Oak Ridge Today

UPF project director featured at Anderson County Chamber luncheon

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

John Eschenberg

John Eschenberg

John Eschenberg, federal project director for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, will be the featured speaker at the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce’s annual business luncheon this month.

Eschenberg will provide information on the UPF project and its impact on the East Tennessee economy and the nation’s nuclear security, a press release said. The UPF could cost between $4.2 and $6.5 billion.

The luncheon starts at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 22, at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center in Clinton.

[Read more…]

Small business conference on how to benefit from $6.5 billion UPF

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A conference at the end of February will give small businesses a chance to learn how to benefit from the planned $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The 2013 Construction Opportunities Conference is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 28 at the New Hope Center at Y-12. It’s offered by the Tennessee Small Business Development Center and partners.

[Read more…]

Tennessee Valley Summit returns to Oak Ridge; energy, manufacturing on agenda

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

Third District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann has announced the Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit will be held the last week of May and return to the site where it started 18 years ago—Oak Ridge. The exact dates are being determined based on the schedules of several anticipated national speakers, including U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Senior decision-makers representing academia, government, and industry from Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina will convene in the New Hope Center at Oak Ridge’s Y-12 National Security Complex for the two-day meeting. Fleischmann will serve as host and be joined by of members of the TVC congressional delegation.

[Read more…]

Q&A: John Eschenberg on Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Uranium Processing Facility

The proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Image courtesy of B&W Y-12)

The following is an edited version of a question-and-answer session with John Eschenberg, federal project director for the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Federal officials said last fall that the UPF could be larger than originally planned to make sure all the building’s equipment fits inside.

Q: What is the status of the UPF redesign?

A: UPF is currently at 66 percent of design completion. Once 90 percent design completion is achieved, we will submit a Critical Decision-2 (CD-2) package to headquarters for approval that will contain the complete cost and schedule baseline for UPF. This process, which involves both an independent cost estimate and an external independent review, will likely take several weeks to complete.

The cost range for UPF is unchanged: $4.2 billion-$6.5 billion.

[Read more…]

Debriefings today on Y-12/Pantex consolidated contract

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Debriefings scheduled for today were offered to the teams that bid unsuccessfully on a consolidated contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The unsuccessful bidders have up to 10 days to protest the decision to award the five-year contract to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, a team that includes Bechtel National Inc. and Lockheed Martin Services Inc. The contract award was announced Tuesday, Jan. 8.

[Read more…]

D’Agostino, companies celebrate contract award, key step in NNSA transition

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

Less than two weeks before his retirement, a federal official celebrated the consolidated contract award announced Tuesday, calling it a key element in a long list of decisions and actions designed to reduce redundancies in national nuclear security work and make operations more efficient.

It reflects a change in how the National Nuclear Security Administration does business, NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino said during a Tuesday teleconference. The transition began several years ago.

“We embarked on a journey from an old Cold War nuclear enterprise to a 21st Century nuclear enterprise,” D’Agostino said. “I’m immensely proud of the team.”

The NNSA announced Tuesday that, after months of anticipation and three to four years’ worth of work, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, had won a five-year contract to manage the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas. The company will also manage construction of the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 and, after the first year, could manage tritium operations at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.

[Read more…]

Bids on consolidated Y-12, Pantex contract expire today

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 11:12 a.m.

Bids expire today on a nuclear production contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex plant near Amarillo, Texas.

On Monday, NNSA Public Affairs Director Joshua McConaha said the National Nuclear Security Administration could either announce a winner today (Tuesday) or extend the expiration date. The NNSA announced Tuesday morning that top officials, including Administrator Thomas D’Agostino, will have a 4:15 p.m. teleconference to discuss a major contract award.

McConaha said the contract bids were submitted last year, and the expiration date has been extended once already.

McConaha said he can’t confirm the total number of bids or the bidding teams.

When announced, the winner will have the first consolidated contract to manage and operate Y-12 and Pantex. The government also has the option to have the winner manage tritium operations at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.

[Read more…]

Opposed to nuclear weapons work, Y-12 protesters refused to plead guilty

Posted at
By 1 Comment

The Fruit of Justice is Peace Slogan on HEUMF at Y-12

Three anti-nuclear weapons activists who sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 allegedly splashed human blood and, quoting Proverbs, sprayed paint on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility. The protesters also hammered the building, causing it to chip, and strung up crime scene tape. (Submitted photo)

The three protesters who vandalized a uranium storage building at Y-12 National Security Complex in July said they would not accept a plea deal from the federal government earlier this year, even though prosecutors threatened to charge them with more serious sabotage crimes.

“We chose to exercise our constitutional right to a jury trial and refused to bow down to their threats,” the trio said in a statement released Wednesday. “We remain convinced that making and refurbishing nuclear weapons at Y-12 is both illegal under U.S. and international law, and it is also immoral. Ultimately, we are required to follow the law of love and our consciences.”

Calling themselves Transform Now Plowshares, the three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael Walli— allegedly cut through fences at Y-12 before dawn on Saturday, July 28, entered a high-security area where deadly force is authorized, and splashed human blood and spray-painted slogans on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Knoxville returned a new charge against the trio for this summer’s unprecedented intrusion. The new count of injuring national-defense premises carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, longer than any of the earlier potential penalties.

[Read more…]

Guest column: UPF project at Y-12 not real Santa, ‘windfall’ short-term

Posted at
By 2 Comments

By Pat Fain and Leslie Agron

Sometime in about a year or so, when the $6.5 billion build at the Uranium Processing Facility building at the Y-12 National Security Complex gets under way, Oak Ridge could see a decided increase in revenue from sales taxes. The windfall should come to the city over a short period, but then it will then end.

During those years, however, there may be some who think that Santa Claus has taken up residence in Oak Ridge. This piece is to advise you in advance, that should you hear that sort of sentiment down the pike, it is time to check in with some five-year-olds. They will quickly remind you that Santa has always lived at the North Pole with elves and flying reindeer.

[Read more…]

Alexander: UPF, ORNL remain priorities even in tough economic times

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Senator Lamar Alexander at Hoskins Drug Store

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, center, a Tennessee Republican, visited Hoskins Drug Store in Clinton on Tuesday to show support for state Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican seeking re-election.

CLINTON—Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Uranium Processing Facility remain funding priorities even in tough economic times, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said Tuesday.

A Tennessee Republican, Alexander said all federal government funding is under pressure and should be until the nation’s debt is under control. But the UPF at the Y-12 National Security Complex is the top priority of the U.S. Department of Energy, the senator said. And ORNL performs crucial missions, the senator said.

“In difficult times, they’ll still continue to receive a good funding stream,” he said.

Alexander said he would also like to see cleanup work continue in Oak Ridge, including mercury cleanup projects.

Alexander said the UPF project, which could cost up to $6.5 billion, is a costly 50-75 year decision that could affect the health and safety of hundreds of workers, and it should proceed as rapidly as possible, although a good design is needed.

Republicans Support Ragan

Top local, state, and federal Republicans and other residents turned out at Hoskins Drug Store on Tuesday to show support for Tennessee Rep. John Ragan, fourth from left, who is seeking re-election in the Nov. 6 election.

Asked about the July 28 security breach at Y-12, Alexander said it shouldn’t have happened, but he’s not ready to turn over security to another government department, as U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican, has proposed.

Alexander said “some heads have rolled,” and investigations have been launched that will help determine the right next steps.

He said roughly $3 billion in federal money is spent in Oak Ridge each year for all DOE facilities. But there have been budget uncertainties caused by Congress’ inability to make decisions, Alexander said.

Alexander was at Hoskins Drug Store in Clinton on Tuesday with other top local, state, and federal Republicans to show support for Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican who is running against former Rep. Jim Hackworth, a Clinton Democrat, in one of the half-dozen key races in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

UPF could be enlarged, site work could begin by end of year

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

John Eschenberg on UPF at Rotary Club

At right, John Eschenberg, federal project director for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, discusses the proposed $6.5 billion building with Leslie England and John Iacovino after a Wednesday morning Rotary Club meeting.

Note: This story was last updated at 9:53 a.m. Oct. 4.

The new $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex could be larger than originally planned to make sure all the building’s equipment fits inside, a federal official said Wednesday.

The roof could be raised by 13 feet to 71 feet, said John Eschenberg, UPF federal project director at Y-12. That would give adequate room for process equipment used for machining, wet chemistry, and casting, as well as for the operators who use it.

To raise the roof, the building’s walls will be thickened from 18 inches to 30 inches, and the foundation will be thicker as well, Eschenberg said.

Some work at the site, which is located in the heart of Y-12, could begin by the end of the year, Eschenberg said. That work would include removing a parking lot and relocating a section of Bear Creek Road.

[Read more…]

Corker: Y-12 security breach shows need for UPF, shouldn’t hurt employment

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

It was a “major wake-up call,” but last month’s security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex should not hurt employment or work in Oak Ridge, U.S. Sen. Bob Corker said Thursday.

He said the intrusion by three anti-nuclear weapons activists into a high-security area at Y-12 actually demonstrates the need for a newer, more secure uranium processing facility, or UPF. There has been some concern in Oak Ridge about how the unprecedented security breach at Y-12 might affect funding or planning for the UPF, which could cost up to $6.5 billion and be the largest construction project in Tennessee history.

But Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said some Congressional representatives might actually want to act quicker now to build the UPF, which would consolidate enriched uranium operations at Y-12, including assembly and dismantlement work.

[Read more…]