specialized transportation trailer the first of three sludge-settling tanks for Oak Ridge’s Mercury Treatment Facility. (Photo: DOE)
Workers with the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and its contractor UCOR have finished installing the first of three large sludge-settling tanks for the Mercury Treatment Facility at the site’s Y-12 National Security Complex. The tanks, each of which will be 38 feet tall and 15 feet wide with a capacity of 36,000 gallons, provide a visible sign of ongoing progress on the facility where much of the construction has so far been below ground.
According to the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, the treatment facility is essential infrastructure that allows OREM to fulfill its regulatory commitments to reduce mercury levels in Oak Ridge’s East Fork Poplar Creek and begin large-scale cleanup at Y-12. Once operational, the facility will limit and control potential mercury releases as crews demolish the site’s Manhattan Project and Cold War–era buildings and address the soil beneath them.
“This facility is a linchpin for major cleanup on the horizon at Y-12,” said Steve Clemons, OREM project manager. “We understand the importance of this project, and we’re continuing our steady approach to get the facility up and operational.”
Project details: The project encompasses two components at two locations: a headworks facility and a treatment plant, both connected by a half-mile-long transfer pipeline. The headworks facility will capture creek flow on the west end of Y-12, store excess stormwater collected during large rainfalls, remove grit, and pump water via the pipeline to the treatment plant on the east side of Y-12.
The tanks crews are installing the part of the treatment plant that removes and concentrates grit, dirt, and other solids to be extracted from the water. That treated water will then flow into the creek.
“The installation of the sludge tanks is an important milestone,” said Richard Bonner, UCOR project director. “As we continue to progress the construction, the installation of these tanks can serve as a reminder of the desired end result of our cleanup mission.”
Next steps: In the coming weeks, crews will install the remaining two tanks. Because of their size, a transportation company is using a specialized trailer to transport each tank from the manufacturer in Arkansas to the project site in Oak Ridge.
Once completed, the facility will process up to 3,000 gallons of water per minute and collect stormwater in a 2-million-gallon storage tank.
