Oak Ridge Today

ETTP security staff cut by 15 employees

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The plan to cut security staff at the Y-12 National Security Complex has been canceled, but the proposal to cut staff at the East Tennessee Technology Park has not, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Courtney Russell Henry, public affairs manager for security contractor WSI Oak Ridge, said 15 employees at ETTP have left the company, including 13 security police officers and one support staff member who accepted a voluntary separation. One officer left the company outside the voluntary separation program, or VSP, Henry said.

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Y-12 protesters ask federal judge to delay Oct. 10 trial

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Megan Rice and Michael R. Walli

Anti-nuclear weapons activists Megan Rice and Michael R. Walli leave U.S. District Court in Knoxville after an Aug. 9 arraignment on charges of trespassing, property depredation, and property destruction at the Y-12 National Security Complex. A third protester, Greg Boertje-Obed, remains jailed in Blount County.

Two anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested in July in a high-security area at the Y-12 National Security Complex have asked a federal judge to delay their trial date.

The protesters now face an Oct. 10 trial before U.S. District Court Judge Thomas W. Phillips in Knoxville.

But in motions filed Wednesday, two of the protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed and Megan Rice—said the evidence in the case is voluminous, and it involves significant and complex issues, including national security and First Amendment issues.

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Officials cancel plan to cut guards at Y-12

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A plan to cut up to 34 guard positions at the Y-12 National Security Complex has been canceled, a federal spokesman said Tuesday.

WSI Oak Ridge, which provides security at Y-12, no longer has the authority to restructure its staff since it is now a subcontractor reporting to B&W Y-12, rather than the National Nuclear Security Administration, said Steven Wyatt, public affairs manager for the NNSA Production Office in Oak Ridge. That change in reporting authority followed an unprecedented July 28 security breach at the plant, the nation’s main production facility for many nuclear weapons components.

The WSI plan had called for cutting a total of up to 52 jobs at Y-12 and the East Tennessee Technology Park. Employees were to be offered voluntary separations, and today was supposed to be the last work day for those who were accepted.

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B&W awards college scholarship to local student

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Rob Jones

Rob Jones

The Babcock and Wilcox Company has awarded Knoxville student Rob Jones a college scholarship worth $1,500 per year for up to four years, a press release said.

The scholarship is one of 12 awarded each year to students whose parents work in B&W’s offices, including sites in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Ontario, Canada, the release said.

Jones is the son of Kelley and Steve Jones. Steve is a geologist in the Environmental Compliance organization at the Y-12 National Security Complex. B&W is one of the parent companies of B&W Y-12, the company that operates Y-12.

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Federal official says Y-12 security breach demands swift, strong action

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A rapid response was required after the unprecedented security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex last month, a federal official said this week.

And the U.S. Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration have both taken aggressive steps to restore and enhance security at the plant, the nation’s main production facility for many nuclear weapons components, the official said.

“Secretary Chu has made clear that the security of our nation’s nuclear material is the department’s most important responsibility, and he has no tolerance for federal or contractor personnel who cannot or will not do their jobs,” DOE spokesman Damien LaVera said. “As the secretary has made clear, the recent incident at Y-12 was a completely unacceptable breach of security and an important wake-up call for our entire complex. The severity of the failure of leadership at Y-12 demands swift, strong, and decisive action by the department.”

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

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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.

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Nuclear operations resume at Y-12 under greater federal oversight

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After a two-week “stand down,” nuclear operations resumed Wednesday at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

But there will now be more federal oversight of contractor operations, a National Nuclear Security Administration press release said. B&W Y-12 operates Y-12 for the NNSA.

“The authorization to resume operations was made possible through the completion of numerous improvements in security at Y-12 and completion of security training,” the press release said.

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Y-12 cameras weren’t working, guards failed to react, federal letter says

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Transform Now Plowshares

The three anti-nuclear weapons activists pictured above sneaked into a high-security area at the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28 and triggered a security crisis that has led to personnel changes, a temporary halt in nuclear operations, and a potential termination of a federal contract with B&W Y-12. From left to right, the three protesters are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

Note: This story was last updated at 9:32 a.m. Aug. 15.

Many security cameras weren’t working when three anti-nuclear weapons activists sneaked into the Y-12 National Security Complex early in the morning on Saturday, July 28, a federal official said in a critical letter released Tuesday evening.

One of those cameras was near a fence penetrated by the protesters, who allegedly used bolt-cutters to slice through three fences before they walked to a high-security building known as the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

The intruders, who allegedly spray-painted slogans and splashed human blood on the HEUMF, set off many alarms in a “multi-layered sensor system” in a fence line, but the Y-12 protective force failed to react, the official said.

When guards alerted by the alarms responded with a vehicle patrol, it took them too long to arrive at the scene, and once there, they “failed to take appropriate steps to take control of the situation,” said the official, National Nuclear Security Administration Contracting Officer Jill Y. Albaugh. She said a responding supervisor finally took control and removed the protesters.

Written Friday, Albaugh’s letter gives Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Y-12, the plant’s managing and operating contractor, 30 days to show why the federal government should not proceed to terminate its contract.

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NNSA changes security contract competition, including at Y-12

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As the fallout from a July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex continues to roil the plant, federal officials announced Monday they have canceled part of a proposal to combine protective force services at Y-12, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office, and the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

The current contract competition will be revised to remove the National Nuclear Security Administration’s portion of the protective force services from the solicitation, according to an NNSA announcement. That includes the part of the contract competition that would provide protective force operations at Y-12 and Pantex.

The security services, or protective force operations, are now expected to be included in a consolidated management and operating contract covering both Pantex and Y-12.

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Kohlhorst, Klemm retire from Y-12; new manager starts

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Darrel P. Kohlhorst

Darrel P. Kohlhorst

Note: This story was updated at 11:30 p.m. Aug. 12.

Two weeks after an unprecedented security breach, two top executives have retired from the company that manages the Y-12 National Security Complex, and one of them has been replaced.

In a press release, The Babcock and Wilcox Co. announced that Charles “Chuck” G. Spencer is now acting president and general manager for Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12 LLC, the contractor that manages the plant for the National Nuclear Security Administration. He replaces Darrel P. Kohlhorst, who has retired.

William R. Klemm

William R. Klemm

It said William R. Klemm, deputy general manager of operations, has also retired.

The statement didn’t say whether the staff changes were related to the highly publicized July 28 intrusion by three anti-nuclear weapons activists, and it didn’t say who would replace Klemm.

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Y-12 protesters plead not guilty to new charge, face more jail time

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Megan Rice and Michael R. Walli

Anti-nuclear weapons activists Megan Rice, left, and Michael R. Walli leave U.S. District Court in Knoxville after pleading not guilty Thursday morning to three counts of trespassing, property depredation, and property destruction at the Y-12 National Security Complex. A third protester, Greg Boertje-Obed, remains jailed in Blount County.

Note: This story was last updated at 1:51 a.m. Aug. 10.

KNOXVILLE—A new felony property depredation charge and the possibility of more jail time have been added to two earlier charges filed against three anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested in July near a uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—are accused of sneaking into Y-12 before dawn July 28, cutting through three fences, and setting off alarms before spraying paint and splashing blood on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where bomb-grade uranium is stored.

The new charge, contained in a three-count grand jury indictment filed Tuesday, carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The three activists pleaded not guilty to all three counts during a Thursday morning arraignment in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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Y-12 activists indicted by federal grand jury for trespassing, property destruction

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Three anti-nuclear weapons activists arrested July 28 in the high-security Protected Area at the Y-12 National Security Complex have been indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of trespassing, property depredation, and property destruction.

The three defendants—Greg Boertje-Obed, Megan Rice, and Michael R. Walli—are expected to be arraigned this morning in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

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