DOE to UCOR: Finish work on the Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12

The Oak Ridger
·2 min read

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has instructed United Cleanup Oak Ridge, more familarly known as UCOR, with completing the construction of the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

DOE awarded APTIM-North Wind Construction (ANW) a contract in December 2018 to construct the facility and, with that contract set to expire next month, OREM is transitioning the remaining construction to UCOR, according to a DOE news release. UCOR is the contractor responsible for commissioning and operating the facility.

A view of construction on the Mercury Treatment Facility’s treatment plant. This infrastructure will allow the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management to begin large-scale cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
A view of construction on the Mercury Treatment Facility’s treatment plant. This infrastructure will allow the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management to begin large-scale cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

“UCOR has been involved with this project from the beginning, having provided significant design and engineering support,” Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Manager (OREM) Jay Mullis stated in the release. “Since UCOR is already tasked with commissioning and operating the facility, tasking them to complete the remaining construction allows for a smooth transition to the next phase of this important project.”

The Mercury Treatment Facility is described in the release as an essential piece of infrastructure that allows OREM to fulfill its regulatory commitments to reduce mercury levels in the East Fork Poplar Creek and begin large-scale cleanup at Y-12. When operational, the facility will limit and control potential mercury releases as crews demolish massive Manhattan Project and Cold War-era buildings and address the soil beneath them.

The project encompasses two components at two locations: a headworks facility and a treatment plant, both connected by a nearly 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. That treated water will then flow into the East Fork Poplar Creek.

The Mercury Treatment Facility is designed to treat up to 3,000 gallons of water per minute and includes a 2-million-gallon storage tank to collect stormwater.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: DOE to UCOR: Finish work on the Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12