OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The final and most high-profile demolition funded at the Y-12 National Security Complex by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act continues this week.

Building 9211, one of seven buildings in Y-12’s vacant Biology Complex, was constructed in 1945 to house biological research.  The 83,471-square-foot facility has not been used since the early 2000s, and it began falling apart in recent years.

“Recovery Act funding has been a tremendous catalyst for accelerating the physical transformation of the Cold War-era Y-12 site into a 21st century Nuclear Security Enterprise,” said Ted Sherry, manager of the Y-12 Site Office. “More than 1 million square feet have been eliminated in the past 10 years, while new facilities have been brought on line, including the nation’s new Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, an ultra-secure storage facility for weapons-grade uranium.”

Building 9211 is the fourth and final building in the seven-building Biology Complex that’s being eliminated using Recovery Act funds at a total cost of $26.5 million.

Those four demolitions, together with two others at Y-12 funded by the Recovery Act, will result in a 135,000-square-foot facility footprint reduction at the site.

Eva Irwin, B&W Y-12 deputy manager of Environmental Management said, “Deteriorating, aging facilities are a significant safety concern on site. We’re pleased to be accelerating the removal of these facilities with Recovery Act funds and eliminating that risk.”

In total, the Recovery Act is funding seven major cleanup projects at Y-12. Those include: demolition of Building 9735, the 9206 filter house, and the four buildings in the Biology Complex; disposition of legacy material from buildings Alpha 5 and Beta 4; cleanup of the Old Salvage Yard; and remediation of the West End Mercury Area’s storm sewers. Through September 30, 2010, Recovery Act work at Y-12 has supported 1,294 jobs.

The Recovery Act funds at Y-12 are part of $755 million received by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office Environmental Management program for projects in Oak Ridge. In total, 49 buildings across the Oak Ridge Reservation are being demolished using ARRA funds in addition to other projects ranging from tank and soils remediation, capping of old burial grounds, and expansion of the on-site waste disposal facility. The Recovery Act provides Oak Ridge the opportunity to begin much needed cleanup projects at Y-12, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the East Tennessee Technology Park, and the Transuranic Waste Processing Center.