The Y-12 National Security Complex shared one of 12 annual research and development awards given to National Nuclear Security Administration laboratories and production sites, federal officials announced this week.
The 2012 R&D 100 Awards were given out by R&D Magazine.
The Federal Building in Oak Ridge has been shut down after insulation with asbestos fell into heating and cooling ducts.
Air samples from the Federal Building in Oak Ridge suggest that no employees were exposed to asbestos from loose insulation that has fallen into heating and cooling ducts, a federal official said Thursday.
“We are pleased with the results,” said Johnathan Sitzlar, supervisory property manager for the U.S. General Services Administration, which owns the building.
A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today takes a major step toward creating a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that could include Oak Ridge, a nonprofit preservation group said.
The legislation was introduced by Rep. Doc Hastings, a Republican who represents the Hanford Site in central Washington. That site would also be a part of the Manhattan Project park along with Los Alamos, N.M.
All of the K-25 building would be demolished under a draft agreement issued by the U.S. Department of Energy last week, but a replica equipment building would be erected as part of a plan to honor the history of the massive uranium enrichment plant.
The replica building would have three stories and a basement, and it would display equipment used to enrich uranium through a process called gaseous diffusion.
A new federal office has been created to oversee nuclear production work at the Pantex Site in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.
The new office is called the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office. Its mission includes contract management and oversight of work to maintain the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, provide enriched uranium, and support activities that reduce the global nuclear threat, according to an NNSA press release.
About 80 federal employees could go back to work today in a new place as officials scramble to find space for staff members after the Federal Building closed last week.
Workstations have been set up for those employees in the Building 2714-G Conference Center on Laboratory Road, said Mike Koentop, spokesman at the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office.
Federal officials are looking for more work space at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Office of Scientific and Technical Information.
The Federal Building in Oak Ridge has been closed after an inspection found asbestos-containing insulation that had “dislodged into parts of the heating and cooling units,” according to a notice posted on Facebook by the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office.
“As a precautionary measure, the Federal Building is closed until we have additional information,” the notice said. “We are working closely with GSA, which owns the building, to determine the appropriate path forward.”
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander announced on Thursday that he has co-sponsored a bill that would turn several Manhattan Project sites, including areas of Oak Ridge, into a National Historical Park.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat.
University of Tennessee Lady Vols Head Coach Holly Warlick, left, congratulates Belinda Loi, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory student intern, and Jason Craig, ORNL scientific glass blower, after a free throw competition Thursday.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is already one of the United Way’s largest regional contributors, and officials said they hope to raise even more money this year.
“You’d be amazed at the difference that even $10 a week can make,” Hurtis Hodges, ORNL United Way campaign chairman said during a Thursday morning ceremony on the lab’s Main Street.
Tennessee Lady Vols Head Coach Holly Warlick helped ORNL kick off its annual United Way campaign with a short speech and free-throw competition.
Electron microscopy at Oak Ridge National Laboratory confirmed that a carbon nanotube material that exhibits desirable chemical properties has many heavy atoms, such as the iron atoms circled in red. (Photo submitted by ORNL)
A team of researchers that included scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed an inexpensive carbon nanotube material that could help lower the cost of fuel cells and catalytic converters.
The new material could provide a substitute for expensive platinum catalysts.
Aerial photo of EMWMF. (Photo submitted by UCOR)
After 10 years of operation, the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility has safely disposed of 1.45 million tons of waste from cleanup projects across the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation, a press release said.
The waste management facility, which is located near the Y-12 National Security Complex, began operating in May 2002. It accepts a variety of wastes, including soil, sludge, sediments, vegetation, personal protective equipment, and scrap equipment.
The first regional small business summit by the U.S. Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration will be held in Knoxville from July 9 to 11.
During the summit at the Knoxville Convention Center, small businesses will be able to speak with government and industry representatives, and information specifically focused on awarding prime contracts and subcontracts to small businesses will be highlighted.
