• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • 2018 Election
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries












Updated: DOE to investigate possible weaknesses in nuclear criticality controls at Y-12

Posted at 1:10 am November 18, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated with a statement from CNS at 11:50 a.m. Nov. 19.

The U.S. Department of Energy has notified Consolidated Nuclear Security that it intends to investigate possible weaknesses in nuclear criticality controls at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments’ Office of Enforcement notified CNS, which manages and operates Y-12, of its intent to investigate on Tuesday. The Office of Enforcement intends to investigate potential noncompliances with DOE nuclear safety program requirements, according to a summary of the notice published online.

The potential nuclear criticality control weaknesses were identified at Y-12 between May 2017 and May 2018, the notice said.

Nuclear criticality occurs when nuclear fuel is capable of sustaining a fission chain reaction.

It’s not clear if the nuclear criticality concerns at issue in the Office of Enforcement investigation are related to highly enriched uranium, which is stored at Y-12 and can be used in nuclear weapons and in naval reactors.

Advertisement

In the Tuesday notice, the DOE Office of Enforcement said CNS reported the potential noncompliance concerns in the department’s Noncompliance Tracking System. The letter was from Kevin L. Dressman, acting director of the Office of Enforcement, to Morgan Smith, president and chief executive officer of CNS.

“Since the self-discovery and reporting of legacy issues with Y-12’s nuclear criticality controls, affected operations at Y-12 were temporarily paused and actions were taken to review and improve procedures,” CNS spokesperson Amanda Meixel Kinghorn said in a statement Monday. “Y-12 will support the investigation, which is planned for January 2019.”

The Office of Enforcement investigation will include an onsite visit and interviews with contractor personnel, and documents will be requested, DOE said in its notice.

It’s not clear what the weaknesses are, how they started and how they ended, and how long the investigation might take. Oak Ridge Today has requested more information about the notice of intent to investigate from DOE, CNS, and the National Nuclear Security Administration, the part of DOE that oversees Y-12, and we will update this story or publish a new one when more information becomes available.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2018 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Front Page News, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: CNS, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, DOE, DOE nuclear safety program requirements, nuclear criticality, nuclear criticality control weaknesses, nuclear criticality controls, Office of Enforcement, Office of Enterprise Assessments, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex

Advertisements



Join the club!

If you haven't already, please consider subscribing to Oak Ridge Today. You don't have to subscribe to read most of our stories, but your subscription does provide benefits, including access to premium content. And it will help us cover local news for you day and night, as best we can. You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month. You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers:

Basic
  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro
  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and join a private story discussion page
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and join a private story discussion page

Temporary
  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More U.S. Department of Energy News

Hearne joins ORNL as director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences

Hearne joins ORNL as director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory has named Sean Hearne director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. The center is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility that brings … [Read More...]

Virtual career fair for ORNL on Feb. 20

Virtual career fair for ORNL on Feb. 20

Submitted Discover the variety of internships and research participation programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by participating in the Laboratory Internship Virtual Event, or LIVE, career fair on Wednesday, … [Read More...]

Y-12, Pantex give more than $1 million to United Way

Y-12, Pantex give more than $1 million to United Way

  Contributions to the United Way from the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, topped $1 million in 2018. The donations were collected from employees and retirees, … [Read More...]

(For members) NRC finds no significant impact from producing tritium at Watts Bar 2

(For members) NRC finds no significant impact from producing tritium at Watts Bar 2

  The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced on Monday that there would be no significant impact from producing tritium for nuclear weapons in a second unit at the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant in Rhea … [Read More...]

(For members) DOE could lease space to store elemental mercury

(For members) DOE could lease space to store elemental mercury

  The U.S. Department of Energy is considering whether to lease space to store elemental mercury from sites across the country. The facility could store about 1,200 metric tons (1,300 tons) of elemental … [Read More...]

More DOE

Recent Posts

  • Sponsored: Ulster Project to celebrate peace-building with Mardi Gras event
  • Hearne joins ORNL as director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
  • Virtual career fair for ORNL on Feb. 20
  • Interfaith Harmony events on Friday, Saturday
  • One lane of SR 116 open, with temporary signal, for 4-5 weeks
  • No injuries reported when car crashes into school bus
  • TVA board unanimously approves closing Bull Run Fossil Plant
  • Man died after removing wife from fire, trying to rescue her special needs sister
  • Updated: Officer legally entitled to use deadly force in fatal shooting, DA says
  • Two people die in fire, one person in critical care

Recent Comments

  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Tracy Powers on Planning Commission to consider Main Street apartments, plan revisions
  • johnhuotari on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • Levi D. Smith on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • samuel hopwood on Housing: Apartments proposed on former AMSE site
  • Matt Bailey on Robin Smith named Oak Ridge police chief

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2019 Oak Ridge Today