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Protesters will say nuclear weapons illegal under UN treaty

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OREPA Spring Demonstration at Y-12
Members of Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and supporters gather across from the Y-12 National Security Complex to protest the plant’s Uranium Processing Facility in April 2013. (File photo)

Protesters plan to hang a banner at a nuclear weapons production site in Oak Ridge early Friday afternoon that will declare the weapons illegal under a United Nations treaty.

The banner, which will say “Nuclear Weapons Are Illegal,” will be hung on a fence across from the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Scarboro Road. The banner will be hung after parts of the international agreement—the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons—are read, organizers said.

Protesters said they also plan to hang a poster of the text of the treaty and 122 yellow “X”s on the fence, one for every nation that voted in favor of the treaty at the United Nations.

“January 22, 2021, will be a historic day for nuclear weapons,” according to a press release from Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, which has organized weekly and annual events opposing nuclear weapons for many years. “On that day, at midnight, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force, establishing in international law a categorical ban on nuclear weapons, seventy-five years after their development and first use.”

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Y-12 transitioning back to normal operations with telework

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The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

The Y-12 National Security Complex began a transition back to normal operations with as much telework as possible on Thursday, April 30.

It’s a staged transition. That means employees are being brought back incrementally, or in stages. That’s according to a response to questions provided by Kathryn King, spokesperson for Consolidated Nuclear Security, the plant’s managing and operating contractor.

A significant number of employees are teleworking, which means they are working remotely, King said.

Y-12 began limited operations on April 6 and transitioned to mission-critical operations on April 14 because of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“But the prevalence of the virus in the community has steadily decreased as has the number of employees under quarantine because of a potential exposure to COVID-19,” King said.

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For members: CNS violated nuclear safety requirements at Y-12, NNSA says

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Y-12 Building 9212

A low-level aerial shot of Building 9212 at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

 

A federal contractor violated nuclear safety requirements at the Y-12 National Security Complex, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The violations are associated with the accumulations of uranium-235 in a glovebox, furnace, and casting line in Building 9212 at Y-12. The equipment is used to recover and process uranium-235, a fissile material that can be used in nuclear weapons and reactors.

The buildup of enriched uranium, discovered after hydraulic lines leaked in a glovebox, exceeded limits established by a safety program meant to help prevent a nuclear chain reaction.

An investigation of the uranium accumulations found weaknesses in five areas, according to the NNSA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy and overseas nuclear weapons work at sites like Y-12. Among the deficiencies were procedural compliances, evaluations of process changes, the analyses of causes, the establishment of roles and responsibilities, and the implementation of a program meant to prevent inadvertent accumulations.

“The National Nuclear Security Administration considers these deficiencies to be of high safety significance,” Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty wrote in an April 6 letter. “Although there were no actual consequences to the public, workers, or the environment, these deficiencies eroded the barriers preventing a nuclear criticality and could, if left uncorrected, adversely impact nuclear and worker safety at the Y-12 National Security Complex.”

The letter was sent to Morgan Smith, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Nuclear Security. CNS manages and operates Y-12, as well as the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, for the NNSA.

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Y-12 begins limited operations, transitions to ‘mission critical’ operations

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The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

Note: This story was updated at 11:45 a.m.

On Monday, the Y-12 National Security Complex began limited operations and transitioning to mission-critical operations. The change is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For now, all non-essential personnel will leave the 811-acre nuclear weapons production plant in Oak Ridge, and employees who can telework will continue to do so.

“Since mid-March, Y-12 has been in a preventive phase of its pandemic plan,” the site in a a response to questions on Wednesday. The response was provided by spokesperson Kathryn King of Consolidated Nuclear Security, a federal contractor that manages and operates Y-12 and another nuclear weapons production plant, the Pantex Plant northeast of Amarillo, Texas.

“With additional cases now confirmed at Y-12 and the growing number of cases in East Tennessee, the plant is transitioning to a ‘containment’ phase that ensures mission-critical operations while further protecting the Y-12 workforce and the community,” the response said. “In the containment phases, all non-essential plant personnel will leave the site until further notice. Employees who are able to telework will continue to do so.”

CNS said all Y-12 processes, systems, and facilities will be maintained in safe and secure configurations. Key mission activities related to stockpile stewardship and modernization, and key infrastructure and reestablishment of production capabilities, will continue.

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Several Y-12 employees test positive for COVID-19

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The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

Note: This story was updated at 11:45 a.m. April 8.

Several employees at the Y-12 National Security Complex have tested positive for COVID-19, the contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly, but the contractor that manages and operates the nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge declined Wednesday to say how many employees are infected.

Oak Ridge Today has reported on two Y-12 employees who were diagnosed with COVID-19 last week. Since then, the news website has received reports that other employees have also tested positive, possibly six total (including the two already reported). But Y-12 said it could not comment on the total number of cases, and the site did not comment on the condition of those employees.

“As of Wednesday, April 1, 2020, several employees at Y-12 have tested positive for COVID-19,” according to a response to questions from Consolidated Nuclear Security, the federal contractor that manages and operates Y-12 as well as the Pantex Plant northeast of Amarillo, Texas.

“Employees who tested positive and those who have been in contact with affected employees are self-isolating per the CDC’s guidelines,” CNS said. “In cases where employees are from the same organization, everyone working in affected buildings may be sent home as a precaution while the areas are sanitized.”

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Second Y-12 employee tests positive for COVID-19

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The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

A second employee at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge has tested positive for COVID-19.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, the federal contractor that manages and operates the nuclear weapons production plant, said it learned of the positive test result on Friday.

The second employee is from the same work area as the first employee who tested positive, CNS said Friday night. CNS confirmed the first case on Monday.

The second employee was quarantined earlier this week and remains in isolation at home, and the affected work locations were disinfected earlier this week, CNS said Friday.

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Y-12 worker became ill before testing positive for COVID-19

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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. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Consolidated Nuclear Security employee who tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday left work at the Y-12 National Security Complex after becoming ill on Thursday, March 19.

In response to questions on Wednesday, CNS did not say where the employee worked at Y-12 or if they know how the worker was infected.

CNS said the employee has been isolated at home after receiving the positive COVID-19 test result, and the plant’s medical staff are coordinating with the Tennessee Department of Health.

“The employee’s work location was disinfected along with all other locations the employee is known to have visited,” CNS said. “The employee’s activities were reviewed, and everyone who is known to have come into direct contact with the employee in the two days prior to the development of symptoms is being contacted and asked to self-quarantine for 14 days, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines.”

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Y-12 confirms COVID-19 case

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Consolidated Nuclear Security on Monday confirmed a case of a person with COVID-19 at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

Information about the case was shared with employees on Monday, March 23.

“The employee is in isolation at home, and affected work areas have been sanitized,” said CNS, which manages Y-12 and another nuclear weapons production plant, the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas.

At Y-12, CNS said other employees who have been in contact with the affected employee have been asked to self-quarantine.

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Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12 could cost up to $1.65 billion

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Federal officials have approved the need for a new Lithium Production Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and in May 2018, they said it could be built on the east side of the 811-acre plant, possibly where the Biology Complex, the brick building at center, is now. The east side of Y-12 is pictured above from Scarboro Road on Sunday, May 20, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The proposed Lithium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex could cost between $955 million and $1.65 billion, and it could be completed in 2031, the National Nuclear Security Administration said Thursday.

The Lithium Processing Facility could be built where the former Biology Complex is located on the east side of Y-12. That’s the NNSA’s preferred site. The Biology Complex is being prepared for demolition by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.

On Thursday, the NNSA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, said it had approved the conceptual design and cost range for the proposed 134,000-square-foot Lithium Processing Facility.

The facility will replace Y-12’s current lithium processing operations, which are located in a World War II-era building. That building, Building 9204-2, or Beta 2, has had materials fall from the ceiling, including chunks of concrete that reportedly weighed up to 200 pounds. The falling materials and concerns about worker safety have been cited by federal officials during congressional hearings in Washington, D.C.

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Preparing for demolition, workers removing asbestos, hazardous waste from Biology Complex

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Workers are preparing the six-story 9207 Facility for demolition at the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. The building has more than 256,600 square feet. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

Workers are making significant progress removing asbestos and other hazardous waste from the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex in a deactivation project that’s more than 60 percent complete, the U.S. Department of Energy said this week.

The work prepares the Biology Complex for demolition, possibly next year. The Biology Complex was originally built to recover uranium from process streams. It was later used for DOE’s research on the genetic effects of radiation from the late 1940s. When they operated, the facilities once had more people with doctorates than anywhere in the world, according to DOE.

Asbestos abatement teams from UCOR are working inside the six-story 9207 Facility and the three-story 9210 Facility. The first building is 256,600 square feet, and the second is 64,700 square feet.

“This project paves the way for EM (Environmental Management) to begin demolishing remaining buildings that comprise the Biology Complex next year,” the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management said in an “EM Update” newsletter on Tuesday.

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Judge voids UPF decision, requires more seismic hazard analysis

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Y-12 Uranium Processing Facility
Structural steel installation is under way on the eastern half of the Main Process Building of the Uranium Processing Facility, the Y-12 National Security Complex said Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

Note This story was last updated at 9:38 a.m. Sept. 25.

A federal judge in Knoxville on Tuesday said a critical decision made in 2016 for enriched uranium operations at the Y-12 National Security Complex, including for the $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility, violated a national environmental law, and she ordered the decision vacated, or set aside.

The UPF is already under construction, and Wedenesday morning, the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees work at Y-12, said construction will continue.

The 104-page opinion and order was filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday by Chief U.S. District Judge Pamela L. Reeves.

One of the plaintiffs said the decision to vacate the amended record of decision published in the Federal Register in 2016 means the NNSA no longer has the legal authority to continue construction work at UPF.

But the NNSA said it was pleased that the court’s memorandum opinion rejected almost all of the plaintiff’s claims regarding National Environmental Policy Act violations related to UPF construction.

“However, with the court agreeing that there was inadequate consideration of new information concerning seismic hazards at Y-12, NNSA will review the seismic analysis while conferring with the Department of Justice on the possibility of appeal,” the NNSA said. “In the meantime, construction of UPF will proceed.”

Besides the amended record of decision, Reeves said supplement analyses prepared in 2016 and 2018 also violated the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, and she said they were to be set aside as well.

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Crews start work for Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12

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Workers remove asphalt on the east end of the Y-12 National Security Complex, where the Mercury Treatment Facility treatment plant will be built. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

Work began in June to build the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The Mercury Treatment Facility will allow the U.S. Department of Energy to clean up and demolish several large Y-12 buildings that used mercury to separate lithium for nuclear weapons during the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s. The facility is expected to help reduce the amount of mercury in East Fork Poplar Creek, which flows through Oak Ridge.

DOE announced in December that it had awarded a $91 million contract to build the Mercury Treatment Facility. The contract, which could be in place for up to four years, was awarded to APTIM-North Wind Construction JV LLC.

A groundbreaking was held at the site in November 2017, and site preparations were completed by December 2018.

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