The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge recently won six of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Sustainability Awards. The awards recognize individuals and teams on projects that help conserve resources, reduce discharges or otherwise protect the environment. One of the honors was received for innovative operations at the Waste End Treatment Facility. The project allowed processing of 718,000 gallons of production wastewater and eliminated the generation of about 14,000 gallons of low-level radioactive sludge and the need for about 200 gallons of sulfuric acid, 4,000 gallons of ferric sulfate, 3,200 gallons of sodium hydroxide, and 4 gallons of polymer as treatment chemicals. The overall effort reduced sludge generation by about 130.5 metric tons. The West End Treatment Facility is pictured above. For a complete rundown on the Sustainability Awards, check out Y-12’s website.