Oak Ridge Today

Updated: Cange, former Oak Ridge cleanup manager, appointed visiting scholar at Vanderbilt

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k-27-demolition-aug-30-2016-cange-web

Sue Cange, who was then manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, is pictured above at the end of demolition of the K-27 Building on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12 p.m.

Sue Cange, former head of the federal government’s cleanup program in Oak Ridge, has been appointed as a visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

It’s a two-year appointment as a visiting scholar in civil and environmental engineering that started July 5, Vanderbilt University spokesperson Jim Patterson said. Cange has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental engineering from Vanderbilt University.

Cange remains a paid U.S. Department of Energy employee, Patterson said. At Vanderbilt, she will help to establish a nuclear environmental engineering curriculum and internship program.

Cange is a former manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. She had most recently worked at U.S. Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, D.C. In December, she was named principal deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management, or EM. She had previously been interim principal deputy assistant secretary, temporarily serving in the role formerly filled by Mark Whitney, who took a job in the private sector. Whitney is also a former manager of the Environmental Management program in Oak Ridge.

In January, Cange became acting assistant secretary for environmental management, the Exchange Monitor reported. She replaced Monica Regalbuto on a temporary basis, at about the time that President Donald Trump was inaugurated. Regalbuto was the Obama administration’s final appointee to the position that oversees DOE’s $6-billion-a-year legacy nuclear cleanup program.

But last week, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that James M. Owendoff had been promoted to principal deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Environmental Management, or EM, replacing Cange. Owendoff had served as a senior adviser to the assistant EM secretary since January 2010, DOE said. [Read more…]

President’s budget: DOE cleanup funding could be up, with benefits for Oak Ridge

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Jay Mullis, front center, acting manager of the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, talks about federal site cleanup work in Oak Ridge during a visit by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, left, on Monday, May 22, 2017. Pictured between Perry and Mullis are U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, both Tennessee Republicans. (Photo by DOE)

Jay Mullis, front center, acting manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, talks about federal site cleanup work in Oak Ridge during a visit by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, left, on Monday, May 22, 2017. Pictured between Perry and Mullis are U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, both Tennessee Republicans. (Photo by DOE)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:30 p.m.

Cleanup funding could be up for the U.S. Department of Energy under the budget request from the Trump administration for fiscal year 2018, and there could be benefits for Oak Ridge, according to budget documents.

President Donald Trump submitted his budget request to Congress on Tuesday, May 23. In that request, the DOE Office of Environmental Management, or EM, asked for $6.5 billion, the largest request in a decade. That would be $290 million above fiscal year 2016.

The funding request for Oak Ridge includes $390 million, or $78 million below fiscal year 2016, to continue deactivation and demolition of remaining facilities at East Tennessee Technology Park, continue preparing Building 2026 to support the processing of the remaining U-233 material at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and to support activities for the Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex.

It’s not clear whether that $390 million in the funding request includes part of the $225 million in funding requested for high-risk excess contaminated facilities at Y-12 and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. It’s also not clear whether the total funding for Oak Ridge cleanup programs would be up or down, compared to previous years. The DOE public affairs office in Washington, D.C., has not responded to about a dozen budget-related inquiries from Oak Ridge Today since May 23.

Among the highlights of the EM request for Oak Ridge, according to budget documents posted online by DOE and an EM press release: [Read more…]

Pro2Serve receives five-year contract worth up to $49 million to support Oak Ridge cleanup

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Oak Ridge Environmental Management

Professional Project Services Inc., or Pro2Serve, has received a five-year contract worth up to $49 million to provide technical support services to the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. The contract was awarded June 19, the U.S. Department of Energy said in a press release.

“After conducting an extensive nationwide procurement, we are very pleased to continue our partnership with Pro2Serve,” said OREM Acting Manager Jay Mullis. “They’ve been a great asset to our program in the past, and we look forward to their valuable support as we clean and transform the Oak Ridge Reservation.”

The Oak Ridge-based company provides a wide suite of services to DOE’s Environmental Management program locally, the press release said. They are responsible for reviewing and evaluating the cost, schedule, and technical approach for upcoming and current cleanup projects. They also assist with engineering, project planning, project management, cost estimating, and schedule and cost analysis. [Read more…]

DOE: Oak Ridge cleanup prevents large mercury release into environment

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Workers pour mercury from COLEX equipment into a container designed to hold 1,000 pounds of the element. (Photo by U.S. Department of Energy)

Workers pour mercury from COLEX equipment into a container designed to hold 1,000 pounds of the element. (Photo by U.S. Department of Energy)

 

This story and photos were published in the May 17 edition of the EM Update newsletter by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

Oak Ridge’s environmental management, or EM, program and contractor URS | CH2M Oak Ridge have prevented more than 1,000 pounds of mercury from entering the environment at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

This work, part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Excess Contaminated Facilities initiative, enables demolition and disposal of massive mercury-contaminated equipment to begin this month.

Workers are inspecting and cleaning the pipes and column exchange (COLEX) equipment on the west side of Alpha-4 at Y-12. They have tapped and drained approximately 2,100 feet of the 5,700 feet of piping so far, retrieving large amounts of mercury, and more is expected as work continues. EM will address and remove the remaining portions on the facility’s east and south sides in the future.

“This project has proven to be a very successful investment for our program,” said Oak Ridge Office of EM Acting Manager Jay Mullis. “We set out to remove risks and enhance safety through the Excess Contaminated Facilities initiative, and our efforts at Alpha-4 will prevent thousands of pounds of mercury from leaking into the environment.” [Read more…]

deBeauclair named deputy manager at DOE Oak Ridge Office

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Geoffrey G. deBeauclair (Photo courtesy DOE)

Geoffrey G. deBeauclair (Photo courtesy DOE)

 

Geoffrey “Geoff” G. deBeauclair has been named deputy manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office/Integrated Support Center. The appointment was effective May 1, a press release said.

It’s one of DOE’s most diverse field locations, the press release said. As deputy manager, deBeauclair will help Oak Ridge Office Manager Ken Tarcza manage the Oak Ridge Integrated Support Center. That center provides critical mission support services locally and nationally in the areas of personnel, finance, budget, procurement, legal, security and emergency management, and employee health and safety, the press release said.

“He will also be responsible for advancing ORO’s responsibilities for management of the 32,000-acre Oak Ridge Reservation, which will include addressing cross-cutting issues and among major activities, including the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, East Tennessee Technology Park, and Y-12,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Construction could start this year on K-25 History Center

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K-25 History Center and Equipment Building

An image showing the K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station, right, at East Tennessee Technology Park, with the Equipment Building and Viewing Tower at left. (Graphic by David Brown/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Construction could start this year on the K-25 History Center at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge, federal officials said. Plans also call for an Equipment Building and Viewing Tower at the site. Although the projects depend upon funding, the goal is to finish the work by 2019.

The K-25 site was one of three large sites built by the federal government in Oak Ridge during World War II to help make the world’s first atomic weapons as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The other two sites were X-10, which is now known as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12, now the Y-12 National Security Complex.

At K-25, the three history-related facilities will have three missions. The History Center will tell the story of the workers. The Equipment Building will focus on the technology. And the Viewing Tower will show visitors the size of the site. All three facilities will be on the south side of the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building.

K-25 used a process called gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and, later, for commercial nuclear power plants. Officials and contractors have said that K-25 helped win the Cold War. The site is now known as Heritage Center or East Tennessee Technology Park.

Preserving its history is part of a Memorandum of Agreement that was signed in August 2012 and allowed for the complete demolition of K-25, once the world’s largest building under one roof. The historic preservation work is expected to cost about $20 million total. [Read more…]

Preparing for demolition, DOE identifies contaminants at Y-12’s Biology Complex

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Y-12 Biology Complex aerial

An aerial view of the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Plans call for eventually demolishing the complex. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Biology Complex at Y-12 once housed more individuals with doctorates than anywhere else in the world

The U.S. Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor finished characterizing the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex this month, identifying contaminants before demolishing and disposing of the buildings.

The characterization work was done by DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractor, URS | CH2M, or UCOR.

DOE said it was crucial to get crews into the complex before the working environment became too hazardous.

“Already, team members could not enter a building due to a failed roof,” the Department of Energy said in a story published online on Thursday. “Elsewhere, exterior tiles have fallen from the façade, and asbestos and other material present risks to workers due to roof leaks.”

Jay Mullis, acting manager for the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, said the completion of the characterization work sets up the cleanup program to demolish Y-12’s Biology Complex when funds become available. [Read more…]

Site prep could start this year for mercury treatment plant at Y-12

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Y-12 Mercury Treatment Facility

The Mercury Treatment Facility that will be at the east end of Y-12 National Security Complex could start operating in 2022. (Image by David Brown/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Note: This story was updated at 2 p.m.

Site preparation could start later this year for the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex as the U.S. Department of Energy prepares for demolition and cleanup work at the nuclear weapons plant.

DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, expects to complete demolition and cleanup work at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, in 2020. It will then focus on the large-scale demolition work at Y-12.

Among the Y-12 buildings that could be demolished are Alpha 4, Alpha 5, and Beta 4, all large buildings where mercury, a toxic metal, was once used. The buildings used mercury to separate lithium for nuclear weapons. The lithium separation operations started in 1955 and ended in 1963.

But before that cleanup work can begin, OREM needs the Mercury Treatment Facility. The plant was first announced at a press conference featuring U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, about four years ago, in May 2013.

“This water treatment plant is a major step in addressing one of the biggest problems we have from the Cold War era—mercury once used to make nuclear weapons getting into our waterways,” Alexander said at the time. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Environmental Management has community budget workshop on Wednesday

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OREM Community Budget Workshop 2017

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has a community budget workshop on Wednesday.

The annual workshop is scheduled from 4:30-6 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, in the U.S. Department of Energy Building 2714-G at 235 Laboratory Road in Oak Ridge.

Topics include the federal budget process, near-term priorities and plans, a question-and-answer session with the audience, and how to build on Oak Ridge’s recent cleanup successes.

DOE’s public bus tour began in March, continues through November

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DOE Public Bus Tour

A U.S. Department of Energy public bus tour in August 2012. (File DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

Visitors see Oak Ridge’s past and present

The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2017 Oak Ridge facilities public bus tour began March 3 and continues through November 27. The tour offers visitors a first-hand look at the DOE’s Oak Ridge facilities and provides historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 70 years, a press release said.

The reservation-wide tour is a popular destination for tourists visiting the area, the release said. Since its inception in 1996, the DOE public tour program has attracted more than 40,000 visitors from all 50 states. The three-hour tour allows visitors to see the Oak Ridge Reservation and learn historical facts and updates on the world-class missions underway in Oak Ridge.

The bus tour itinerary includes: [Read more…]

Fireworks suspected, reward offered in wildfire in west Oak Ridge on Saturday

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The U.S. Department of Energy is offering a reward for a wildfire on federal property on Saturday afternoon, March 25, 2017, west of Wisconsin Avenue and south of Whippoorwill Drive. Fireworks are suspected as the cause. (Photo courtesy DOE/City of Oak Ridge)

The U.S. Department of Energy is offering a reward for a wildfire on federal property on Saturday afternoon, March 25, 2017, west of Wisconsin Avenue and south of Whippoorwill Drive. Fireworks are suspected as the cause. (Photo courtesy DOE/City of Oak Ridge)

 

The City of Oak Ridge is offering a $500 reward for information that helps resolve what happened in a wildfire on federal property in west Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon, a press release said. Fireworks are suspected as the cause of the fire.

The brush fire was reported on U.S. Department of Energy land at about 12:27 p.m. Saturday, March 25, west of Wisconsin Avenue and south of Whippoorwill Drive. It was below, or to the south of, a water tower near Whippoorwill Drive. There are homes just to the north of the water tower, and there are homes east of Wisconsin Avenue.

When firefighters arrived Saturday afternoon, they could not locate a fire, but there was smoke in the area, DOE said in a press release Tuesday.

“While the engine was looking for the fire, a hiker came down the trail and reported the fire was located several hundred yards off the road in the woods,” the press release said. “Engine 1 crew began hiking toward the reported location and was able to find the fire. At that time, the fire was approximately five acres and growing.”

The Oak Ridge Fire Department immediately requested assistance from the Tennessee Division of Forestry to respond with bulldozers to cut fire lines around the fire. The battalion chief also requested representatives from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Division of Forestry, since the fire was burning on U.S. Department of Energy property. [Read more…]

Energy Secretary Perry honors Oak Ridge’s EM program with two awards

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Energy Secretary Rick Perry, right, presents Wendy Cain, left, with DOE’s Federal Project Director of the Year award for 2016. He also presented the Oak Ridge K-31 Facility demolition team with the Department's Achievement Award. The employees received the awards at the 2017 DOE Project Management Workshop in Washington, D.C., on March 22. (Photo by DOE)

Energy Secretary Rick Perry, right, presents Wendy Cain, left, with DOE’s Federal Project Director of the Year award for 2016. He also presented the Oak Ridge K-31 Facility demolition team with the Department’s Achievement Award. The employees received the awards at the 2017 DOE Project Management Workshop in Washington, D.C., on March 22. (Photo by DOE)

 

At a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Energy Secretary Rick Perry honored the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management’s Wendy A. Cain as Federal Project Director of the Year for 2016, and a team under Cain’s oversight won a U.S. Department of Energy Achievement Award.

Cain, who oversees the cleanup portfolio at the East Tennessee Technology Park, was described as the best of DOE project management leadership. She earned the award by demonstrating exceptional leadership and project management acumen while overseeing the demolition of a former uranium enrichment facility. Her leadership, attention to detail, empowerment of team members, and fostering of open communications enabled the demolition of the K-31 Building at ETTP almost four months ahead of schedule and about $4 million under budget, a press release said.

“This is an incredible honor for Wendy and the Environmental Management program in Oak Ridge,” said Jay Mullis, acting manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. “Everyone who works with Wendy knows how deserving she is of this distinguished award. She brings an impeccable work ethic and commitment to achieve our mission every day, and is representative of all the dedicated and skilled federal and contractor employees executing the important cleanup mission here.” [Read more…]