DOE prepares to demolish Oak Ridge’s Isotope Row buildings

[Marlin]

DOE prepares to demolish Oak Ridge's Isotope Row buildings

https://www.ans.org/news/2026-06-25/article-8150/doe-prepares-to-demolish-oak-ridges-isotope-row-buildings/

[Core Content]

The Department of Energy will begin demolishing ten contaminated facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in July following four years of deactivation work. These structures previously supported radioisotope production and research until the 1990s. Removing these hazards clears the central campus for future research missions and provides space for additional site cleanup projects.

Having completed deactivation work, the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) is set to begin demolition in July of a cluster of highly contaminated buildings at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management announced this week.

Located in ORNL's central campus, Isotope Row consists of 10 facilities constructed between the late 1940s and early 1960s that previously supported the laboratory's radioisotopes program. For decades, the facilities were used in the production, processing, and research of isotopes used in medical, industrial, scientific, and national defense applications. They have remained in place following the discontinuation of operations in the early 1990s.

Read the full article at ans.org:
https://www.ans.org/news/2026-06-25/article-8150/doe-prepares-to-demolish-oak-ridges-isotope-row-buildings/