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OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY

Building 3019A - Radiochemical Development Facility

Building 3019A, which housed the Radiochemical Development Facility, is located near the center of the ORNL campus. The major activity within this facility was the safeguarded storage of multikilogram quantities of various compounds of uranium containing the fissile isotopes of ²³³U and ²³⁵U. It was the national repository for ²³³U. 3019 was where the majority of the nation's separated ²³³U is stored. Small quantities of Pu-239 were temporarily stored in the building. The facility was also used for chemical processing and sampling of uranium materials.

In 2003, activities included the storage of ²³³U. The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology (NE) planned to award a private sector contract for processing the inventory of ²³³U to extract thorium-229 at 3019A to begin in 2004. The processing would also produce actinium-225 and bismuth-213 for medical used; activities performed at REDC. Processing and repacking the ²³³U would also make it safe for long-term storage. Processing at 3019A was scheduled to be completed to the building could be shutdown and decommissioned. The DOE announced on October 9, 2003 that it would award the ²³³U Disposition, Medical Isotope Production, and Building 3019 Complex Shutdown Project to Isotek Systems, LLC. As of September 2006, the ²³³U Program was transitioned from the Office of Nuclear Energy to EM and the External Independent Review was completed.