Oak Ridge Today

National Nuclear Security Administration honors Y-12 employees

Posted at
By 1 Comment

NNSA Y-12 Awards

B&W Y-12 and National Nuclear Security Administration officials hand out plaques during a Sept. 18 awards ceremony. (Photo submitted by B&W Y-12)

A National Nuclear Security Administration official recently visited the Y-12 National Security Complex to present Defense Programs Awards of Excellence.

Fifteen teams that included about 275 Y-12 federal and contractor employees were recognized, a press release said.

Joseph Oder, director of NNSA’s Office of Nuclear Weapons Stockpile, pictured at center in the photo at left, presented the awards with Mark Padilla, NNSA Production Office assistant manager for programs and projects, who is pictured at right in the photo, and Joe Henry, chief operating officer of B&W Y-12.

[Read more…]

B&W Y-12 names new deputy general manager for operations

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

David Richardson

David Richardson

The Y-12 National Security Complex has a new deputy general manager for operations, B&W Y-12 announced Tuesday.

The new manager, David Richardson, will be one of three deputy general managers at Y-12.

Richardson has the same job title as William R. Klemm, a former deputy general manager of operations who retired in August, a few weeks after an unprecedented July 28 security breach. However, Richardson’s range of job duties will be narrower than Klemm’s, allowing him to focus on nuclear operations.

[Read more…]

Ohio Republican introduces bill to transfer nuclear facility security to military

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Mike Turner

Mike Turner

The chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Strategic Forces has introduced legislation that would put the military in charge of security of nuclear weapons and special nuclear materials at certain federal sites, including the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The legislation is in response to the unprecedented July 28 security breach at Y-12, according to a press release from U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican.

Security at Y-12, including security systems and personnel, has been provided by contractors B&W Y-12 and WSI Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Cold War Patriots fair offers free health care screenings, information

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Nuclear workers and seniors will be offered free health care screenings, information, and entertainment during the fourth annual Cold War Patriots Resource Fair next week, a press release said.

The fair is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 27 in the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

[Read more…]

No intentional wrongdoing in Y-12 test question distribution, WSI Oak Ridge says

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 9:58 a.m. Sept. 19.

WSI Oak Ridge workers did not intend to do anything wrong when test questions associated with a federal inspection were distributed to employees in August, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

The test questions and other information were allegedly found in a patrol vehicle on Aug. 29. They were part of a federal investigation after the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and they were not supposed to be shared, a U.S. Department of Energy official said earlier this month.

In its statement Tuesday, WSI Oak Ridge said its investigation, which used independent legal counsel, found that the distribution of the papers was not meant to help employees that could have been tested.

[Read more…]

Guard, union president defend security officer performance during Y-12 breach

Posted at
By 2 Comments

The work of a few security guards has been heavily scrutinized and repeatedly criticized since the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Last week, the criticism came from members of the U.S. House of Representatives, who also directed their frustration at U.S. Department of Energy officials and the plant’s contractors, calling the security breach “appalling” and an “all-out failure.”

But in recent interviews, a guard and union representative defended the performance of the security police officers at Y-12.

“I did my job exactly the way I’ve been trained for 30 years,” said Kirk Garland, who was the first security guard to reach the three anti-nuclear weapons activists who sneaked into Y-12 before dawn on July 28 and vandalized a building where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

[Read more…]

UT, Y-12 partner to recruit top students to MBA program

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Nine students pursuing master’s degrees in business administration at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville will work at the Y-12 National Security Complex while they complete their studies, thanks to a partnership between the two institutions called the Career Advantage Program, a press release said.

The program participants include six Class of 2013 MBA students: Lee Creviston of Brentwood, Bill Fortunato of Knoxville, Logan Howell of Mascot, Mike Koban of Nashville, Kelcee Ramsey of Oak Ridge, and Nick Tussing of Centennial, Colo.

In addition, three Class of 2012 students are continuing from last year: Chris Hurley of Delbarton, W.Va.; Aaron Jacques of Murfreesboro; and Melissa Tucker of Knoxville, the press release said.

[Read more…]

DOE public bus tour has 1,600 visitors this summer

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

About 1,600 people toured the Oak Ridge Reservation during this summer’s public bus tour, the U.S. Department of Energy announced.

The annual tour of Oak Ridge facilities ended Aug. 31, and it attracted visitors from 40 states, a press release said.

[Read more…]

NNSA reassigns two officials after Y-12 security breach

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Daniel Hoag

Daniel Hoag

Two National Nuclear Security Administration officials have been reassigned after the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Daniel Hoag has been temporarily reassigned to the Oak Ridge Site Office, NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino said in an Aug. 7 staff memo. Hoag has been deputy manager of the new NNSA Production Office, or NPO, which oversees nuclear production missions at Y-12 in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

Hoag’s appointment was announced in July, shortly before the security breach. He served as the chief operating officer for Pantex and Y-12, reporting to NPO Manager Steven Erhart in Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Y-12 security breach ‘obvious dereliction of duty’

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Lawmakers criticized federal officials and contractors during congressional hearings this week on the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, demanding to know who had been fired and who had been responsible for repairing critical cameras that didn’t work.

“This level of intrusion into the perimeter of a highly secure nuclear weapons facility is unprecedented—and it is completely unacceptable,” said Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican who chairs the U.S. House Strategic Forces Subcommittee. “It is outrageous to think that the greatest threat to the American public from weapons of mass destruction may be the incompetence of Department of Energy security.”

Legislators took aim at federal officials and the “mind-boggling incompetence” of contractors. They wanted to know how an 82-year-old nun was able to reach the “Fort Knox” of uranium, a building inside a high-security area at Y-12 surrounded by fences and protected by alarms and cameras—and where deadly force is authorized.

[Read more…]

Second House panel questions federal officials on Y-12 security breach

Posted at
By 2 Comments

The U.S. House of Representatives has a second hearing this afternoon on this summer’s security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Today’s 2 p.m. hearing is before the House Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, and it can be watched live online.

Today’s hearing follows one yesterday by the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. During that hearing, House members called the July 28 security breach at Y-12 “appalling” and an “all-out failure,” and they asked who had been fired and who was responsible for various problems—such as security cameras that didn’t work.

[Read more…]

B&W Y-12 says it has made compelling case to keep contract

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Chuck Spencer

Chuck Spencer

Six weeks after an unprecedented security breach, B&W Y-12 said in a press release Wednesday that is has demonstrated a compelling case to federal officials to let it keep managing and operating the Y-12 National Security Complex.

“The July 28 event brought to light gaps in our maintenance and security operations, and we are using it as a catalyst for a comprehensive and objective examination of all our operations,” said B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Chuck Spencer.

During the July 28 security breach, three unarmed anti-nuclear weapons activists allegedly sneaked into Y-12, evaded guards, cut fences, penetrated a high-security area, and spray-painted slogans and splashed human blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

[Read more…]