Tetra Tech was contracted to complete the decontamination, decommissioning and demolition of various facilities and structures at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS) which was scheduled for closure by 2006. As part of the closure process, many of the site’s contaminated facilities were being decommissioned, dismantled and demolished. Building 729 was part of a former nuclear weapons research and development facility. Before it was closed in 1989, Building 729 was a filter house scrubbing the air one of the site's primary research and development centers. Building 729 was part of five major plutonium areas planned for decontamination and demolition. The building 788 complex consisted of several structures; buildings 788, 788A, 308A, 207A, trailer 788A and the clarifier tank. All facility waste drained to the solar ponds adjacent to these buildings where the waste was solidified into “pondcrete”, a mixture of cement and sludge designed to immobilize hazardous and radioactive waste for shipment. Consequently, the 788 complex was considered one of most contaminated areas with contaminants such as radioactive elements, PCBs, beryllium, asbestos and heavy metals.

The decontamination and demolition of building 729 and those within the 788 complex were completed 30 days ahead of schedule despite many challenges encountered during the course of the project. All work was completed using Tetra Tech personnel, equipment and resources. Building 729 was the first plutonium building at RFETS to be decontaminated, decommissioned and, the first of its size and complexity in the nation, to be demolished.

Project Highlights

• Completed decontamination and demolition operations 30 days ahead of schedule
• Removed, without incident, a 90-foot exhaust stack, the site’s third highest structure
• Met all schedule objectives with no impact to ongoing operations nor utility services
• All decontamination work completed with no personnel or environmental impact