Oak Ridge Today

Construction on Y-12 mercury treatment plant could start in 2018, cost $146 million

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Y-12 Process Buildings and Mercury Use Area

Note: This story was last updated at 3:30 p.m.

Construction on a mercury treatment plant at the Y-12 National Security Complex could start in 2018 and cost $146 million, a federal official said Wednesday.

The plant would treat mercury contamination that originates in the West End Mercury Area at Y-12, flows through storm drains, and enters Upper East Fork Poplar Creek at a point known as Outfall 200. East Fork Poplar Creek flows through Oak Ridge.

The U.S. Department of Energy has evaluated several alternatives for treating the mercury, including doing nothing. But DOE prefers an option that would treat 3,000 gallons of contaminated water per minute and store two million gallons of stormwater. It could reduce the flow of mercury, a toxic metal, by an estimated 84 percent. [Read more…]

OREPA has events in Oak Ridge, Knoxville on 70th anniversary of WWII bombings

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Ralph Hutchison

Ralph Hutchison

The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance has a series of events in Oak Ridge and Knoxville this week on the 70th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, during World War II.

The events will recall the bombings and address present-day nuclear weapons production, a press release said.

The events kicked off with an evening with Gar Alperovitz, author of “The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb,” at the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville on Sunday and continued on Monday with faith leaders speaking about the bomb in Market Square in Knoxville.

They continue today (Tuesday, August 4.) Here’s the schedule: [Read more…]

See Oak Ridge qualifiers, schedule for state track meet

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Track Class AAA Sectional 2015

Ten Oak Ridge High School students will compete in 10 track and field events at the state meet in Murfreesboro this month after finishing in the top four in a sectional meet at Hardin Valley on Saturday, May 9. (Photos by Luther Simmons)

 

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association has published the list of qualifiers, their performances in sectionals, and the schedule for the state track meet in Murfreesboro this week.

Here are the top qualifiers for Oak Ridge, starting with the boys, from the four sectionals, or sub-state competitions. Oak Ridge competed at a sectional at Hardin Valley Academy on Saturday, May 9. The top four competitors at sectionals moved on to the state meet.

The state track meet events have fields of 16 competitors from across Tennessee.

Boys long jump—3rd, Malik Hardy, a senior at Oak Ridge High School, with a jamp of 22-01.25. The top two seeds are Weldon Wright, a senior at Hardin Valley (22-08.25), and Bailey Overbay, a senior at Morristown-East (22-04.50).

Boys 4×800-meter relay—4th, Oak Ridge High School, with a time of 8:02.79. The top three seeds are Daniel Boone (8:00.08), Hardin Valley Academy (8:00.47), and Science Hill (8:01.71).

Boys 100-meter dash—12th, Malik Hardy, with a time of 10.99. The top three seeds are Johnathon Johnson, a senior at Melrose (10.57); Zeandre Floyd, a senior at West Creek (10.69); and Terry Wright, a senior at White Station (10.84). [Read more…]

Altman scores three as Hilltoppers end Wildcats’ season, move on to state

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Oak Ridge Wildcats Blake Clowers and Science Hill Elliot Fry

Oak Ridge’s Blake Clowers fights Science Hill’s Elliot Fry for possession. (Photo credit: Dave Ongie/Johnson City Press)

 

Junior midfielder Lucas Altman scored three goals as Science Hill ended Oak Ridge’s season in a 3-1 win in a sectional playoff game in Johnson City on Saturday. The Hilltoppers move on to play in the state tournament in Murfreesboro next week.

The Wildcats (15-5-2) scored first on a goal from senior forward Blade Kimbro less than 10 minutes into the game.

“Blade gave us everything he had,” Oak Ridge coach Jeff Trombly said. “He played really well.”

But Science Hill (19-2-2) tied it 1-1 about halfway through the first half on the first of three goals, a hat trick, by Altman. Altman scored again with about 8:15 left in the first half.

“We started off well,” Trombly said. “After that, we sort of lost our composure for about 10 minutes, and they scored two goals. It was hard for us to come back for us after that.” [Read more…]

Summit High School wins 2013 DOE Tennessee Science Bowl

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On Saturday, Feb. 23, students from throughout the state of Tennessee descended upon Pellissippi State College’s Blount County Campus to compete in this year’s U.S. Department of Energy’s annual Tennessee Science Bowl competition.

Fifty-five high school teams representing 25 Tennessee counties answered competition questions covering broad disciplines including chemistry, biology, earth and space science, mathematics, physics, and energy. However, in the end, Summit High School from Spring Hill, Tenn. edged out their competitors to win first place.

[Read more…]