Oak Ridge Today

Court defers decision on separate trials for Finnegan, Dishman

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A motion hearing is pictured above for Sean Shannon Finnegan and Rebecca Elizabeth Dishman in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

A decision was deferred Thursday about whether to separate the trials of a man and woman charged in a gruesome rape and murder case in Oak Ridge three years ago.

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SMRs, other nuclear reactors possible at Clinch River site

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Small modular reactors and other types of new nuclear reactors could be considered for power generation at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge.

The Tennessee Valley Authority announced its preferred alternative for the 935-acre site in the Federal Register in October.

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Test reactor would help with decarbonization, supporters say

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Kairos Power has proposed a Hermes test reactor at the Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. A model of the test reactor is pictured at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting in Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 11:20 a.m. Dec. 1.

A nuclear test reactor proposed in west Oak Ridge could help as the United States tries to lower carbon dioxide emissions and reduce the effects of climate change, supporters said during a public meeting last week.

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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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Union wants to use former hardware store as trade school

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A plumbers and steamfitters union wants to use a former hardware store on Oak Ridge Turnpike for a trade school. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A plumbers and steamfitters union wants to use a former hardware store for a trade school.

A rezoning for the project was recommended in a voice vote by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday. There was no opposition.

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City will pay at least $15 per hour for permanent, full-time work

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The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is pictured above on Tuesday evening, May 5, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Full-time permanent employees of the City of Oak Ridge will earn at least $15 per hour starting in January under a resolution unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday.

Seasonal, part-time, and temporary employees would not be guaranteed this wage.

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NRC seeks public comment about test reactor

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Kairos Hermes test reactor (Image via Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public comment and will have a public meeting and online seminar Wednesday about issuing a construction permit for a proposed test reactor in Oak Ridge.

The NRC has issued a draft environmental impact statement for the construction permit for a Kairos Hermes Test Reactor. The nuclear reactor would not produce electricity, but it would test Kairos Power’s fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor technology, according to the NRC.

Completed in September, the draft environmental impact statement includes the NRC staff’s preliminary analysis of the environmental impacts of issuing a construction permit to Kairos.

“After weighing the environmental, economic, technical, and other benefits against environmental and other costs, the NRC staff’s preliminary recommendation, unless safety issues mandate otherwise, is that the operating license be issued as requested,” the NRC said in a notice published in the Federal Register.

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ORNL studying hydrogen as rail fuel to fight climate change

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Pictured above at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, for a project to research using hydrogen in a locomotive at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are, from left, Jim Gamble, vice president of engine and power solutions technology for Wabtec Corporation; Siddiq Khan, technology development manager for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office; Melissa Shurland, program manager in the Office of Research, Development, and Technology in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration; Dean Edwards, ORNL research and development lead; Xin Sun, ORNL associate laboratory director in the Energy Science and Technology Directorate; and Muhsin Ameen, senior research scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 1 p.m. Nov. 12.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has started a research project to investigate using hydrogen fuel in a railroad engine to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help fight climate change. Rail is one of the industries considered challenging to decarbonize along with aviation and shipping.

Researchers at ORNL and Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago will use a large single-cylinder 375-horsepower Wabtec engine that will burn a mixture of hydrogen and diesel fuel, which is what locomotives burn now. Under four-year agreements, the researchers will study things like engine hardware, fuel mixtures, and ignition strategies. Other low-carbon fuels could also be studied.

“We are excited to be a part of this collaboration because it addresses the need to decarbonize the rail industry by advancing hydrogen engine technology for both current and future locomotives,” said Josh Pihl, an ORNL distinguished researcher and group leader for applied catalysis and emissions research. “It is also a perfect example of how a DOE-funded collaboration between industry and national laboratories can accelerate the development and commercialization of technologies to help reduce carbon emissions from transportation.”

The 15.7-liter engine, larger than a tractor-trailer motor, was recently installed in garage-size research space at the National Transportation Research Center, an ORNL campus in Hardin Valley. ORNL had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the engine research project on Wednesday.

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City breaks ground on new water plant

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The City of Oak Ridge broke ground Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, on its new water treatment plant on Pumphouse Road. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge broke ground Wednesday on its new water treatment plant, which could cost $78.3 million.

The new plant will use a technology known as ultrafiltration membranes, a type of purification that uses very fine membranes. It will be along the Clinch River at the city’s water intake off Pumphouse Road south of Bethel Valley Road.

“This plant provides every drop of water to our 31,000 residents from Elza Gate on the east, to the Preserve on the west, and to all (U.S. Department of Energy) facilities, most notably Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex, which will soon include the new Uranium Processing Facility,” said Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch. “Our new plant will produce high-quality drinking water and deliver it through new pipelines more reliably and efficiently than current operations.”

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Children’s Halloween Party is Oct. 27

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Oak Ridge Monster Mash Bash 2021 (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the 2022 Children’s Halloween Party on Thursday, October 27, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This annual event will be attended by hundreds of children and their parents, a press release said. Activities will be planned throughout A.K. Bissell Park, including a hayride, weather permitting.

Businesses and organizations are invited to sponsor a booth for the event. Sponsors will supply volunteers and hand out candy throughout the event. Booths should be age appropriate for children aged 4 through 4th grade. Applications can be picked up at the Civic Center front desk, the press release said.

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Professor to discuss microplastics in rivers

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Martin Knoll (Submitted photo)

A geology and hydrology professor will discuss the dangers of microplastics in rivers during a program in Oak Ridge on Thursday, September 29.

Martin Knoll is professor of geology and hydrology and chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Systems at the University of the South. He will talk to the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society.

The program is at the UT Arboretum Auditorium at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge starting at 7 p.m. September 29. The talk is titled “Microplastics in the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Rhine Rivers: Why We Should Care.”

Knoll’s presentation will focus on his research investigating the concentration and types of microplastics found in the three rivers, a press release said. Special emphasis will be placed on his recent findings about the major sources of these microplastics and what might be done to reduce their numbers.

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Butterfly Festival will feature butterfly release, insect zoo

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The insect zoo at the Butterfly Festival. (Submitted photo)

The annual Butterfly Festival will feature an educational release of 500 butterflies and an insect zoo at the University of Tennessee Arboretum on Saturday, September 17.

It’s the seventh annual festival, and it’s scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. September 17 in the UT Arboretum Auditorium and surrounding area at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The festival is presented by the UT Arboretum Society. The purpose is to educate the public and teach people how to protect these pollinators, a press release said.

The UT Insect Zoo, two butterfly tents, educational lectures, a butterfly release, and children’s art activities are among the educational activities that will be offered, the press release said.

The butterfly release is scheduled for noon.

[Read more…]

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