Oak Ridge Today

Federal spending bill includes money for Y-12 water plant, reduces UPF spending

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Y-12 Water Treatment Plant Announcement

In May 2013, state and federal officials announce a plant to treat mercury-contaminated water at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Pictured from left are Mark Whitney, Robert Martineau, Lamar Alexander, Dave Huizenga, and Stan Meiburg.

The $1 trillion federal spending bill passed by Congress last week provides money for a water treatment plant that would help reduce mercury contamination in Oak Ridge, and it includes less money for the Uranium Processing Facility than President Obama had requested, Sen. Lamar Alexander said Thursday.

The U.S. Senate approved the spending bill in a 72-26 vote after the House passed it 359-67. Alexander and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann voted for it, while Sen. Bob Corker voted against it. All are Tennessee Republicans, and Fleischmann’s district includes Oak Ridge.

Alexander said the spending bill provides $16 million less than Obama had requested in his budget for the UPF, a multi-billion-dollar building that would replace old buildings at the Y-12 National Security Complex as part of a years-long effort to update the 811-acre site, consolidate operations, and cut the plant’s high-security “footprint” from 150 acres to 15. [Read more…]

ORNL, DOE, Roane State, Borchers to take part in STEM Night at Woodland

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Representatives from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy, and Roane State Community College—as well as Superintendent Bruce Borchers—will take part in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Night for students at Woodland Elementary School on Thursday.

The STEM Night for students is being hosted by the Woodland Parent Teacher Organization, a press release said. It will be in the school’s gymnasium. Borchers will kick off the event with opening comments at 5:15 p.m. Thursday.

A press release said Borchers is pursuing avenues to make Oak Ridge “the” premier STEM school district in the country. [Read more…]

Federal agents investigate DOE subcontractor based in Oliver Springs

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Federal Agents at TOPS in Oliver Springs

On Thursday, federal agents investigate the Oliver Springs offices of TOPS, a U.S. Department of Energy subcontractor.

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 17.

OLIVER SPRINGS—A federal subcontractor that works at U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge is under investigation by several federal agencies, including the FBI, IRS, and DOE Office of Inspector General.

Federal agents were at the Oliver Springs headquarters of the contractor, TOPS, on Thursday, but officials would not comment on the investigation. The office is on Winter Gap Road, next to Highway 62 just north of downtown Oliver Springs.

Dennis Holenstein at the IRS’ Nashville Field Office confirmed that agents from IRS Criminal Investigations were assisting with the investigation, but he referred a reporter to the DOE Office of Inspector General. The IG, in turn, referred calls to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Tennessee. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said its policy is to neither comment on, nor confirm or deny, the existence or status of a pending investigation.

[Read more…]

K-25 workers also shelter in place during police search

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K-25 Aerial

Now demolished, the former K-25 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

Workers at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, were asked to shelter in place for about 30 minutes early Thursday afternoon as police officers searched for an armed person who had been reported to be traveling from the Clinton area to west Oak Ridge.

It was the same search that led to a brief lockdown at Jefferson Middle School at about 1 p.m. Thursday, said Mike Koentop, U.S. Department of Energy spokesman in the Oak Ridge Office.

“It was not related at all to any DOE activity,” Koentop said. “Steps were taken as a precaution.” [Read more…]

ORNL-UT researchers invent ‘sideways’ approach to 2-D hybrid materials

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heterostructure-anping

ORNL and UT researchers have invented a method to merge different 2-dimensional materials into a seamless layer. This colorized scanning tunneling microscope image shows a single-atom sheet composed of graphene (seen in blue) combined with hexagonal boron nitride (seen in yellow).

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville have pioneered a new technique for forming a two-dimensional, single-atom sheet of two different materials with a seamless boundary.

The study, published in the journal Science, could enable the use of new types of 2-D hybrid materials in technological applications and fundamental research.

By rethinking a traditional method of growing materials, the researchers combined two compounds—graphene and boron nitride—into a single layer only one atom thick. Graphene, which consists of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal, honeycomb-like rings, has attracted waves of attention because of its high strength and electronic properties. [Read more…]

Frozen sprinkler pipes burst, flood buildings across Oak Ridge

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Oak Ridge Fire Department at Heritage Fellowship

The Oak Ridge Fire Department responds to a report of a frozen sprinkler system that burst at Heritage Fellowship on Tuesday afternoon.

Frozen sprinkler pipes burst and flooded buildings across Oak Ridge on Tuesday as a frigid arctic air mass lingered over parts of the central and eastern United States.

Oak Ridge firefighters said it’s likely there will be more calls on Wednesday as temperatures rise and frozen pipes thaw.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley provided a list of buildings where frozen sprinkler systems had burst. They included St. Mary’s School, the back side of the Staples building, a building at the Pine Ridge office complex, Centennial Village Apartments, a U.S. Department of Energy building on Laboratory Road, UBS Financial on East Tennessee Avenue, Weatherford Mortuary, Courtyards at Briarcliff, and Heritage Fellowship on North Illinois Avenue. [Read more…]

New security contractor for DOE Oak Ridge receives ‘commendable’ rating

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Joe L. Evins Federal Building

The Joe L. Evins Federal Building is one of three federal facilities protected by National Strategic Protective Services LLC in Oak Ridge.

The new security contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge has received a “commendable” rating for its performance protecting federal facilities.

National Strategic Protective Services LLC, a joint venture of Triple Canopy Inc. and Securiguard Inc., provides protective force services at the East Tennessee Technology Park, Joe L. Evins Federal Building, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“DOE recognized NSPS for its ability to quickly adapt and respond to customer needs while seamlessly assuming responsibility as the Oak Ridge protective force services provider in March 2013,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Legal official retires at DOE Oak Ridge Office

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Robert James

Robert James

Robert James, the assistant chief counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office, has retired after 25 years of federal service.

James served as the assistant chief counsel since 2009. In this position, he led a team of attorneys that are responsible for legal representation on environmental, regulatory, health and safety, real estate, and security matters across the Oak Ridge Reservation, a press release said. His team also provides legal representation for Nuclear Energy missions in Oak Ridge; Paducah, Ky.; and Portsmouth, Ohio.

“Rob’s extensive knowledge and experience in environmental law have been a tremendous asset to the Oak Ridge Office and those it services,” said Larry Kelly, manager of DOE-ORO. “His insight and recommendations aided our leadership teams in making the most informed and prudent decisions.” [Read more…]

Ed Westcott: Chief photographer in Oak Ridge during WWII, Muddy Boot winner today

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Ray Smith Presents Muddy Boot Award to Ed Westcott

Ray Smith, left, Y-12 National Security Complex historian, presents a Muddy Boot Award to Ed Westcott, chief photographer in the “Secret City” during the Manhattan Project in World War II. (Photo by East Tennessee Economic Council)

He was one of the first workers hired in Oak Ridge as part of the top-secret race to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

At only 20 years old, he became the chief photographer for what was then the Manhattan Engineer District, Clinton Engineer Works. He was the only person authorized to take pictures in the “Secret City” during the Manhattan Project, and he captured some classic moments, including the jubilation of Oak Ridge residents the day they learned World War II had ended.

Now 91, Ed Westcott was honored for his historic photography in a surprise ceremony this month. He was given the Muddy Boot Award by the East Tennessee Economic Council. The awards, which have been given out since 1973, pay tribute to people who have made East Tennessee a stronger region through their work and community activities.

“Ed’s photographs are so broadly used that they literally express our history and visually tell the unique story of Oak Ridge and its impact on East Tennessee, the Southeast, the nation, and even the world,” said Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian. “So, he definitely qualifies for Muddy Boot consideration. Without Ed’s thousands of wonderful images, we would not be nearly as able to present our history.” [Read more…]

DOE, UT-Battelle could negotiate five-year contract extension at ORNL

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Central Campus

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s central campus is pictured above. (Courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy)

The U.S. Department of Energy and UT-Battelle could negotiate a five-year contract extension at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, officials said Thursday.

The current contract ends in March 2015. If granted, the extension would allow UT-Battelle to manage the lab though 2020. UT-Battelle is a nonprofit partnership between the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, announced the potential contract extension during a special holiday meeting of the East Tennessee Economic Council on Thursday. ETEC had asked DOE to not rebid the contract—but extend it instead, Fleischmann said.

The congressman said the negotiations over a possible extension were based on a “job well-done” at the premier lab. [Read more…]

ORNL devises recipe to fine-tune silica rod diameters

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By controlling the temperature of silica rods as they grow, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could be setting the stage for advances in anti-reflective solar cells, computer monitors, TV screens, eye glasses, and more.

The goal of fabricating fixed-size one-dimensional silica structures and being able to precisely control the diameter during growth has long eluded scientists. Now, Panos Datskos and Jaswinder Sharma have demonstrated what they describe as the addressable local control of diameter of each segment of the silica rod.

“In nature, many intricate structures develop and grow in response to their environments,” said Sharma, a Wigner Fellow and corresponding author of the Angewandte Chemie International Edition paper that outlines the process. “For example, in addition to genotype, shell shape is also controlled by the local environment in many oysters and scallops.” [Read more…]

DOE, UCOR demolish last piece of K-25, once the world’s largest building

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K-25 Building Demolition Final

The last section of the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge was demolished on Thursday.

It was once the world’s largest building under one roof, built by the U.S. government in less than two years as part of a top-secret race to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

Officials say it also helped win the Cold War.

But five years after demolition started, the K-25 Building is gone. Officials, workers, and invited guests watched the last section of the giant building crash to the ground on Thursday.

The mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building enriched uranium through a process called gaseous diffusion. It was the largest facility in the U.S. Department of Energy complex. Debris shipments are expected to be completed in the spring of 2014.

The $1.1 billion project is under budget and ahead of schedule. [Read more…]