Oak Ridge Today

NRC accepting comments on environmental review for nuclear fuel facility

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TRISO-X has proposed a nuclear fuel fabrication facility on 110 acres at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. (Photo from TRISO-X environmental report to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have a public meeting in Oak Ridge next week to accept public comments about the environmental review for a proposed nuclear fuel facility at Horizon Center.

It would be the first manufacturing facility of its type in the United States. It has been proposed by TRISO-X, which wants to manufacture coated particle uranium fuel for new types of nuclear reactors—advanced and small modular reactors. The fuel could power reactors for electrical and chemical use, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

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With director search under way, Jeff Smith leads ORNL for now

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Jeff Smith

While UT-Battelle searches for a new director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, it has appointed former chief operating officer Jeff Smith to serve as interim lab director.

Smith retired in April 2021. He had been ORNL’s chief operating officer when UT-Battelle began managing ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy in 2000, and he served in the position until his retirement.

To help find the next lab director, UT-Battelle has hired executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates.

The company will help find a successor to Thomas Zacharia, who retired at the end of 2022 after a 35-year career at ORNL, including five years as director.

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President appoints ORNL researcher to National Science Board

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Image courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Note: This story was updated at 2 p.m. Jan. 22.

President Joe Biden will appoint Merlin Theodore of Oak Ridge National Laboratory to the National Science Board, the White House said in an announcement last week.

Theodore is the first full-time researcher from a national laboratory to serve on the National Science Board, the governing board for the National Science Foundation, according to ORNL.

“Merlin’s appointment to the National Science Board is indicative of her accomplishments as a researcher, her contributions to national missions, and her advocacy for women and minorities in science,” said interim ORNL Director Jeff Smith.

Theodore is one of eight new board members. The National Science Board is made up of 25 members appointed by the president, and they serve six-year terms.

The National Science Board pursues the goals and function of the NSF, including the duty to “recommend and encourage the pursuit of national policies for the promotion of research and education in science and engineering,” according to the White House news release.

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Railroad could jeopardize airport

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If not removed, this section of railroad tracks at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, would be a “deal-killer” for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport because the runway would be built in this area but could not be with the railroad tracks there. This is looking east across the main entrance to Heritage Center on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Railroad tracks at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, have emerged as a potential “deal-killer” for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport.

On Tuesday, Oak Ridge city leaders said a new company in west Oak Ridge might want to use the rail line to ship materials, but the tracks run through and roughly perpendicular to where the airport runway would be. Officials had expected the rail line, which had been “very inactive,” to be transferred.

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Oak Ridge city manager retiring

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Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson is retiring in May.

Watson, who has been city manager since 2010, announced his May 5 retirement during an Oak Ridge City Council work session on Tuesday.

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Lawsuit seeks 2020 election audit, voting machine restriction

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The Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse is pictured above in Knoxville on Jan. 19, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

An unconventional 483-page lawsuit filed in Anderson County Circuit Court seeks an audit of the 2020 election, asks for the results to be re-counted and possibly decertified, accuses federal legislators of treason, and demands a restraining order against electronic voting machines.

Two of the three plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit are Oak Ridge residents. One of those plaintiffs has also unsuccessfully filed federal lawsuits in Washington, D.C., against the president and vice president, chief justice, a former acting attorney general, and many members of Congress, according to court records.

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ORNL isotope center estimated to cost $250 million

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory had a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 24, 2022, for the U.S. Stable Isotope Production and Research Center. A design image of the new center is pictured above.

Note: This story was last updated at 4 p.m.

A new center to research and produce isotopes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could cost an estimated $250 million.

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Cold, powerful magnet will help control hot plasma in fusion reactor

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A team at ITER, an international experimental fusion reactor in southern France, prepare on Feb. 10, 2022, to move one of six modules for a central solenoid, a powerful superconducting magnet being built by General Atomics in California under the management of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo used with permission. © ITER Organization, http://www.iter.org/)

A magnet so powerful it could lift an aircraft carrier six feet into the air was designed in a project managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It will be used in an international experimental reactor in southern France to produce energy using fusion, the same process used by the sun and other stars to create heat and light. If successful, the reactor could revolutionize energy production, potentially showing how to provide a nearly limitless energy supply without planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions or long-lived radioactive wastes.

Six modules for the reactor’s central superconducting magnet, plus a spare, are being made by General Atomics in Poway, California. Two of the modules have already been shipped to France. Two more are completed, with one of those expected to ship this year. The remaining three are more than 60% complete, and manufacturing should be done this year, said John Smith, General Atomics senior director of engineering and projects. 

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Weigel’s proposed at Union Valley

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A Weigel’s store site plan for about 3.6 acres at South Illinois Avenue and Union Valley Road, as presented to the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023.

A new Weigel’s store has been proposed along South Illinois Avenue.

The 6,600-square-foot store would be on about 3.61 acres at the intersection with Union Valley Road.

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Subscribe to Oak Ridge Today

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Over the past decade (about 10.75 years), we have published 14,906 articles on Oak Ridge Today.

That’s about 1,386 posts per year, or close to four per day, every day.

We’re trying to bring you as much news as we can with a small staff, mostly one person.

If you value what we do and have done, please consider subscribing. You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month. A subscription gives you access to subscriber-only stories. These are generally the stories that are exclusive or require more time, effort, and money. A subscription also helps to keep us going. Reporting the news requires a significant amount of time and money.

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Local volunteers place more than 1,000 wreaths

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More than 300 volunteers placed 1,225 veterans’ wreaths at Oak Ridge Memorial Park on December 17 as part of National Wreaths Across America Day. (Submitted photo)

More than 300 volunteers placed 1,225 veterans’ wreaths at Oak Ridge Memorial Park on December 17 as part of National Wreaths Across America Day.

The day was commemorated at about 3,700 locations across the country, a press release said.

“Our heroes were remembered and honored as volunteers safely placing a total of 2.7 million veterans’ wreaths on headstones nationwide, while saying each name out loud,” the press release said. “Wreaths Across America would like to thank the community, dedicated volunteers, generous sponsors, essential truck drivers, area officials, and members of the media for coming together in unity and supporting those who have protected our freedom. Each person has played an important part in the mission to remember the fallen, honor those that serve and their families, and teach the next generation the value of freedom.”

Oak Ridge High School Navy JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps) helped arrange and conduct the opening ceremonies of National Wreaths Across America Day under the guidance of Eddie Lindsey, Local Wreaths Across America organizer, and Oak Ridge Memorial Gardens. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch represented the city at its third annual Wreaths Across America Ceremony.

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MartinFed acquires Xcel Engineering

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MartinFed, based in Alabama, has acquired Xcel Engineering Incorporated, located in Commerce Park in Oak Ridge.

MartinFed, based in Alabama, has acquired Xcel Engineering Incorporated of Oak Ridge.

“The acquisition of Xcel Engineering is a strategic move for MartinFed as it continues to expand its presence in the federal marketplace,” a press release said.

MartinFed is based in Huntsville, Alabama. The company offers services to federal agencies and contractors in cybersecurity, information technology, training, contract vehicles, and engineering and technical solutions, according to its website.

Xcel Engineering, which is located in Commerce Park, provides information technology and engineering services. The services include IT staffing and solutions, environmental engineering, and project management and consulting, the press release said.

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