Oak Ridge Today

Y-12 completes $10 million upgrades to Analytical Chemistry facility

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Y-12 Building 9995 Plant Lab 2

Infrastructure improvements in Y-12’s Building 9995 include equipment upgrades for the site’s Plant Lab. The upgrades allow technicians to more safely and efficiently handle hazardous chemicals. (Photo courtesy Y-12 National Security Complex)

 

The Y-12 National Security Complex has completed significant infrastructure upgrades to the plant’s Analytical Chemistry facility to improve mission capability and reliability. The year-long effort was completed on schedule and budget, a press release said.

Built in 1957, Building 9995 provides comprehensive analytical services in support of core missions, environmental compliance, and overall worker health and safety at the Oak Ridge facility, the press release said.

The infrastructure upgrades at 9995 included improvements to critical heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, electrical system upgrades, and replacement of obsolete radiochemistry hoods. These improvements have greatly improved Building 9995’s work environment by reducing risk to operations and enabling the facility to continue to meet the extensive analytical chemistry needs for Y-12, the press release said.

The 9995 infrastructure upgrade was made possible through a $5 million investment allocated by National Nuclear Security Administration Uranium Program Manager Tim Driscoll and matched by $5 million through Consolidated Nuclear Security. Once funding was received, all the planning, procurement, and installation activities for the various improvements were planned and executed expeditiously, the release said. [Read more…]

Y-12 finishes W69 warhead dismantlement work

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Short-Range-Attack-Missile-B-1B-Bomber-1987

Members of the 96th Munitions Maintenance Squadron use a weapons loader to move an inert AGM-69A Short Range Attack Missile, or SRAM, from underneath a B-1B bomber aircraft in 1987. (Photo courtesy NNSA)

 

Dismantlement of W69 canned subassemblies has been completed at the Y-12 National Security Complex, officials said Friday.

The W69 was the warhead for the short-range attack missile, or SRAM, and it was retired from the U.S. nuclear stockpile in 1992. The last W69 weapon was dismantled in 1999. The Y-12 site originally assembled the W69 canned subassemblies, or CSAs, in the 1970s and began disassembly in 2012.

“These weapons components have come full circle, considering Y-12 has been responsible for the assembly and disassembly of every secondary in the nation’s nuclear stockpile,” manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Production Office Geoff Beausoleil said, “With this successful dismantlement, we now can turn our focus to other systems to further modernize the stockpile.”

“The employees of Consolidated Nuclear Security are proud to have an integral role in accomplishing the NNSA’s nuclear weapon mission,” Consolidated Nuclear Security President and CEO Morgan Smith said. “The work done at Y-12 on the W69 is yet another example of the important role we play in supporting our nation and making the world a safer place.” [Read more…]

D. Ray Smith could be named honorary city historian

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Bill Wilcox and Ray Smith

Bill Wilcox, right, and D. Ray Smith are pictured above. Wilcox was city historian before he died in 2013, and Smith, a friend of Wilcox’s, could be named honorary city historian during an Oak Ridge City Council meeting on Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. (Submitted photo)

 

D. Ray Smith, who is known for his love of Oak Ridge history, could be named honorary city historian on Monday.

Among other activities, Smith is historian at the Y-12 National Security Complex, has been a guide on U.S. Department of Energy tour buses at federal sites in Oak Ridge, writes a weekly newspaper history column, testified before Congress on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, and frequently photographs community events.

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider naming Smith as honorary city historian during a regular meeting on Monday.

Oak Ridge City Council member Charlie Hensley drafted the proposal. He said Smith is also a leader in the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, has been a featured speaker in talks on Oak Ridge heritage, was central to creating a history center at Y-12’s New Hope Center, and serves in a support role for implementation of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. [Read more…]

Y-12 union workers ratify five-year contract with 3 percent annual wage increases

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Steve Jones

Steve Jones

Note: This story was last updated at 10:02 p.m.

Union workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex ratified a new five year-contract on Thursday that includes 3 percent annual wage increases and a $2,500 signing bonus, an official said.

The first 3 percent wage increase goes into effect on Monday, December 7.

The new contract, the first “full-blown” contract since 2004, expires on June 22, 2020, said Steve Jones, president of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council, or ATLC.

Negotiation teams from the ATLC and Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, which operates Y-12 for the National Nuclear Security Administration, had reached a tentative agreement on Monday on the new five-year labor agreement. [Read more…]

Clinton man charged with trespassing after crashing car at Y-12, fleeing from officers

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Timothy D. Preston

Timothy D. Preston

A 34-year-old Clinton man was charged with aggravated trespassing after allegedly driving through the east gate at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Thursday, crashing near a parking lot area, and then fleeing on foot into a heavily wooded area inside the nuclear weapons plant, authorities said.

The crash occurred at about 5:52 a.m. Thursday after a person, later identified as Timothy D. Preston, 34, of Clinton, drove through the east gate of Y-12 near Scarboro Road.

Y-12 security and Oak Ridge police officers responded immediately and established a containment area inside and outside the perimeter of the facility, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

Preston was taken into custody at about 7:40 a.m. and transported to the Methodist Medical Center, where he was treated and released for minor injuries, the press release said. He was interviewed at the Oak Ridge Police Department and then transported to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton, where he was charged with aggravated trespassing, trespassing by motor vehicle, felony vandalism, and driving on a revoked license (third offense). [Read more…]

NNSA awards National Security Campus contract in KC to Honeywell FM&T

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National Security Campus in Kansas City

The NNSA National Security Campus in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo courtesy NNSA)

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Nuclear Security Administration on Friday announced the award to Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies LLC to be the management and operating contractor for the National Security Campus, or NSC, in Kansas City, Missouri.

“Our non-nuclear production capabilities are critical to our national security, and Honeywell FM&T represents the best value to the government,” NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz said.  “Honeywell has demonstrated excellent performance in advancing NNSA’s enduring mission at NSC, and this award creates workforce stability for another decade.”

The NSC is one of several production plants that are critical to the NNSA’s Stockpile Stewardship Program. The National Security Campus is responsible for manufacturing and procuring nonnuclear components for nuclear weapons, including electronic, mechanical, and engineered material components. It supports national laboratories, universities, and U.S. industry.

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NNSA, IAEA hosting international nuclear material course at ORNL

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

The National Nuclear Security Administration and the International Atomic Energy Agency are hosting 35 representatives from 30 countries at Oak Ridge National Laboratory from April 26 to May 8 for an international training course on how to account for and control nuclear material.

It’s the 20th International Training Course, or ITC, on State Systems of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material, or SSACs.

NNSA and the IAEA co-sponsor the ITC to educate and train technical experts from around the world on how to properly account for nuclear materials used in their home countries. The first SSAC ITC in the United States was held in Richland, Washington, in 1979.  Since then, approximately 500 participants from 50 countries have completed the training. The ITC supports U.S. obligations under the U.S. Nuclear Nonproliferation Act of 1978. [Read more…]

Youth to demonstrate in Oak Ridge, say ‘no’ to ‘bomb plant’

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OREPA Spring Demonstration at Y-12

Members of Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and supporters gather across from the Y-12 National Security Complex to protest the plant’s proposed Uranium Processing Facility in April 2013. (File photo)

 

Young people from Knoxville and Maryville have planned a peace rally, demonstration, and march in Oak Ridge on Saturday to protest the proposed Uranium Processing Facility, which they call a “bomb plant,” at Y-12 National Security Complex, a press release said.

The peace rally and demonstration is called Action for Peace and Disarmament, and it starts at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at Alvin K. Bissell Park with a bring-your-own-picnic lunch, a press release said. It will be followed by a youth led program at 1 p.m. and a march to the Y-12 at 2 p.m.

“While young people will provide the leadership, the event is open to people of all ages,” organizers said in the press release. [Read more…]

DOE offers expanded public bus tours of federal sites in Oak Ridge

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DOE Public Bus Tour

Public bus tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s facilities in Oak Ridge are now offered nine months of the year. (File photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s public bus tour of federal sites in Oak Ridge is now offered to visitors nine months out of the year, versus only summer months as in the past.

This popular tour of the 33,000-acre DOE Oak Ridge Reservation offers visitors a first-hand look at all of the DOE’s Oak Ridge facilities and provides historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 70-plus years.

The reservation-wide tour is a popular attraction for tourists visiting the area.  Since its inception in 1996, the DOE public tour program has attracted approximately 35,000 visitors from all 50 states. The three-hour DOE tour allows visitors to see the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation and learn about its rich history and how Oak Ridge became a secret city of 75,000 people with a mission to end World War II. [Read more…]

Morris named NPO assistant manager for environment, safety, health

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Susan Morris

Susan Morris

Susan Morris has been named assistant manager for environment, safety, health, and quality for the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office. The NPO oversees work at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.

Morris is responsible for oversight of contractor programs for health physics and radiological protection, industrial hygiene and occupational medicine, industrial safety, transportation safety, construction safety, chemical safety, fire protection, firearm safety, explosive safety, aviation safety, and quality assurance at the Pantex Plant and Y-12 National Security Complex, a press release said. She has more than 28 years of federal service.

Morris has had a broad range of responsibilities, including serving as the team leader and subject matter expert/program manager for industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, fire protection, and environmental programs, and she served as the Y-12 Site Office NEPA compliance officer, the release said. [Read more…]

DOE deputy secretary meets two ‘Calutron Girls’ at Y-12

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DOE Deputy Secretary and Calutron Girls

Two of the calutron girls met with DOE Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall during her visit to Oak Ridge. Seated from left to right are Petty Stuart and Ruth Huddleston. Standing left to right are Kathryn Grant, special assistant to the deputy secretary; commander Wayne Smith, senior military assistant; Sherwood-Randall and Timothy McClees, chief of staff. (Photo courtesy CNS)

 

When Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall was in Oak Ridge last week, she met two “Calutron Girls” at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Peggy Stuart and Ruth Huddleston both came to Y-12 when they were 18 years old. They both were recruited as seniors in high school when someone from Oak Ridge, a place Peggy did not know existed, came to their schools and invited them to join the war effort.

Peggy said: “My friend had worked there and got lonesome for home in Sneedville, Tennessee. When she decided to go back to Oak Ridge, I came with her. They did not hire her because she did not stay when she was there before, but I got a job.”

Ruth was living in Oliver Springs. When the Manhattan Project began, she knew that something big was happening, so she applied for a job and got it. Peggy and Ruth both married and have spent most of their lives in this area. [Read more…]

Officials celebrate new bridge, road relocation, haul road for UPF at Y-12

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Bear Creek Road Extension and Bridge

Pictured above is the new Bear Creek Road extension and bridge on the west side of the Y-12 National Security Complex.

 

They called it their first major milestone: the completion of site readiness work, delivered on time and under budget. The work included the relocation of Bear Creek Road, a new bridge, and construction of a haul road.

It’s part of the project to build a Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. UPF could replace World War II-era buildings at Y-12. The project has been capped at $6.5 billion, and it’s expected to be completed by 2025.

Federal officials and contractors celebrated the completion of the site readiness subproject in a Friday morning ceremony at Y-12. [Read more…]