U.S. Department of Energy Archives

TVC Summit next week includes House majority leader

May 22, 2013 By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Eric Cantor

Submitted

Business, community, and political leaders and senior decision-makers will convene at the 2013 Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit next week to discuss issues that are critical to the economic engine of the Tennessee Valley, a press release said.

Hosted by Third District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, the two-day meeting themed “Securing America’s Future” will focus on energy and environment, innovation and entrepreneurism, public and private partnerships, and advanced manufacturing, the release said.

The Summit will be held at the Y-12 National Security Complex’s New Hope Center in Oak Ridge on May 29-30. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Business, Federal, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: advanced manufacturing, Andy Page, Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, Bill Johnson, Bob Raines, Chuck Fleischmann, DOE, DOE Oak Ridge Office, economy, energy, entrepreneurship, environment, Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader, innovation, John Morris, Lamar Alexander, Mark Whitney, National Nuclear Security Administration, Neile Miller, NNSA, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pete Lyons, Phil Roe, public/private partnerships, Randall T. Kempner, Securing America’s Future, Tech 20/20, Tennessee Valley, Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit, Thom Mason, TVA, U.S. Department of Energy

ORFD: After Y-12 refuses wet nitric acid package, FedEx driver finds leak

May 21, 2013 By John Huotari 2 Comments

Workers from a commercial cleanup company place a leaking nitric acid package in a secure container along Administration Road on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by Tom Scott)

The cardboard container contained one liter of nitric acid, and the delivery had been refused at the Y-12 National Security Complex because the bottom of the package was wet, the FedEx driver told Oak Ridge firefighters.

The delivery driver checked the 11-pound package at his next stop, and he found fluid leaking out of it and immediately called 911, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said in a Tuesday afternoon statement. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Administration Road, Apex Office Supply, Darryl Kerley, delivery, FedEx, nitric acid, Oak Ridge Fire Department, ORFD, Y-12 National Security Complex

Equipment used in uranium casting falls from Y-12 furnace

May 21, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Equipment and materials used in uranium casting operations at the Y-12 National Security Complex fell several feet from a furnace in Building 9212 last month after someone accidentally bumped a control lever, a federal safety board said in a recently released report.

The lever controls the movement of what is known as the stack assembly, which includes a crucible, mold, and uranium “charge.”

The loaded stack assembly had recently been cast, and it fell several feet from the body of an induction furnace to the base of the furnace, where loading and unloading occur, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in a report for the week ending April 19. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Building 9212, control lever, criticality safety engineer, crucible, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, DNFSB, induction furnace, magnetrons, mold, operators, production microwave, Rory Rauch, stack assembly, uranium casting, uranium charge, William Linzau, Y-12 National Security Complex

Ernest Moniz sworn in as energy secretary

May 21, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz was sworn in as the nation’s 13th Secretary of Energy by Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman in a Tuesday morning ceremony.

Moniz was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 97-0 vote on May 16.

The Tuesday morning ceremony for U.S. Department of Energy employees kicked off a busy first day that includes briefings on energy and national security as well as remarks to the 2013 Energy Efficiency Global Forum, a press release said. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Bates Linear Accelerator Center, Daniel Poneman, Department of Physics, DOE, Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, MIT Energy Initiative, MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, National Nuclear Security Administration, physics, professor, Secretary of Energy, swearing-in, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Senate

Halls Middle School students get ‘taste of science’ at Y-12

May 21, 2013 By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Daryl Smith of Y-12, left, demonstrates how a banana freezes when soaked in liquid nitrogen at New Hope Center to Miller Sullivan, center, and Tyler Young of Halls Middle School on Monday. (Submitted photo)

During a visit to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Monday, eighth-graders Miller Sullivan and Tyler Young learned what happens to a banana when it is submerged in liquid nitrogen.

Darryl Smith of Y-12 was one of four engineering, science, and history experts to give nearly 50 Halls Middle School students “a taste of science past and present at Y-12,” a press release said. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Andrea Souza, Darryl Smith, Halls Middle School, Miller Sullivan, taste of science, Tyler Young, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 recognized as a ‘best workplace for commuters’

May 21, 2013 By Oak Ridge Today Staff 2 Comments

Y-12 Best Work Place for Commuters Award

Durand Carmany talks about how the 4/10 work schedule and on-site taxi service help make the Y‑12 National Security Complex one of the best workplaces for commuters as Sara Martin of Smart Trips looks on. (Photo by Scott Fraker/Y-12)

The Y-12 National Security Complex was one of several East Tennessee businesses recently recognized for meeting the National Standard of Excellence awarded by Best Workplaces for Commuters, or BWC.

Other businesses included Green Mountain Coffee, Home Federal Bank, Tomato Head, and Knoxville Utilities Board. They were recently recognized by Smart Trips, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, and City of Knoxville Deputy Mayor Eddie Mannis. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: 4/10 schedule, Best Workplaces for Commuters, BWC, commuting, compressed work week, Durand Carmany, greenhouse gas emissions, Jan Jackson, National Center for Transit Research, Projects Sustainability and Facilities, Smart Trips, sustainability, Sustainability and Stewardship, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, University of South Florida, vehicle miles, Y-12 National Security Complex

SSAB welcomes new student representatives

May 21, 2013 By Dawn Huotari Leave a Comment

Gracie Hall of Oak Ridge High School, left, and Julia Riley of Hardin Valley Academy are the new student representatives to the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board for Fiscal Year 2013-14. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board welcomed two new student representatives at its May meeting. Gracie Hall and Julia Riley will serve on the board through April 2014.

ORSSAB is a federally chartered citizens’ panel that provides recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Gracie Hall, Hardin Valley Academy, Julia Riley, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board, ORSSAB, U.S. Department of Energy

New planning, budget director named at DOE’s Oak Ridge Office

May 19, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jamie Standridge

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office has named Jamie Standridge as director of the Planning and Budget Division within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer at ORO.

In this role, Standridge is responsible for coordinating all phases of the DOE-ORO budget planning, formulation, and execution activities for the multi-appropriation, $3.9 billion dollar funding structure of ORO and all major DOE contractors in Oak Ridge. Other responsibilities include knowledge of overall DOE budget policies and procedures involving nationwide programs within overall DOE budget policies and procedures. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Jamie Standridge, Oak Ridge Office, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, ORO, Planning and Budget Division, U.S. Department of Energy

East Tennessee teachers win UCOR ‘mini-grants’

May 15, 2013 By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Teachers in more than a dozen East Tennessee schools have won 25 “mini-grants” in an education program meant to recognize and support teaching excellence, and help teachers with specific projects or curricula.

The grants focus primarily on projects meant to help students learn about science, technology, engineering, and math, a press release said. UCOR, a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, announced the grant winners Wednesday.

The winners and their proposed projects and schools are: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, East Tennessee Technology Park, Education, K-12, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, education, Leo Sain, mini grants, science technology engineering and math, teaching, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, URS

Microwaves could melt uranium at UPF, help remove carbon impurities

May 15, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A microwave operator handles the crucible that holds the material as it is melted. Microwave technology is the preferred method for melting materials because of the ease of removing carbon impurities from the metal. (Photos courtesy B&W Y-12)

New microwaves that can melt metal and help remove carbon impurities from uranium could be used in the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Y-12 doesn’t plan to use any of its traditional ovens, known as vacuum induction melters, or VIMs, in the UPF, officials said. Those ovens use electric currents and a magnetic field to melt metal.

But it’s easier to “float out” carbon impurities in microwaves because they don’t stir molten metals the way the traditional ovens do, Y-12 officials said. Carbon contaminants in uranium castings could be reduced by 30 percent.

Y-12 melts and casts uranium to combine it into hollow cylinders for storage, make parts for the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, and supply nuclear fuel for the U.S. Navy. Microwaves could eventually be used for all three tasks. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: carbon, casting, Ellen Boatner, impurities, John Gertsen, melting, metals, microwave, National Nuclear Security Administration, naval nuclear fuel, nuclear weapons stockpile, production microwave, UPF, uranium, uranium cylinders, uranium processing facility, vacuum induction melter, VIM, Y-12 National Security Complex

B&W team says it’s the best choice for Y-12, Pantex contract

May 13, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

One of the two teams that did not win the $23 billion contract to manage and operate two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas said newly released federal documents show it had the best bid.

The contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, was awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, of Reston, Va., on Jan. 8. The consolidated contract, the first ever for the National Nuclear Security Administration, is expected to save money.

But the two losing teams—Nuclear Production Partners LLC of Lynchburg, Va., and Integrated Nuclear Production Solutions LLC of Oak Ridge—filed bid protests. On April 29, the U.S. Government Accountability Office upheld those protests in part. The GAO questioned whether the NNSA had properly evaluated the expected savings, and the agency recommended that the contract procurement be re-opened and more information requested from the bidders. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Federal, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Babcock and Wilcox Co., Bechtel National Inc., bid protests, bidding teams, bids, CNS, consolidated contract, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, GAO, Integrated Nuclear Production Solutions LLC, Jason Bohne, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, NP2, Nuclear Production Partners LLC, nuclear weapons plants, Pantex Plant, procurement, Ralph White, SEB, Source Evaluation Board, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Y-12 National Security Complex

ORNL researcher discusses 3-D printing Tuesday

May 13, 2013 By Dawn Huotari Leave a Comment

The Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory will hold its monthly luncheon lecture meeting on Tuesday.

The meeting will feature speaker Lonnie J. Love, who will discuss the development of 3-D printing and other advanced manufacturing applications at ORNL, a press release said. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clubs, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories Tagged With: 3-D printing, advanced manufacturing, Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Friends of ORNL, Lonnie Love, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL