Oak Ridge Today

Langan returning to ORNL as associate lab director

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Paul Langan will oversee Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s research directorate focused on biological and environmental systems science. (Photo credit: ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

Paul Langan will return to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the spring as associate laboratory director for the Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate.

Langan is a former associate lab director for neutron sciences.

In his new role, he will lead the directorate’s convergence research in biology, ecology, engineering, data discovery, physical sciences, and computing that “advances U.S. competitiveness in the global bioeconomy and Earth system sustainability,” a press release said. “This diverse research portfolio encompasses efforts to develop renewable energy solutions, improve Earth system models, and push the frontiers of systems and synthetic biology.”

Langan will succeed Stan Wullschleger, who will retire in 2023 after 33 years at ORNL.

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ETEC announces Muddy Boot, Young Professional winners

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Image by East Tennessee Economic Council

The East Tennessee Economic Council in December announced two winners of its Muddy Boot Award: Chris Whaley, president of Roane State Community College, and Jim Rushton, who is retired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Katherine Roberts, deputy director of Y-12 Production Operations for Consolidated Nuclear Security, was named the 25th recipient of the Postma Young Professional Medal.

The Muddy Boot Award pays tribute to people who make East Tennessee better through their work and community activities.

The Postma Young Professional Medal recognizes a young professional making a difference in their workplace and the community.

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Y-12 replacing old, high-risk water lines

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Sixty-year-old water lines are being replaced at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and 27 of the old lines are identified as high-risk and a Top 10 threat.

Work to replace the pipes began in July 2022 and will continue in April 2023, according to an emailed response to questions provided by spokesperson Kathryn King. The water line replacements are scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2025 at a projected cost of $38.9 million. The old cast iron pipes will be replaced with new ductile iron pipes.

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NRC will prepare environmental statement for nuclear fuel facility

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TRISO-X has proposed a nuclear fuel fabrication facility on 110 acres at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. (Photo from TRISO-X environmental report to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Friday that it will prepare an environmental impact statement for a proposed nuclear fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge that could help power advanced reactors for electrical and chemical use, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The project could partially benefit from last year’s federal infrastructure law, specifically about $1.1 billion appropriated for a clean energy supply.

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Lawsuit filed by terminated employee who refused COVID-19 vaccine

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The Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse is pictured above in Knoxville on Jan. 19, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A lawsuit was filed this year against a federal contractor in Oak Ridge that terminated an employee after she refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

In her lawsuit, the former employee argued that it is illegal under state law to compel her to provide proof of vaccination if she objects to the vaccine.

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Safety board wants briefing on Y-12 uranium reactions

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A federal safety board has asked for a report and briefing after 15 exothermic (heat-producing) reactions of uranium materials were reported at the Y-12 National Security Complex between 2016 and 2021.

The report and briefing have been requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which wants a response from the National Nuclear Safety Administration. The NNSA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy and oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons work, including at Y-12.

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DOE has open house about landfill on Thursday

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There will be an open house in Oak Ridge on Thursday to discuss the proposed new federal landfill in Bear Creek Valley, west of the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The open house is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, December 8, in the Scarboro Community Center.

“After much work and coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, we are excited to share that the three parties recently signed the final Record of Decision (ROD) for the Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF) project,” the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management said in a notice posted on its website.

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ORISE names safety, facilities director

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Chad Becker (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education has named Chad Becker as the director of the new Office of Safety and Facilities.

Becker previously served as director of Facilities and Transportation, a role he has held for more than seven years, a press release said.

The new office was formed from a re-organization that merges the Facilities and Transportation Department (FTD) and the previously existing Environment Safety and Health Office (ES&H) into one unit.

“FTD and ES&H have long been critical programs supporting our government customers, including our flagship ORISE contract with the U.S. Department of Energy,” the press release said. “ES&H is an integral component of the ORISE Contractor Assurance Program.”

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Learn about secrecy, spies on Dec. 17

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The Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse is pictured above on the west end of town. (Submitted photo)

You can learn about secrecy, security, and spies during the Manhattan Project in World War II in Oak Ridge on Saturday, December 17.

This National Park Service program is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. December 17 at the Oak Ridge Turnpike gatehouse on the west end of town.

“The program is accessible to all visitors and will give insight to what life was like in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project with heightened security, need for secrecy, and worry of spies,” the NPS said in a newsletter.

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ORNL center will make isotopes for medicine, research, security

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory had an October 24 groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Stable Isotope Production and Research Center. A design image of the new center is pictured above.

Note: This story was updated at 11 a.m. Nov. 22.

For decades, Oak Ridge made stable isotopes. Those are non-radioactive forms of atoms that can be used in medicine and industry, and for research and national security.

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ORNL to receive $497 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding 

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory will receive $497 million from the Inflation Reduction Act for projects that include nuclear fusion and neutron research, supercomputing, materials science, and radioisotope production. More than half of the money, 52% of it, will be used for U.S. contributions to an international nuclear fusion project.

ORNL’s $497 million is about one-third of the $1.55 billion provided to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science by the Democrat-led Congress under the IRA. President Joe Biden signed the IRA, which included a range of provisions and passed along party lines, into law in August. It provides money for more than 52 DOE projects already in the works.

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Crews demolish ORNL reactor once used for aircraft nuclear propulsion research

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Demolition began in September 2022 on the Bulk Shielding Reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and it was completed in November. It was the first teardown of a former reactor at the site. (Photo by U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

Workers have demolished a nuclear reactor that was built at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the 1950s for studies that were part of the federal aircraft nuclear propulsion program.

It’s the first demolition of a reactor in the ORNL central campus area. The demolition was reported to be completed ahead of schedule.

The Bulk Shielding Reactor, also known as Building 3010, was built in the 1950s for radiation shielding studies as part of the federal aircraft nuclear propulsion program. It included a 27-foot-deep reactor pool filled with water to shield the radioactive components contained in the pool, according to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management. Its mission changed to a general-purpose research reactor in 1963, and it was shut down permanently in 1991.

The reactor was demolished by cleanup contractor UCOR, working for DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM).

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