Oak Ridge Today

National Nuclear Security Administration honors Y-12 employees

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NNSA Y-12 Awards

B&W Y-12 and National Nuclear Security Administration officials hand out plaques during a Sept. 18 awards ceremony. (Photo submitted by B&W Y-12)

A National Nuclear Security Administration official recently visited the Y-12 National Security Complex to present Defense Programs Awards of Excellence.

Fifteen teams that included about 275 Y-12 federal and contractor employees were recognized, a press release said.

Joseph Oder, director of NNSA’s Office of Nuclear Weapons Stockpile, pictured at center in the photo at left, presented the awards with Mark Padilla, NNSA Production Office assistant manager for programs and projects, who is pictured at right in the photo, and Joe Henry, chief operating officer of B&W Y-12.

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UT-Battelle donates $60,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank

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ORNL and Second Harvest

Second Harvest Food Bank Executive Director Elaine Streno accepts the first $20,000 installment of a $60,000 UT-Battelle donation from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason. (Photo submitted by ORNL)

UT-Battelle gave Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee $20,000 on Wednesday.

It’s the first part of a three-year, $60,000 donation to help the local nonprofit organization feed hungry East Tennessee residents, a press release said.

UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, donated the money at its annual United Way Leadership Giver’s Breakfast, the release said.

Y-12 sirens being replaced, tested today

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Sirens may sound several times between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in Oak Ridge today as the Y-12 Public Warning Siren System is tested as part of a system replacement.

A B&W Y-12 press release said the vendor, American Signal, might sound each siren separately—and possibly more than once—to verify that it works properly.

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B&W Y-12 names new deputy general manager for operations

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David Richardson

David Richardson

The Y-12 National Security Complex has a new deputy general manager for operations, B&W Y-12 announced Tuesday.

The new manager, David Richardson, will be one of three deputy general managers at Y-12.

Richardson has the same job title as William R. Klemm, a former deputy general manager of operations who retired in August, a few weeks after an unprecedented July 28 security breach. However, Richardson’s range of job duties will be narrower than Klemm’s, allowing him to focus on nuclear operations.

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Former astronaut on mission to promote math and science

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Astronaut Bernard Harris at ORNL

Astronaut Bernard A. Harris Jr., right, talks to Scott Wood, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory computer analyst and Roane State Community College observatory volunteer, after a Friday morning talk at ORNL.

He had prepared for this space mission for years, starting as a boy fascinated by the Apollo program and continuing through rigorous astronaut training.

Still, as Bernard A. Harris Jr. stepped out of the space shuttle Discovery in 1995—the first African-American to walk in space—he hesitated, afraid he might get sucked out of the craft’s air lock and fall 250 miles to Earth.

Holy cow, Harris thought as the Earth flew by far below at 17,500 miles per hour.

“I am really doing this,” Harris recalled thinking. “It was just incredible.”

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Ohio Republican introduces bill to transfer nuclear facility security to military

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Mike Turner

Mike Turner

The chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Strategic Forces has introduced legislation that would put the military in charge of security of nuclear weapons and special nuclear materials at certain federal sites, including the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The legislation is in response to the unprecedented July 28 security breach at Y-12, according to a press release from U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican.

Security at Y-12, including security systems and personnel, has been provided by contractors B&W Y-12 and WSI Oak Ridge.

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McMillan named federal project director for ORNL cleanup

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Bill McMillan

Bill McMillan

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has named Bill McMillan as its new federal project director for cleanup at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

As federal project director, McMillan oversees cleanup, decontamination, decommissioning, waste storage, and disposal operations at the site, a press release said.

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House majority supports Manhattan Project park, but two-thirds required

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Note: This story was updated at 9:10 p.m.

A majority of U.S. House members voted for a bill Thursday to set up a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that would include Oak Ridge, but the vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the legislation under special rules.

The vote on the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act was 237-180, about 50 votes short of a two-thirds supermajority, said Cindy Kelly, president of the nonprofit Atomic Heritage Foundation.

Though it didn’t pass Thursday in a maneuver that could have quickly sent the bill to the Senate, supporters said the bill has bipartisan support. They remained optimistic that it could still be approved soon.

“We’ve shown there is support for this park and will be working towards the goal of enacting this into law before the end of this year,” said U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, a Washington Republican who has championed the legislation to recognize Manhattan Project sites in Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, N.M., and Hanford, Wash. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

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Forty-one workers laid off at ETTP, the former K-25 site

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Note: This story was updated at 8:04 p.m.

Forty-one employees have been laid off at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, a spokesperson said Thursday.

Thirty-five employees worked on the K-25 Building demolition, and six worked on the K-27 project, said Wayne McKinney, spokesperson for UCOR, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge.

McKinney said the employees, who worked for subcontractors, were notified of the layoffs Thursday. He said it’s part of the normal ebb and flow of subcontracting.

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Cold War Patriots fair offers free health care screenings, information

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Nuclear workers and seniors will be offered free health care screenings, information, and entertainment during the fourth annual Cold War Patriots Resource Fair next week, a press release said.

The fair is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 27 in the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

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ORNL roof, attic design proves efficient in summer, winter

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ORNL Roof System

A new roof system tested at Oak Ridge National Laboratory improves efficiency using controls such as a ventilation system that pulls air from the attic into an air space above the roof. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

A new roof-and-attic system tested at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory keeps homes cool in summer and prevents heat loss in winter, a press release said.

Among the features designed to improve efficiency are a ventilation system that pulls air from the underbelly of the attic into air space above the roof, the release said.

“Heat that would have gone into the house is carried up and out,” says Bill Miller of ORNL’s Building Envelope Group. “And with a passive ventilation scheme, there are no moving parts, so it’s guaranteed to work.”

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No intentional wrongdoing in Y-12 test question distribution, WSI Oak Ridge says

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Note: This story was updated at 9:58 a.m. Sept. 19.

WSI Oak Ridge workers did not intend to do anything wrong when test questions associated with a federal inspection were distributed to employees in August, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

The test questions and other information were allegedly found in a patrol vehicle on Aug. 29. They were part of a federal investigation after the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and they were not supposed to be shared, a U.S. Department of Energy official said earlier this month.

In its statement Tuesday, WSI Oak Ridge said its investigation, which used independent legal counsel, found that the distribution of the papers was not meant to help employees that could have been tested.

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