The Ashtabula Closure Project covered cleanup activities at the RMI Titanium Company Extrusion Plant in Ashtabula, Ohio. The RMI Titanium Company, in connection with the Department of Energy (DOE), received, extruded, and shaped uranium metal for placement in driver and target elements. After these materials were shaped and placed into the target elements, they were shipped to larger manufacturing sites such as Hanford or Savannah River for use in their production reactors. Uranium extrusion at the Ashtabula site continued until 1988.

RMI conducted work for other federal agencies and private companies, in addition to weapons manufacturing for DOE. Operations at the Ashtabula site for private companies continued until 1990, two years after uranium extrusion ceased. The process of manufacturing nuclear weapons and handling uranium left a legacy of radioactive waste at the site.

Cleanup activities began in 1997 when the decommissioning plan for the site was completed and approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Throughout the cleanup and closure project, radioactive and hazardous waste was removed, equipment was disposed of, groundwater was treated, and buildings were demolished. Altogether, 1.1 million metric tons of low level waste, concrete, and debris was removed from the site and transferred to disposal sites in Utah and Tennessee. The Ashtabula Closure Project was successfully completed in 2006. Upon completion, all of DOE's responsibilities concluded and the site was officially returned to the RMI International Metals Inc. for unrestricted industrial reuse.

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Operator
550 Main Street, Room 7-010
Cincinnati, OH 45202
(513) 246-0500

The Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is located in Argonne, Illinois. ANL is one of the nation's oldest scientific research laboratories, established in 1946 to develop nuclear reactors for peaceful purposes. ANL was sponsored by the Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor agency to DOE), but operated by the University of Chicago. Today, ANL is funded by the Department of Energy's Office of Science and managed by the University of Chicago Argonne LLC.

Cleanup plans have been established to decommission and demolish a former fuel component research building and two former research reactors. Moreover, plans are also in place to remove and dispose of irradiated fuel specimens from the Alpha Gamma Hot Cell Facility and any associated radioactive transuranic waste (TRU). Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) have helped further this cleanup project. The cleanup project will be managed by representatives at the Argonne National Laboratory.

Contact:
Operator
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, IL 60439.
(630) 252-2000

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is located in Upton, New York on Long Island and was established in 1947 by the Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor agency to DOE), which oversaw the creation of BNL and provided much of the initial funding. The BNL site was formerly Camp Upton, a U.S. Army installation site. At present, BNL is overseen and primarily funded by DOE's Office of Science.

The Office of Environmental Management's main focus at BNL is to decontaminate and decommission two former research reactors, the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor and the High Flux Beam Reactor. EM must also cleanup the BNL Superfund site and any contaminated groundwater or soil associated with these two reactors. Advanced funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will accelerate the remediation project at BNL. Completion is tentatively set for the end of 2011.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant or WIPP is located in the Chihuahuan Desert outside of Carlsbad, New Mexico. WIPP is a permanent disposal facility for Transuranic Waste (TRU). Typically, transuranic waste consists of clothes, tools, and other materials that have come in contact with radioactive elements. The transuranic waste stored at the WIPP facility is isolated in underground disposal rooms 2150 feet below the surface in a bedded salt cave. WIPP was approved by Congress in 1979 to store transuranic waste and construction began on the facility in the early 1980s. In 1998, WIPP was approved for long-term disposal of TRU waste by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and in 1999 the first truckload of TRU waste was delivered and disposed of at WIPP.

The Carlsbad Field Office's (CBFO) mission is to operate and manage the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility for safe disposal of this transuranic waste. The CBFO also coordinates the Department of Energy (DOE) National Transuranic Program: treatment, storage, transportation, and disposal of transuranic wastes at waste-generating sites and national laboratories.

Battelle Memorial Institute (BMI) performed nuclear research and development for the Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessor agencies throughout the Cold War at two Columbus area laboratory facilities. Fabrication of uranium and fuel elements, reactor development, submarine propulsion, fuel processing, and reactor vessel studies were some of the research activities preformed by BMI for DOE. Cleanup efforts began at both the downtown King Avenue site and the rural West Jefferson Nuclear Science Center in 1988, when research studies for DOE concluded. At the King Avenue site, cleanup included the remediation of nine buildings. All cleanup activities at this site concluded in 2000 and all buildings where returned to BMI for unrestricted use.

However, at the West Jefferson site, contamination was more extensive. Three large buildings, including the largest hot cell facility in the eastern United States, were contaminated with radioactive material. The target of this portion of the cleanup project was to demolish these buildings and remove all contaminated utilities from the site. In addition to this, there were also three lightly contaminated structures located on the south Engineering Area of the site, which were demolished in 1990. Cleanup activities concluded at the West Jefferson site in 2006 and it was returned to BMI for unrestricted use.

A total of 275 million was spent on the Columbus Closure Project with 146 million of that being spent on the final closure contract. Furthermore, 1.7 million tons of low level and mixed low level waste and 37 metric tons of transuranic waste (TRU) were shipped off site for disposal.

Contact:
Operator
550 Main Street, Room 7-010
Cincinnati, OH 45202
(513) 246-0500

Contact:
Operator
1000 Independence Dr. Washington D.C. 20585
(202) 586-4403

The Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center (EMCBC) is located in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and was established on June, 24 2004. The EMCBC provides contracting, diversity management, financial and project management, human resources, information resources management, logistics, legal, public affairs, and technical support for the following EM project sites highlight on this website.

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), located near Chatsworth, California, was developed as a remote site to test rocket engines and to conduct nuclear research. The Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) was established in the late 1950s by the Department of Energy's (DOE) predecessor agency, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), as a center for liquid metals technology. Most development and testing at the ETEC site focused on the components used in metallic sodium systems. The ETEC facility consumes 90 acres of land at the SSFL site. The remaining areas on the site are owned by the Boeing Company and the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA).

DOE decided to close the remaining ETEC operations in 1988. Since then, focus has turned towards removing radioactively contaminated buildings, remediating contaminated soils and groundwater, working with regulatory agencies, and communicating with stakeholders. A majority of the contaminated materials have been removed from the ETEC site. Currently, DOE is conducting an Environmental Impact Statement to further help evaluate and develop options for cleanup.

The former Fernald Feed Materials Production Center, or often referred to as the Fernald site, was located in rural Fernald, Ohio just west of Cincinnati. The Fernald site was selected by the US Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor agency to DOE) in 1951 to convert uranium ore into uranium metal and to fabricate target elements for nuclear reactors. The Fernald site was selected over 60 other locations. Rural and undeveloped area, flat land, skilled labor, abundant water supply, and closeness of metropolitan Cincinnati were all major factors of the Atomic Energy Commission's selection. The Fernald site was completed in 1954, though work began in 1951. The site comprised more than 1,000 acres, 136 of that was the main production area, and the rest was used for administration facilities, laboratories, and waste storage. There were ten main production plants at the Fernald site, each of which had a specific role in the uranium refining process. < End products from the Fernald site such as ingots, derbies, billets, and fuel cores, were transferred to other sites in the nuclear weapons complex for further production. In particular, depleted and enriched uranium and fuel core elements were sent to the Hanford and Savannah River sites, derbies were sent to the Oak Ridge site, and slab billets were sent to the Rocky Flats site. Individual knowledge of weapon production was also passed along to other sites. Fernald workers often provided incite into the uranium production process at their facility. This shared knowledge helped increase uranium production technologies and improve the production process at other sites. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s labor was booming and demand was high for uranium feed materials. However, the 1970s brought less demand, and naturally production slowed and employment dropped. By the early 1980s, production increased, but by the end of the 1980s, with the conclusion of the Cold War, production at Fernald reached its lowest point and ended. By 1991, congress officially approved the final closure of the Fernald Feed Materials Production Center and authorized the environmental remediation mission. The Fernald site was managed and operated by National Lead of Ohio (NLO) from 1951-1986. Westinghouse Material Company of Ohio operated the facility from 1986 until 1989 and worked on the initial stages of the environmental remediation mission. Cleanup and restoration activities began at the Fernald site in 1992 with DOE's first remediation contract being awarded to FERMCO, later renamed Fluor Fernald. Fluor Fernald managed and operated the Fernald Closure Project from 1992 until its completion in 2006. There was 31 million net pounds of nuclear product, 2.5 billion pounds of waste, and 2.5 million cubic yards of contaminated soil on the site when cleanup activities began. The Fernald Closure Project was divided into ten major parts by the contractor Fluor Fernald: silos one and two, silo three, waste pits, off site waste disposition, soil and disposal facility project, aquifer restoration, building decontamination and demolition, waste management, nuclear material disposition, and environmental restoration. Silos one and two had a combined 8,900 cubic yards of low-level radioactive waste. To remove this, all of the waste had to be stabilized, treated, and placed in steel canisters. After the waste was put into steel canisters, it was transferred offsite for permanent disposal at the Waste Control Specialists site in Texas. Silos one and two were safely shutdown, demolished, and completed in 2006. [Silos 1 & 2] Silo three had over 5,100 cubic yards of low level waste.

The Fernald Preserve is the present and future of the Fernald site. With a 10,000-square-foot green building Visitors Center, educational presentations, community outreach and support, guided tours, and over 300 species in habitation, the Fernald closure and cleanup site has truly come full circle.

The Idaho Operations Office (ID) is located approximately 50 miles from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in southeast Idaho. The Idaho Operations Office oversees all laboratory and research operations that take place at INL. Another major aspect of their oversight is their specialization in contract management and support for INL. Idaho Operations Office works closely with INL support contractors and DOE-Headquarters to develop and deliver cost effective solutions for the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) and for nuclear energy research.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) was founded in 1940 when the Radiation Laboratory outgrew its main campus facilities. The LBNL is a multi-program research facility leased to the Department of Energy by the University of California and managed by the Office of Science. The laboratory facility is located on a 200 acre site Northeast of San Francisco Bay, in the hills above the UC Berkeley campus.

Old Town is a cluster of buildings built across approximately 15 acres within the center of LBNL. These facilities were originally constructed in the World War II era to support the 184-inch cyclotron and perform radiochemistry research. Over the years, the buildings were cleaned and repurposed, but they were never updated to current seismic standards. These remaining buildings are now considered excess to the Laboratory's needs. The overall objective of the EM project is to demolish the seven remaining Old Town buildings, remove four slabs from buildings that were previously demolished and remove contaminated soil under and adjacent to the buildings/slabs. The extent and sequencing of this work will be performed using a phased approach.

The Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project site is located northwest of Moab in Grand County, Utah, and includes the former Atlas Minerals Corporation (Atlas) uranium-ore processing facility. The Moab mill was constructed in 1956 and operated by Atlas from 1962 until 1984. The Uranium Reduction Company operated the site from 1956 to 1962. Atlas' end product, uranium concentrate, was sold to the Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor agency to DOE) until 1970. When operations ceased, an estimated 16 million tons of mill tailings and contaminated soil remained in a pile. Cleanup responsibilities were transferred to DOE in 2001. DOE then published a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 2005, with preferred alternatives of groundwater remediation and off-site disposal of the tailings pile at a disposal cell in Crescent Junction, Utah, 30 miles from the Moab site. As of October 2020, 11 million tons of mill tailings have been shipped to the disposal cell in Crescent Junction. In addition, in order to remove groundwater contaminants and be protective of the Colorado River, an interim action system has been operating since 2003. This system has prevented more than 260 million gallons of contaminated groundwater from discharging into the river.

The Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), established in 1950 as the Nevada Proving Grounds, was home to 100 atmospheric nuclear tests (conducted from January 1951 through July 1962) and 828 underground nuclear tests (conducted until moratorium went into effect on September 23, 1992). Located 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the approximately 1,360 square mile, federally owned and controlled site is surrounded by approximately 4,500 square miles of federally owned and controlled land known as the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). Today, the current missions at the NNSS are: Defense Experimentation and Stockpile Stewardship, Global Security, and Environmental Programs. The EM Nevada Program is responsible for remediating sites on the NNSS and portions of the NTTR that were contaminated during nuclear testing operations. EM Nevada Program activities focus on:

• Underground Test Area (groundwater)
• Soil Remediation
• Decontamination and demolition
• Classified, low-level and mixed low-level waste disposal
• Radioactive Waste Acceptance Program
• Long-term monitoring
• External affairs
• Grants
• Waste disposal activities are performed by the NNSS M&O

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is located outside of Paducah, Kentucky. The site where the diffusion plant is located was originally occupied by the General Services Administration (GSA). GSA turned the site over to the Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor agency to DOE) in 1950 to construct a uranium enrichment plant for the production of atomic weapons. From 1952 to 1964 the primary focus at the Paducah site was to enrich and recycle uranium from nuclear weapons. After 1964, missions at the site changed and the plant began to enrich uranium for commercialized nuclear power plants. In 1993, the Department of Energy (DOE) fully leased the Paducah plant to the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) who still maintain private uranium enrichment today.

Currently, DOE is remediating and disposing of legacy waste, decontaminating and decommissioning inactive facilities, and fully operating the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Plant (DUF6). Cleanup completion at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is tentatively set for 2030.

The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant is located in Pike County, Ohio along the Scioto River. The site was selected by the Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor agency to DOE) in 1952 and completed in 1956 with the sole intention of enriching uranium for nuclear weapons. Portsmouth, like its sister plant in Paducah, Kentucky, the overall mission changed from military weapon production to commercialize production for nuclear power plants in the early 60s. After years of privatized operation, the Department of Energy (DOE) fully leased the Portsmouth plant to the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) in 1993. However, DOE maintained responsibility for environmental restoration and cleanup resulting from past weapons production.

The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant is not an active uranium enrichment site. USEC operations here were condensed and relocated to the Paducah, Kentucky plant in 2001. USEC plan to convert the site into a commercial centrifuge plant. DOE has maintained active cleanup here since 1989 and has decommissioned and decontaminated inactive buildings and disposed of tons of legacy waste. Cleanup activities at the Portsmouth plant are currently on going.

The Oakland Projects Office is located in the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building, at 1301 Clay Street Oakland, California. Currently, the Oakland Projects Office manages two environmental cleanup and remediation projects within the State of California under the EM program. These projects include the remediation of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Energy Technology and Engineering Center (ETEC) located within Santa Susanna Field Laboratory (SSFL). The Oakland Projects Office will close at the end of fiscal year 2011 as project work will be completed.

The Portsmouth and Paducah Project Office (PPPO) is located in Lexington, Kentucky mid-way between the Portsmouth, Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky Diffusion Plants. The PPPO office opened in early 2004 to provide leadership for the cleanup projects at both sites. The mission at PPPO is to manage waste, decontaminate and decommission various buildings and areas, manage the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion project, and accomplish environmental remediation at the Paducah and Portsmouth sites.

The Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) is an inactive facility located at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) in Niskayuna, New York. KAPL was created as a general-purpose laboratory for the former U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (a predecessor agency to DOE). Built in the late 1940s, the buildings supported the SPRU mission to research the chemical process to extract plutonium from irradiated materials. Although equipment was flushed and drained, and bulk waste was removed following the shutdown of the facilities in 1953, residual materials were left in the tanks, buildings H2 and G2, and interconnecting pipe tunnels. In 2010, cleanup of radioactivity and chemical contamination in the SPRU Lower Level Railroad Staging Area, Lower Level Parking Lot and SPRU North Field areas was completed. The KAPL site presently conducts research and provides support for the U.S. Navy's Nuclear Propulsion Program.

Currently, decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of the following is taking place: the remaining two contaminated buildings (G2 and H2 buildings), seven inactive waste storage tanks located within H2 tank vaults, a pipe tunnel between G2 and H2, and associated contaminated soil. By March, 2013, tent enclosures and ventilation systems using High Efficiency Particulate Air filters were constructed around the G2 and the H2 buildings. Performing D&D work within the enclosures with the ventilation systems provides an added measure of protection to human health and the environment. DOE's contractor is taking a methodical, deliberate approach in completing the remaining work. Project completion is estimated for 2016.

The state of New York acquired 3,345 acres of land in the town of Ashford, New York, near West Valley, for the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC) in 1961. The next year, Davison Chemical Company leased 200 acres of the WNYNSC and established Nuclear Fuels Services, Inc (NFS), a commercial spent nuclear fuel reprocessing company. NFS reprocessed nuclear fuel from 1966 to 1972 and accepted radioactive disposal waste until 1975. In 1976, NFS ceased all operations, left the facility in 1980 when its lease expired, and transferred ownership and waste responsibilities to the State of New York.

The West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) was created through the West Valley Demonstration Project Act of 1980. The Act requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to solidify the high-level waste, dispose of the waste created by the solidification, and decommission the facilities used in the process. The land and facilities are owned by The State of New York and are the property of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). After DOE's responsibilities under the Act are complete, they are required to return the site to the State of New York. Until that time, the Act requires the State of New York to pay 10 percent of the project costs, while DOE pays the remaining 90 percent.

Although great progress has been made, much remains to be done before the project can meet the conditions of the West Valley Demonstration Project Act. Recently, DOE issued the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for WVDP. The EIS evaluated three decommissioning and long-term stewardship alternatives for the site, with Phased Decision-making being the preferred alternative. Phased decision-making allows for partial to unrestricted land release, with the process being completed in two phases.