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Mason to brief feds on UPF alternatives report today

Posted at 11:49 am April 28, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Ernest Moniz, Lamar Alexander, Thom Mason, Joe DiPietro, Jimmy Cheek at University of Tennessee

From left are UT President Joe DiPietro, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, and ORNL Director Thom Mason.

Note: This story was last updated at 2:30 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—Federal officials have expressed concerns about increasing cost projections and delayed construction dates for a new Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and a so-called Red Team has drafted an alternative approach that could keep the project at $6.5 billion or less—and help workers get out of the aging Building 9212 at Y-12 by 2025.

Thom Mason, the director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, chaired the Red Team, and he is expected to brief federal officials in Washington, D.C., today (Monday) on the team’s report. The report will then go to Congress, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a media briefing at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center at the University of Tennessee on Friday.

Among the questions that could be answered are which old production buildings at Y-12 should be replaced and which can be refurbished. Y-12 was built to enrich uranium as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II as the United States raced to beat Germany to build the world’s first atomic weapons. [Read more…]

Filed Under: National Nuclear Security Administration, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Baker Center, Baker Distinguished Lecture on Energy and the Environment, Bruce Held, Building 9204-2, Building 9212, Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Facility, Chuck Fleischmann, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, DOE, Ernest Moniz, highly enriched uranium, Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, Howard H. Baker Jr. Center, Lamar Alexander, LANL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MOX, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, plutonium, Red Team, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Tennessee, UPF, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

NNSA budget request includes slight spending increase for UPF

Posted at 11:39 am March 6, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Uranium Processing Facility

Pictured above is the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, with the administrative area in the front and the fortified section of the building in the rear. (Submitted image)

The budget request announced this week for the National Nuclear Security Administration includes a slight increase in spending for the proposed multi-billion-dollar Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The $335 million request for UPF in Fiscal Year 2015, which starts Oct. 1, is up slightly from $326 million in FY14. That’s roughly a 2.8 percent increase.

The UPF project, which has an official cost estimate of up to $6.5 billion, is part of a broader effort to modernize Y-12, including its production facilities. The 811-acre plant was built during World War II to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic weapons.

But questions have been raised about rising cost projections and a redesign of the UPF. In February 2013, the NNSA said the redesign could add $539 million to the project cost and extend its schedule.

During a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held said the agency wants to get workers out of Building 9212 at Y-12 by 2025. [Read more…]

Filed Under: National Nuclear Security Administration, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Anne Harrington, Bob Raines, Bruce Held, budget request, Building 9212, Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Facility, Don Cook, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MOX, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Red Team, Thom Mason, UPF, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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