Oak Ridge Today

With shutdown looming, DOE expects to keep operating for now

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U.S. Department of Energy Forrestal Building

With a potential government shutdown looming, U.S. Department of Energy employees are expected to continue working unless there is a lapse in appropriations and all available money is spent. Pictured above is DOE’s Forrestal Building in Washington, D.C. (Photo courtesy DOE)

Although a federal government shutdown is looming, the U.S. Department of Energy expects federal employees to continue reporting for work unless there is a lapse in appropriations and all available money is spent.

“Each component of DOE will continue to operate until prior year balances for funding of federal employees is exhausted,” DOE said in a guide posted on its website. “Their operations under those circumstances will be somewhat modified. For example, travel will generally be curtailed. DOE has some limited transfer and reprogramming authority, which may enable DOE to extend the number of days of funding available in some limited cases.”

The guide said operations will stop once prior-year balances have been spent at most DOE facilities. There would be exceptions for functions related to the safety of human life and protection of property. [Read more…]

DOE employees boost donations to local food bank

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DOE Employees Donate to Second Harvest Food Bank

U.S. Department of Energy employees donate 13,872 pounds of food to the Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. (Photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)

U.S. Department of Energy employees donated 13,872 pounds of food to the Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. The donation was part of the national Feds Feed Families campaign.

This is the fourth year the DOE’s Oak Ridge site has participated in the annual summer campaign, which helps replenish local food banks and raises awareness about the prevalence of hunger nationally. The campaign continues to garner high participation and serve as a cornerstone charitable event for local federal employees, who have tallied more than 11,000 pounds in donations every year. In addition, the program continues to be a success, as this year’s donation total reached an all-time high. [Read more…]

DOE, TEMA emergency forum set for Sept. 26 in Oak Ridge

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office will host another Oak Ridge Emergency Management Forum on Sept. 26. This year’s theme is “Back to Basics: Partnerships in Emergency Management.” Admission is free to the public and activities will begin at 8 a.m.

The DOE-ORO and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency collaborated to sponsor this year’s forum, which will be held at the Y-12 New Hope Center in Oak Ridge. The keynote speaker, Federal Emergency Management Agency Deputy Administrator Richard Serino, will speak about current innovations in emergency management partnerships. The all-day forum will also include panel and breakout sessions on a variety of topics. [Read more…]

NSPS names new general manager of DOE protective forces

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Michael Voce

Michael Voce

National Strategic Protective Services LLC, the security contractor for U.S. Department of Energy facilities in Oak Ridge, has a new general manager who will start Oct. 1.

Michael Voce will replace general manager Greg McDowell, whose resignation was announced in July.

NSPS, a joint venture of Triple Canopy Inc. and Securiguard Inc., provides protective force services to the East Tennessee Technology Park, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Joe L. Evins Federal Building. [Read more…]

Wilcox never gave up on plan to preserve K-25 history, former DOE manager says

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. Bill Wilcox, a former technical director at K-25 and the Y-12 National Security Complex, led the fight to preserve K-25’s history. Wilcox died Monday, Sept. 2, and his funeral was Saturday. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

The fight to preserve the history of the K-25 site in west Oak Ridge was long and arduous. Among the challenges were federal funding battles and deteriorated building conditions.

Other people might have considered the dilapidated K-25 Building, once the world’s largest building under one roof, a “useless hulk,” one friend and colleague said. But historic preservationist Bill Wilcox, who died Monday evening, never gave up on his dream of honoring the site’s history.

Now mostly demolished, the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building was erected as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. But the four-story building has been shut down since 1964 and fallen into disrepair, and the U.S. Department of Energy is converting the site into a massive industrial park and demolishing many of the original buildings. [Read more…]

With asbestos removed, DOE starts month-long move back into Federal Building

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Oak Ridge Federal Building

The asbestos-containing insulation has been removed, and U.S. Department of Energy employees and contractors started a month-long move back into the Joe L. Evins Federal Building this week.

The asbestos-containing insulation has been removed, and U.S. Department of Energy employees and contractors started a month-long move back into the Joe L. Evins Federal Building this week, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The move back into the five-story building should be complete by the end of September, said Ben Williams, public affairs specialist for the DOE Oak Ridge Office. [Read more…]

Shewairy named to top administrative position at DOE’s Oak Ridge Office

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John Shewairy

John Shewairy

John C. Shewairy has been named assistant manager for administration for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

In this position, Shewairy is responsible for advising the ORO manager in the determination, approval, and execution of the policies, plans, and programs governing ORO administrative functions, a press release said. He serves as the principal administrative and operating official of the organization, managing a staff of about 50 employees for ORO’s administrative programs including federal and contractor human resources, public affairs, and facilities information and reservation management. He also maintains liaison and working relationships with other federal agencies and state and local governments. [Read more…]

UCOR celebrates two years in Oak Ridge

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Leo Sain at K-25

Leo Sain, president and project manager for cleanup contractor UCOR, near the east wing of the mostly demolished K-25 Building, built to enrich uranium during World War II and also used during the Cold War.

It’s been two years since UCOR, the federal government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, started working in the Secret City.

UCOR president Leo Sain celebrated with an Aug. 1 letter to employees that thanked them but also issued a reminder and challenge. Read the letter here.

Sain said he is very proud of the workforce—he called the company’s performance spectacular—and said work has been done safely, under budget, and ahead of schedule.

“At the end of two years, we’re one of the safest sites in the U.S. Department of Energy complex,” Sain said. “The credit for that goes entirely to you, the workforce, for staying focused on your work through all the distractions and changing hazards that come with the tasks we perform.” [Read more…]

Water tower at East Tennessee Technology Park demolished

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K-25 Water Tower Demolition

The K-1206-F Fire Water Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park—the former K-25 site—before it was demolished Saturday. (Submitted photo)

One of the most iconic structures at East Tennessee Technology Park—the checkerboard water tower that has dominated the site’s skyline for 55 years—has been demolished.

UCOR and its subcontracting partners brought down the 382-foot-tall tower on Saturday through a controlled explosive demolition that sent the structure toppling into an empty field.

Officially called the K-1206-F Fire Water Tower, the 400,000-gallon structure was designed and built by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company in 1958 to service the site’s fire protection system. It operated until June 3, when the valves were turned off. It was drained, disconnected, and permanently taken out of service on July 15. [Read more…]

DOE summer bus tours end Aug. 30

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DOE Public Bus Tour

This year’s public bus tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s facilities in Oak Ridge end on Aug. 30. (Photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)

The public bus tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge facilities end Aug. 30. It’s the last day of the 2013 season.

The tours include stops at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12 National Security Complex, and East Tennessee Technology Park, and they provide historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 65 years.

So far this season, 1,148 visitors from 43 states have participated in the summer tour, a press release said. [Read more…]

Holocaust survivor to speak at DOE women’s program

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Arthur Pais

Arthur Pais

Holocaust survivor Arthur Pais will speak at a program sponsored by federal workers in Oak Ridge next week.

The free Aug. 8 program is open to the public. It’s co-sponsored by the Oak Ridge Federal Women’s Program, or FWP, and the Federally Employed Women Oak Ridge Chapter.

It’s scheduled from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Aug. 8 at the American Museum of Science and Energy at 300 South Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

ETTP water tower to be demolished in August

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ETTP Water Tower

The water tower, the tallest structure at the East Tennessee Technology Park, will be demolished in early August. It’s been part of the skyline at the former K-25 site for more than 50 years. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge Office)

The water tower, the tallest structure at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge, will be demolished in early August, officials said.

The checkerboard water tower has been part of the skyline at ETTP, the former K-25 site, for more than 50 years.

The 382-foot-tall structure is officially called the K-1206-F Fire Water Tower, and it has a capacity of 400,000 gallons. It serviced the site’s fire protection system until a few weeks ago. The structure has become deteriorated over the years, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office said in the August issue of “Public Involvement News.”

“The tower will be brought down through a controlled explosive demolition by UCOR and its subcontracting partners—Veterans Contracting Solutions LLC and Controlled Demolition Inc.,” DOE said. [Read more…]