EM News Flash November 5, 2020

 

EM News Flash | Nov. 5

Crews Demolish 10th And Final Building at ETEC Radioactive Materials Handling Facility

A crew tears down a stack attached to Building 4022 at the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility (RMHF) at the Energy Technology Engineering Center. Teardown of the structure marked the completion of demolition of a set of 10 buildings at the RMHF.

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SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – Workers accomplished one of EM’s 2020 priorities today after safely tearing down the last of 10 buildings at the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility (RMHF) at the Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) in Ventura County, California.

DOE and the State of California signed a consent order in May to demolish the 10 DOE-owned buildings at ETEC. Crews at the former nuclear and liquid metals research site started active cleanup on July 21.

Leading up to the significant cleanup milestone, workers made swift progress safely demolishing four buildings in the first week, and three in the subsequent week. By September, the eighth and ninth buildings — a small waste storage and packaging facility, and a building for low-level waste packaging, processing, decommissioning of parts, and laundry — were taken down at RMHF.

A crew took down the tenth building, a materials storage and processing site, today.

“I’m thrilled that despite hurdles like the COVID-19 pandemic, our crews were able to deliver on EM’s commitment to complete this phase of demolition at ETEC safely, and on time," said ETEC Federal Project Director John Jones, who is leading the effort for EM.

"A lot of painstaking preparation went into reaching this milestone," Jones added. "And we’ll continue to work with the State of California to get the ETEC site to final cleanup and completion." 

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Building 4022 was the 10th and final building crews tore down at the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility at the Energy Technology Engineering Center.

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The site of Building 4022 after workers knocked down the structure at the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility at the Energy Technology Engineering Center. Removing all 10 RMHF facilities, which were constructed in 1959 and used for the processing, packaging, and shipment of radioactive and mixed hazardous wastes during site operations that ended in 1988, reduces potential risk of release of hazardous substances due to wildfires or erosion from severe storms. ETEC, located in Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, served as a premier research facility from the 1950s until the end of active operations. Since the 1980s, more than 250 structures on the site have been demolished and removed. With the completion of demolition of the 10 buildings in the RMHF complex, only eight DOE structures remain at ETEC. On Nov. 4, DOE announced the signing of an Amendment to the May 2020 Order on Consent with the State of California to demolish those eight remaining DOE-owned buildings. The action will fulfill DOE’s commitment to complete building demolition at ETEC. Follow EM on Twitter: @EMcleanup Like EM on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DOEEnvironmentalManagement