D'Ieteren : Y-12 employees recognized for Building 9206 project

A team of Y-12 employees was recently recognized for the outstanding work in deactivating 16 uranium processing systems in Building 9206 and removing a significant quantity of residues and wastes containing diluted highly enriched uranium. Work completed under this project reduces the risk of an accidental nuclear criticality and helps to pave the way for future cleanup of this facility.

The team received an NNSA Defense Programs Award from Dr. Charles Verdon, NNSA's Office of Defense Programs Deputy Administrator, and Teresa Robbins, NNSA Production Office Manager, in recognition of their successful, accelerated work to eliminate the risk with Building 9206 in less-than-favorable working conditions.

Building 9206 was built and completed during the Manhattan Project in 1944, and most of the uranium that was ultimately used in the Little Boy atomic bomb was purified in that facility. After World War II, the facility was replaced by the much larger Building 9212 and 9206 was subsequently used to convert uranium compounds to a metal form. By the end of the Cold War, most of the processes were shut down and the building was permanently shut down in 1994.

Deactivation of the 16 uranium processing systems included removing all external utility and process interfaces for each system, including electric and natural gas connections, removing contaminated residues from each system, applying a chemical fixative to control airborne contamination levels, non-destructive analysis before and after system deactivation, and waste disposition.