Y-12 National Security Complex's Sustainable Recovery and Transformation - 12420
- Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services, Y-12 National Security Complex (United States)
- Strata-G (United States)
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds were used at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) to remove legacy materials from large contaminated excess facilities in order to prepare the facilities for demolition, demolish five excess buildings, and clean up sources of environmental contamination. The legacy materials and buildings presented many challenges and the potential hazards included depleted uranium and other radiological contaminants, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls, Freon, mold, mildew, asbestos, beryllium and mercury. Y-12 project teams have integrated sustainable waste management practices into each of the seven ARRA projects. The ARRA clean up efforts have resulted in the reduction of potential environmental, health, and safety risks posed by the excess facilities and sources of environmental contamination. Y-12's ARRA project teams focused on completing the activities in a sustainable, timely and safe manner. The site utilized a systematic material disposition evaluation process to ensure that materials were not automatically dis-positioned as waste. ARRA projects have recycled or reused over 1.3 million pounds of materials while preventing over 3 million vehicle miles traveled for waste disposal. Y-12 ARRA projects have worked over 2 million safe work hours without a lost time injury. The site has already begun to beneficially reuse land cleared by ARRA project activities to support sustainable transformation efforts. The Y-12 ARRA project activities have demonstrated that large complex projects can be completed sustainably and safely while maintaining an aggressive schedule. Through careful planning and execution, ARRA projects at the site have sustainably reduced the potential environmental, health, and safety risks posed to site employees and the community by the excess facilities and sources of environmental contamination. Y-12's systematic material disposition process ensured that materials were not automatically assumed to be wastes and facilitated the evaluation of all unneeded materials for reuse or recycling. The site's pervasive pollution prevention culture is reflected in the recycling or reuse of over 1.3 million pounds of materials by the ARRA project teams. While the disposal of a large volume of ARRA wastes could not be avoided, the projects were able to reduce the local and national impacts of waste transportation and disposal through careful planning and efficient execution. The site has conserved natural resources through the preservation and beneficial reuse of materials and land cleared by ARRA activities. Y-12 has taken steps to preserve its history as the site undergoes a sustainable and safe transformation for the future. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9-332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22293654
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-14-WM-12420; TRN: US14V1310115178
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2012: Waste Management 2012 conference on improving the future in waste management, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 26 Feb - 1 Mar 2012; Other Information: Country of input: France
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY
BERYLLIUM
CONTAMINATION
DEPLETED URANIUM
EVALUATION
HAZARDS
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
SAFETY
TRANSFORMATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE TRANSPORTATION
WASTES