Oak Ridge Today

Council asks UPF project director to postpone removal of trees on top of Pine Ridge

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A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge, pictured above from South Illinois Avenue in south Oak Ridge, for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge, pictured above from South Illinois Avenue in south Oak Ridge, for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Among the City Council concerns: They only recently learned of the project, they don’t know what other options were considered, and they are worried about the visual impact of 79-foot transmission towers being located on top of Pine Ridge. Also, Council members said, there has been no public discussion about the project until two weeks before the logging operation was scheduled to start on Thursday, November 16.

The clearing work is part of a project to build a new substation at Y-12. It will replace an existing substation that is “nearing the end of its service life,” according to information presented to City Council and some community members. The tree removal will allow the 161-kilovolt power lines to be installed in the cleared area. The area to be cleared is on top of the ridge, about 2.1 miles long, and it will support a right-of-way that is about 100 feet wide. The electrical line would run from east to west on Pine Ridge, according to a report to City Council from Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. All of the work would be on U.S. Department of Energy property, officials said.

The new substation will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12. [Read more…]

Construction documents submitted for new museum at Main Street Oak Ridge

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An agreement signed Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, by the U.S. Department of Energy and City of Oak Ridge calls for the American Museum of Science and Energy missions to be relocated within about one year to 18,000 square feet of space in a two-story building that once housed a Sears Roebuck store next to JCPenney at Main Street Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction documents have been submitted to the City of Oak Ridge for the new museum at Main Street Oak Ridge, and the American Museum of Science and Energy will continue to be at its current location past the end of the year, municipal and federal officials said this week.

It’s not clear when AMSE might open at its new home at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

On Monday, John Shewairy, assistant manager for administration in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office, said the construction documents were also expected to be submitted to a contractor for pricing this week.

“We don’t yet have an estimated opening date for the museum in its new location because the construction schedule is still being finalized,” Shewairy said.

On Friday, Wayne Blasius, director of Oak Ridge Community Development, confirmed that the city has received the construction documents for the new museum at Main Street Oak Ridge. The construction documents for the new museum are now under staff review, Blasius said. It’s not clear how long that review might take. The submission of the documents is for a building permit, which does not require the approval of either the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission or Oak Ridge City Council. [Read more…]

Public hearing for renewal of hazardous waste permit at ORNL on Nov. 30

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A roadside sign posted near the intersection of Scarboro Road and Bethel Valley Road announces a meeting on Nov. 30, 2017, for the renewal of a hazardous waste permit for the U.S. Department of Energy/UT-Battelle at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

A roadside sign posted near the intersection of Scarboro Road and Bethel Valley Road announces a hearing on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, for the renewal of a hazardous waste permit for the U.S. Department of Energy/UT-Battelle at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

 

There is a public hearing on Thursday, November 30, for the renewal of a hazardous waste permit at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

It’s a routine renewal of a U.S. Department of Energy/UT-Battelle permit, ORNL said Monday. It’s for the renewal of DOE/UT-Battelle’s RCRA Part B Hazardous Waste Permit TNHW-134.

RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) is the public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste.

The permit was issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in September 2008. [Read more…]

Council approves rezoning for former AMSE property

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A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously approved a rezoning for property that could be developed with a grocery store, retail shops, and restaurants on vacant land south of the American Museum of Science and Energy.

The rezoning of the 7.4 acres had been requested by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC, a company affiliated with RealtyLink, which is developing Main Street Oak Ridge at the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The rezoning was approved, with a few contingencies, by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on October 19. City Council approved it with some comments in the first of two monthly meetings on Monday.

In addition to approving the rezoning request, Council approved an associated planned unit development (PUD) preliminary master plan for the project. [Read more…]

Groundbreaking scheduled for Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12

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The planned Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy UCOR/U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

The planned Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy UCOR/U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

 

A groundbreaking has been scheduled for Monday morning for the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Y-12 operations have historically used large amounts of mercury, and many of the buildings, now in varying states of deterioration, have mercury contamination, a media advisory said.

“The treatment facility will lower existing mercury levels from past releases and will serve as a guard against a potential increase in releases as mercury-contaminated buildings are demolished,” the media advisory said.

Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette will attend the groundbreaking, which is at Y-12 and not open to the public. U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander and U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, both Tennessee Republicans, will also attend the groundbreaking, the media advisory said.

The groundbreaking is being presented by the U.S. Department of Energy and URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, DOE’s cleanup contractor at federal sites in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

China passes U.S. in number of top supercomputers; ORNL’s Titan drops to 5th

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The Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pictured above. (Photo by ORNL/U.S. Department of Energy)

The Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pictured above. (Photo by ORNL/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

China has passed the United States in the total number of top ranked supercomputers, and Titan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has dropped from fourth to fifth on the TOP500 list of the world’s fastest supercomputers.

The TOP500 list is released twice a year, once in June and once in November. It is based on a benchmark test known as Linpack.

Titan at ORNL dropped from third to fourth in June, bumped from the number three spot by the upgraded Piz Daint, a Cray XC50 system installed at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre. Titan is capable of 17.59 petaflops. A petaflop is one quadrillion calculations per second. That’s 1,000 trillion calculations per second. Piz Daint is capable of 19.59 petaflops.

That power is useful in scientific research. At ORNL, Titan is used for research in areas such as materials science, nuclear energy, combustion, and climate science. ORNL is a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory.

Titan slipped one more spot in this month’s list, from fourth to fifth. It was displaced by the upgraded Gyoukou supercomputer. That is a ZettaScaler-2.2 system capable of 19.14 petaflops and deployed at Japan’s Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, the home of the Earth Simulator. [Read more…]

With $3 billion in savings expected, not clear how much saved at Y-12, Pantex so far

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (File photo/B&W Y-12)

 

More than $3 billion in savings are expected during a decade, but it’s not clear yet how much money has been saved after three years under a consolidated contract at two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The savings of $3.27 billion are expected under a contract that could last 10 years at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.

On Monday, officials said Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor at the two sites, has generated significant savings in three fiscal years, although it’s not clear exactly how much they’ve saved. CNS has managed and operated Y-12 and Pantex Plant since July 1, 2014.

Federal officials announced the expected savings of $3.27 billion during a decade when the five-year contract was announced in January 2013. Officials said the consolidated contract, the result of years of work, could save money in part by eliminating redundancies in such areas as human resources, purchasing, finance, and information technology. [Read more…]

Rezoning map shows possible grocery, retail stores south of AMSE

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A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

 

A rezoning map shows a grocery or large retail store could be built on the property south of American Museum of Science and Energy.

The rezoning map shows the grocery or retailer could be 55,000 square feet, set back from South Illinois Avenue and next to Badger Avenue. But no prospective tenant has been publicly announced yet.

Also shown on the rezoning map, which was filed for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting in October, are three smaller possible retail or restaurant buildings of about 4,000 to 7,000 square feet.

The rezoning was requested by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC for the 7.4 acres south of AMSE along South Illinois Avenue between South Tulane Avenue and Badger Avenue. That property was once part of the AMSE property and owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, but it has since been transferred to the City of Oak Ridge and then to TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC.

The rezoning was approved, with a few contingencies, by the Planning Commission on October 19, and it’s been referred to the Oak Ridge City Council, presumably for the Monday, November 13 meeting. [Read more…]

ORNL approves 204 for voluntary separations as lab reduces workforce

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Photo by ORNL

 

Lab managers have approved 204 of the 302 applications submitted for a voluntary separation program that could reduce the workforce at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by up to 350 positions.

The Self-Select Voluntary Separation Program was announced by ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia in an August 8 email to employees. ORNL employees were able to apply for the program from Monday, August 14, to Wednesday, September 27. Applicants were notified October 25 whether their application was approved, according to information provided on Friday by Morgan McCorkle, ORNL media relations manager.

Accepted applicants will leave the payroll by December 31.

Applications were approved from staff who charge to indirect accounts, along with some research staff affected by fiscal year 2017 funding who could not be placed elsewhere in the lab. [Read more…]

Report: Chair of nuclear safety board proposes eliminating it

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Sean Sullivan (Photo credit: DNFSB.gov)

Sean Sullivan (Photo credit: DNFSB.gov)

The chairman of a nuclear safety board that provides recommendations and advice on public health and safety issues at certain federal facilities, including two in Oak Ridge, has proposed eliminating the board, according to an investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.

In its October 19 report, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity said it had obtained a June 29 letter from Sean Sullivan, the Republican chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, to Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

The center has posted the five-page letter online along with an attached one-page historical summary of the five-member board, which issues weekly reports for U.S. Department of Energy sites that include Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, among other activities. In his letter, Sullivan said the board is a “relic of the Cold War-era defense establishment.”

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is an independent oversight organization within the executive branch. It was created by Congress in 1988 to provide advice and recommendations to the secretary of energy on public health and safety at the defense nuclear facilities managed by DOE. Those reports are publicly available and posted online, and they have been used by reporters and public interest organizations, among others. The Center for Public Integrity said the DNFSB has helped persuade the federal government to impose tighter safety rules and regulations at most of the eight nuclear weapons sites. [Read more…]

ORNL, City of Oak Ridge partner on sensor project to capture city trends

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UrbanSense passively collects anonymous, open-source data from cellular towers to generate real-time estimates of population density in cities. Insights on how people interact with urban infrastructure helps cities like Oak Ridge, above, assess their needs and plan effectively for future development. (Image by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

UrbanSense passively collects anonymous, open-source data from cellular towers to generate real-time estimates of population density in cities. Insights on how people interact with urban infrastructure helps cities like Oak Ridge, above, assess their needs and plan effectively for future development. (Image by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are partnering with the City of Oak Ridge to develop UrbanSense, a comprehensive sensor network and real-time visualization platform that helps cities evaluate trends in urban activity.

The project, initiated by ORNL’s Urban Dynamics Institute, centers on addressing cities’ real-world challenges through applied urban science. Oak Ridge is the first city to test the new technology, which uses open-source, anonymous data from virtual and physical sensors.

“Preparing for urban growth and planning for future infrastructure development and resource demands are global problems, but cities need ways to be proactive on a local level,” said UDI Director Budhendra Bhaduri. “Our goal in bringing science to cities is to put the right tools and resources in the hands of city managers and urban planners so that they can assess local impacts and make strategic decisions to get the best return on future investments.”

UDI researchers Teja Kuruganti and Gautam Thakur from ORNL’s Computer Science and Engineering Division are collaborating with Oak Ridge Director of Administrative Services Bruce Applegate on the design and deployment of UrbanSense.

The prototype designed for Oak Ridge monitors population density, traffic flow, and environmental data including air and water quality, with a total of seven sensors to be installed in the city. “The longer they are in place and the more data they collect, the better the city’s sense of its trends will be,” Thakur said. [Read more…]

Centrus, ORNL contract continues uranium enrichment technology work in Oak Ridge

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo courtesy USEC/Centrus Energy Corp.)

 

A $16 million contract signed by Centrus Energy Corporation and and UT-Battelle LLC will continue work on gas centrifuge uranium enrichment technology at Centrus facilities in Oak Ridge, the company announced Monday.

The work is on the AC100, a U.S. gas centrifuge uranium enrichment technology.

UT-Battelle LLC operates Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Enriched uranium can be used in nuclear power plants and in nuclear weapons, as fuel for nuclear naval vessels, and to ensure a tritium supply, which is needed to maintain the effectiveness of America’s nuclear deterrent, officials have said previously.

The new Centrus-ORNL contract is valued at $16 million, with payments made when certain defined milestones are completed, Centrus said in a press release on Monday. The contract runs through September 30, 2018.

“Under the contract, Centrus’ scientists, engineers, and operators will test improvements developed by the company for the AC100 centrifuge machine in specialized facilities in Oak Ridge,” the press release said. “Centrus has worked under contract with ORNL since 2014 to improve the AC100 gas centrifuge technology to support national security and energy security needs.” [Read more…]