Oak Ridge Today

NNSA marks 10th anniversary of Global Threat Reduction Initiative

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Frank Klotz

Frank Klotz

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, GTRI. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, reducing the threat of terrorist acquisition of nuclear or radiological material has been a core mission of NNSA, and it is a mission that will continue into the future.

“The Global Threat Reduction Initiative’s history demonstrates how seriously we take this mission and our commitment to fulfilling President Obama’s nuclear security agenda,” said U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator Frank G. Klotz. “However, the threat to national and global security from state or terrorist acquisition of nuclear and radiological materials is far from gone, and our focus now is on addressing the substantial threats that remain.”

GTRI, an NNSA nuclear nonproliferation program, works with partners around the world to reduce and consolidate global stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, or HEU, and plutonium, and to secure dangerous radiological sources both at home and abroad. GTRI and its predecessor programs have removed and secured more than enough material for 980 nuclear weapons and tens of thousands of radiological dirty bombs by converting HEU research reactors and isotope production facilities to the use of low enriched uranium, or LEU; removing or confirming disposition of HEU and plutonium; and securing nuclear and radiological sites around the world. [Read more…]

New NNSA administrator to keynote Tennessee Valley Summit

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Frank Klotz

Frank Klotz, the new administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, is pictured above.

CHATTANOOGA—Retired Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, the recently confirmed undersecretary for nuclear security for the U.S. Department of Energy and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, will be a keynote speaker at the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit in June. Along with University of Tennessee President Joe DiPetro, Klotz will speak at the event’s Leadership Luncheon, which will conclude the June 4-5 event on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Klotz was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April to lead the NNSA in its mission to improve national secruity through the military application of nuclear energy. NNSA maintains the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile and is responsible for many nuclear nonproliferation, counter-terrorism, and radiological emergency response efforts for the United States as well as providing fuel for the country’s nuclear Navy. The Y-12 National Secruity Complex in Oak Ridge is one of NNSA’s most important facilities.

“Gen. Klotz occupies one of the most important jobs in the federal government to assure a strong nuclear deterrence for our nation’s security and the safety of our nuclear stockpile,” said Gerald Boyd, TVC board chair and former DOE Oak Ridge site manager. “It’s a great honor for the TVC to host one of his first public addresses as the new DOE undersecretary and NNSA administrator.” [Read more…]

Field work complete, cleanup projects used $751 million in Recovery Act funding

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Building K-33

Building K-33 at the East Tennessee Technology Park, also known as the former K-25 site, before demolition. (DOE photo)

 

Note: This story was updated at 5:30 p.m.

The field work is complete on 27 cleanup projects at three federal sites in Oak Ridge that used $751 million in Recovery Act funds.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or EM, announced the end of the field work on Thursday.

“We’re done knocking down buildings and with all the work in the field,” said Mike Koentop, executive officer in Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. “We have paperwork left to do to close out projects.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the Recovery Act or stimulus bill, was passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in February 2009. It was meant to help stimulate an economic recovery during the depths of the Great Recession, and it was intended to address long-neglected infrastructure projects and programs.

In Oak Ridge, the Recovery Act funding paid for several demolition projects such as the demolition of the 1.4-million-square-foot K-33 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park and other projects ranging from mercury reduction at the Y-12 National Security Complex to transuranic waste processing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]

More than 60 Thunderbirds expected for Mockingbird Run this weekend

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Mockingbird Run

The Sixth Annual Mockingbird Run will be in Oak Ridge from Friday to Sunday. (Submitted photo)

 

Car enthusiasts from 10 states will gather in Oak Ridge from Friday, May 2, to Sunday, May 4, for the sixth annual Mockingbird Run hosted by the Smoky Mountain Classic Thunderbird Club. The Mockingbird Run is expected to bring in more than 60 Thunderbirds for a weekend packed with tours, friendship, and fun.

“We are excited to host this year’s Mockingbird Run, and we encourage the community to welcome the Smoky Mountain Classic Thunderbird Club to town,” Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Katy Brown said. “We have worked closely with this organization to make this year’s event an entertaining and educational visit.”

Conference planners focused on the “top secret” theme this year in an effort to add mystery and intrigue. Participants will visit local attractions, learn the significance of various historic sites, and dine in local restaurants. Y-12 National Security Complex Historian Ray Smith will guide the group on a tour of the Y-12 New Hope Center and serve as a guest speaker for the event. The club will also tour Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Saturday. Members of the K-9 Search On Site LLP team will also be on hand for a demonstration that morning. [Read more…]

Splitting UPF project into two buildings could save money, senator says

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

Money could be saved on the new Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex by splitting up the project into two buildings rather than one, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

One building could be used for high-security work, Alexander said during a hearing of the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. That high-security building would cost several times as much as a second building used for low-security work, Alexander said.

Not all of the work has to be conducted in a high-security facility, the Tennessee Republican said, and some of it could be conducted in the low-security building.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the two-building proposal is included in a so-called Red Team Review of the UPF project. That report could be made public this week. Federal officials and members of Congress have already been briefed on it. [Read more…]

Y-12, Pantex workforce reductions could total about 170 jobs

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Y-12 National Security Complex Scarboro Road Entrance

The Scarboro Road entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

Workforce reductions at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, are expected to total about 170 jobs, officials said this week.

That’s about 2 percent of the roughly 7,900 workers at the two nuclear weapons plants.

The workforce reductions are expected to come through a voluntary separation program, or VSP.

The majority of the reductions, or 140 positions, would be at Y-12. The other 30 would be at Pantex.

The VSPs are being considered as a new federal contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, prepares to take over at Y-12 and Pantex on July 1. CNS, which was first announced as the new consolidated contractor in January 2013, has promised to save the federal government more than $3 billion during the next decade. [Read more…]

Mason to brief feds on UPF alternatives report today

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Ernest Moniz, Lamar Alexander, Thom Mason, Joe DiPietro, Jimmy Cheek at University of Tennessee

From left are UT President Joe DiPietro, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, and ORNL Director Thom Mason.

Note: This story was last updated at 2:30 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—Federal officials have expressed concerns about increasing cost projections and delayed construction dates for a new Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and a so-called Red Team has drafted an alternative approach that could keep the project at $6.5 billion or less—and help workers get out of the aging Building 9212 at Y-12 by 2025.

Thom Mason, the director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, chaired the Red Team, and he is expected to brief federal officials in Washington, D.C., today (Monday) on the team’s report. The report will then go to Congress, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a media briefing at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center at the University of Tennessee on Friday.

Among the questions that could be answered are which old production buildings at Y-12 should be replaced and which can be refurbished. Y-12 was built to enrich uranium as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II as the United States raced to beat Germany to build the world’s first atomic weapons. [Read more…]

Staff size at Y-12, Pantex could be reduced through voluntary separations

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

The staff size at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, could be reduced as a new federal contractor takes over. Officials expect the staff reductions to be less than 5 percent, and they say that most, if not all, of the staff reductions could come through voluntary separation programs.

The voluntary separation programs, or VSPs, were announced on April 15 by B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Dave Richardson and B&W Pantex President and General Manager John Woolery.

In his message to Y-12 workers, Richardson said the National Nuclear Security Administration had directed the plants to conduct the VSPs as part of the implementation of the staffing plan for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the new contractor at the two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The Y-12 VSP will be targeted to specific job classifications and roles identified by CNS, Richardson said. Only employees in those specific classifications and roles will be eligible to apply for the VSP.

“Currently, B&W Y-12 is in the process of putting together a VSP plan that is in alignment with CNS’ staffing desires,” Richardson said last week. “We will submit our VSP plan later this week. Once this plan is approved by NNSA, we’ll communicate more details to you; specifically, each person eligible to participate in the VSP will be notified.” [Read more…]

Energy Secretary Moniz to give lecture on energy, environment at UT on Friday

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Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will give a lecture on energy and the environment at the University of Tennessee on Friday. It’s free and open to the public, a press release said.

Moniz will also talk about the U.S. Department of Energy and its activities in Tennessee, a press release said.

It’s the Baker Distinguished Lecture on Energy and the Environment, and it’s scheduled from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Friday at the UT College of Law, Room 132. Overflow seating will be available in Room 135, and the event will be streamed live here.

The College of Law is at at 1505 W. Cumberland Ave. in Knoxville. Paid public parking will be available in the Volunteer Hall Garage. A map of campus is available at utk.edu/maps. [Read more…]

No one injured when part of concrete ceiling falls in Y-12 building

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Y-12 National Security Complex Sign

No one was injured when chunks of concrete weighing up to 20 pounds fell from the ceiling in a roped-off area in a building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in March.

No one was injured when chunks of concrete weighing up to 20 pounds fell from the ceiling in a roped-off area in a building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in March.

That area of Building 9204-2 in Y-12‘s production area had been roped off to restrict worker access. The controlled area has been in place since 2009, said B&W Y-12, the plant’s managing and operating contractor. Access to the area was controlled with marker tape and boundary markers.

When the ceiling fell in that part of the building, large chunks of concrete rebounded into a frequently used walkway and an adjacent welding station, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board reported in the week ending March 21. Workers had used the welding station earlier in the day, the DNFSB said.

B&W Y-12 said chunks of the concrete fell to the floor and struck a portable welding exhaust unit located inside the controlled area. Some small pieces of the concrete also scattered outside of the area. Personnel in a nearby area heard the noise, discovered the problem, and immediately notified the shift manager, per procedures, the contractor said. [Read more…]

Retired Air Force general confirmed as NNSA administrator

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Retired Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz of the U.S. Air Force is pictured above in a Sept. 16, 2009, speech. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)

Retired Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz of the U.S. Air Force is pictured above in a Sept. 16, 2009, speech. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)

Acting Administrator Bruce Held returns to associate deputy secretary position

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed a retired U.S. Air Force general as the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the nuclear weapons work at the Y-12 National Security Complex and other federal sites.

Retired Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz is also the Energy Department’s under secretary for nuclear security.

Acting NNSA Administrator Bruce Held will return to his position as associate deputy secretary, a press release said.

“Lt. Gen. Klotz’s confirmation comes at a critical point for the National Nuclear Security Administration,” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. “His breadth of military and national security leadership experience makes him uniquely suited to lead the NNSA, fulfilling its commitments to the management and security of the nation’s nuclear weapons, nuclear nonproliferation, naval reactor programs, and nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness efforts. [Read more…]

Y-12 security project completed $20M under budget, ahead of schedule

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Y-12 National Security Complex Scarboro Road Entrance

The Scarboro Road entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

A security improvement project at the Y-12 National Security Complex was completed ahead of schedule and about $20 million under budget, federal officials announced Monday.

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Security Improvement Project upgraded security at Y-12 by replacing existing alarm stations and access control systems with Argus, a comprehensive security system developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a press release said. The SIP came in about $20 million under the original $72 million budget.

“Maintaining a safe and secure deterrent is one of NNSA’s most important responsibilities,” said NNSA Acting Chief of Defense Nuclear Security Michael Lempke. “SIP is a continuation of NNSA’s goal to use the best, most modern security technology to keep the nation’s nuclear weapons and material secure.” [Read more…]