Latest Oak Ridge cleanup achievement represents important advancement for largest deactivation projects at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Team members with Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) contractor UCOR have successfully lifted and removed the lower reactor vessel from the Oak Ridge Research Reactor, also known as Building 3042.
 

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management accomplishment was a major development for one of the largest deactivation projects at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Removing the vessel is the first step before preparing the remainder of the facility for its upcoming demolition.
 

Last week, workers used a 72-inch diamond wire saw to cut the final pieces that held the lower reactor vessel in place at the bottom of the reactor pool. They used a 20-ton overhead crane to lift that equipment and load it into a 32,000-pound protective cask to ship it for disposal offsite.
 

“Removing the reactor vessel from the Oak Ridge Research Reactor facility has been an incredibly complex task,” said Jim Daffron, ORNL portfolio project director. “Through an immense amount of planning and careful execution, workers were successful and completed the work safely.”
 

Crews used a large diamond saw to cut the final pieces that held the lower reactor vessel in place at the bottom of the Oak Ridge Research Reactor pool. This photo shows the final segment of the reactor being lifted from the pool area.