The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department is extending open hours at the outdoor pool into the month of August. The new schedule will begin on Thursday, August 1, as follows:
Note: This story was updated at 12 p.m. July 19.
Four workers received small external radiation doses and a planned outage of the Spallation Neutron Source was started a few days early after an unexpected “pressure transient” in March, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The low radiation dose levels (less than 25 millirem) were well below the regulatory threshold of 5,000 mrem annual exposure, which was established to protect worker safety, ORNL said in June.
The pressure transient occurred in the SNS mercury loop. When radiation was detected, ORNL staff closed off the affected area and reviewed workers’ dosimeters.
“Readings showed four workers received small external doses, none more than 25 millirem,” ORNL said.
For comparison, a chest x-ray produces a radiation dose of about 6 mrem; a mammogram about 13 mrem, and a head and chest CT scan is 1,100 mrem[1].
[Read more…]No injuries were reported when a furnace door blew open during an “unexpected violent reaction” in a chemistry laboratory at the Y-12 National Security Complex in May.
The door of the muffle furnace blew open while it was heating samples in an analytical chemistry laboratory in Building 9995 on Thursday, May 30, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said.
The muffle furnace was damaged, the DNFSB said. It is used to heat samples to high temperatures. The glass vials containing the samples shattered, and some were expelled from the muffle furnace into the work area, the safety board said in a June 7 report.
[Read more…]No injuries were reported during a fire at a transformer for a salt bath used to heat depleted uranium at the Y-12 National Security Complex in May.
The transformer fire was reported Monday, May 20, in Building 9215 at Y-12. It burned no more than about 25 minutes, according to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. No depleted uranium was being processed at the time of the fire, the board said.
The salt bath heats depleted uranium before metalworking operations.
The DNFSB said the system engineer had stepped away from the salt bath while it was slowly heating to a new temperature, and he noticed the fire after re-entering the area after a supervisor told him about an unusual odor, the DNFSB said. The engineer called 911, and all personnel evacuated the immediate area.
[Read more…]
The district attorney general in Anderson County has received a $240,000 federal grant to set up a family justice center.
The Anderson County Family Justice Center will help combat child abuse, domestic abuse, and elder abuse, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said in press release on Tuesday. It will be organized and formed during the first year or two of the grant contract, Clark said.
“Upon opening the actual center, there will be a location where (Anderson County residents) with abuse issues can go to get services from a variety of providers who will all have a representative located in the Family Justice Center,” Clark said. “In addition, referrals may be made by the Family Justice Center to other organizations that can provide help.”
Melissa Miller has been hired as the site coordinator of the Family Justice Center.
[Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool will host a movie night on Saturday, starting at 8:30 p.m.
The 2018 movie “The Meg” (rated PG-13) will be shown poolside on an inflatable screen, a press release said. Gates will open at 8:30 p.m. with the movie scheduled to start at approximately 9 p.m. Attendees can watch the movie while floating in the water (shallow end only) or sitting in the grassy area.
Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at the gate. Only cash or check will be accepted, no credit or debit cards, the press release said.
[Read more…]The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the fatal crash of a small aircraft near Oliver Springs Airport on Saturday.
The crash of the experimental light sport aircraft was reported at about 5:18 p.m. Saturday near Smith Road. That’s just east of the airport and on the other side of a tree line, according to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department report.
The Quicksilver MXII had crashed into a field, and its nose was down into the ground, ACSD Sergeant Kenneth L. Bradley wrote in the report.
The pilot who died has been identified as Patrick Lucas, 45, of Morristown. He appeared to be the only occupant of the aircraft, the report said.
[Read more…]
Filmmaker Keith McDaniel has completed a nine-year project to document the oral histories of about 400 current and former Oak Ridge residents, including those connected to the Manhattan Project during World War II.
The life stories were used to build a digital collection for the Oak Ridge Public Library’s Center for Oak Ridge Oral History, or COROH. McDaniel was part of the group that made plans for the COROH and, following the city’s receipt of an annual grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, took the contract for the documentary work.
“A lot of original Oak Ridgers were dying and getting older,” McDaniel said in a press release from Carson-Newman University. “We felt it was really important to collect their memories, to collect their stories.”
The one-on-one filmed interviews gave those connected to the Manhattan Project, and later to the city at large, the opportunity to share their life stories, the press release said.
[Read more…]
An Oak Ridge Institute approved in June is expected to foster a stronger, more coordinated relationship between the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
In June, the University of Tennessee System Board of Trustees approved a resolution creating the Institute, which will be at the University of Tennessee. It will move five joint UT and ORNL programs under a single administrative “umbrella,” the university reported.
It will allow the coordinated expansion of graduate education programs to prepare scientists and engineers for a global economy that demands interdisciplinary problem-solving, teamwork, and innovation, according to a resolution proposing the Institute.
“Coordination of joint efforts through ORI (Oak Ridge Institute) will promote greater focus, efficiency, and accountability; ensure innovative education, training, and workforce development; and provide flexibility to respond to emerging research challenges and the potential of disruptive technologies,” the resolution said.
The Oak Ridge Institute will build on the “track record of success” established by ORNL and UT, the resolution said. It will be led by an executive director who will pursue interdisciplinary research and workforce development in emerging fields.
[Read more…]
The U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America’s Concert Band will present a concert in Oak Ridge next week.
The concert is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, July 27, in the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Auditorium at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
Admission is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. For tickets, visit the website www.bandofmidamerica.af.mil or www.usaf27july.eventbrite.com.
This is a family-friendly, all-ages event, a press release said. The concert is presented in partnership with Explore Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Schools.
[Read more…]Note: This story was updated at 10:20 a.m. July 15.
The man who died in an aircraft crash along Smith Road east of Oliver Springs Airport on Saturday has been identified as Patrick Scott Lucas, 45, of Morristown.
Family members have been notified, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will start a crash investigation today (Sunday, July 14), said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.
[Read more…]Note: This story was updated at 11:15 a.m. July 14.
One person died in a hang glider crash near Oliver Springs Airport in Anderson County on Saturday, authorities said.
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the crash just after 5 p.m. Saturday, said Tyler Mayes, director of administrative services for the Sheriff’s Office. But it’s not clear what time the crash occurred.
The crash was along Smith Road east of the airport. It’s not clear if the hang glider had any connection to the airport.
[Read more…]