Oak Ridge Today

Centrus finishes preparing centrifuge testing building for demolition

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The “footprint,” the area where the K-25 Building used to be in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. The white K-1600 Building is pictured in the middle of the “footprint.” The brick building in the foreground is Oak Ridge Fire Station No. 4. (File photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

Centrus Energy Corporation on Wednesday said it has successfully completed a $15 million project to decontaminate and decommission a building at the East Tennessee Technology Park that has been used to test and demonstrate centrifuges that could be used to enrich uranium.

The building is K-1600, which is in the middle of the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge.

Centrus said it finished the work budget and on time, within a year. The work was to occur between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019.

“I’m pleased our team was able to deliver the results the department expected on a very short timetable,” said Centrus President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel B. Poneman.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Centrus a $15 million work authorization on September 27, 2018, to prepare K-1600 for demolition.

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Centrus Energy has $15 million project to prepare K-1600 for demolition

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The "footprint," the area where the K-25 Building used to be in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. The white K-1600 Building is pictured in the middle of the "footprint." The brick building in the foreground is Oak Ridge Fire Station No. 4. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

The K-25 “footprint,” the area where the K-25 Building used to be in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. The white K-1600 Building is pictured in the middle of the “footprint.” The brick building in the foreground is Oak Ridge Fire Station No. 4, and it includes the K-25 History Center. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

 

Centrus Energy Corporation has a $15 million project to prepare K-1600, a building in the middle of the historic K-25 “footprint,” for demolition.

On Tuesday, Centrus announced that it had received a work authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy for decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) work at the building. The work will include removing and disposing of equipment and materials to make K-1600 non-radiologically contaminated and non-possessing (i.e. unclassified), a press release said. The work will occur between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019.

After the work is completed, DOE will be able to turn over K-1600 to a contractor to demolish it, the press release said. It’s one of the last remaining “legacy structures” on the 2,200-acre site of the World War II-era K-25 uranium enrichment plant, now known as the East Tennessee Technology Park, the press release said.

Many other buildings have been demolished there, including the five large gaseous diffusion buildings once used to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. ETTP is now being converted into a large industrial park in west Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Centrus completes centrifuge demonstration, reducing Ohio workforce, continuing Oak Ridge work

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo courtesy USEC/Centrus Energy Corp.)

 

A centrifuge demonstration is complete in Piketon, Ohio, and the workforce there will be reduced, but  research, engineering, and testing work will continue in Oak Ridge, Centrus Energy Corporation announced Friday.

The company, which is based in Bethesda, Maryland, said it has completed operations of its three-year demonstration cascade of American Centrifuge machines at its facility in Piketon, Ohio. Now, it will demobilize the demonstration cascade and reduce its workforce at Piketon starting with the layoff of about 60 employees during the week of February 29, Centrus said.

Centrus currently has more than 120 employees working at two dedicated facilities in the Oak Ridge area to engineer, design, and test improvements in full-size machines operating in individual test stands, a press release said. The company’s scientists and engineers will continue to improve the reliability and manufacturability of centrifuge machines for potential future applications, the release said. [Read more…]

ORNL to extend contract for uranium centrifuge work, but at reduced level; could require layoffs

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photo courtesy USEC/Centrus Energy Corp.)

 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory intends to extend its contract with Centrus Energy Corporation for research on uranium enrichment centrifuges, but at a reduced level, with funding cut by about 60 percent, the company said Friday. Layoffs could be required, Centrus said in a press release.

The contract extension continues technology development activities at Oak Ridge facilities for advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges, but revenues won’t be used for operations in Piketon, Ohio, the press release said.

The new contract will cover a one-year period from October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016, with the possibility for additional extensions, the release said.

It said the U.S. Department of Energy’s decision to provide reduced funding will support continued developments of the company’s American Centrifuge technology—which has long-term importance for national and energy security. [Read more…]

Former DOE deputy secretary named Centrus president, CEO

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Daniel B. Poneman

Daniel B. Poneman

Daniel B. Poneman, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, has been picked to be president and chief executive officer of Centrus Energy Corporation.

Centrus was formerly known as USEC Incorporated, and it has operations in Oak Ridge.

The selection of Poneman by the Centrus Board of Directors was announced Thursday. Poneman will join Centrus immediately and become the chief executive later this month. He will also be a member of the board. [Read more…]

DOE says president’s budget invests in innovation, clean energy, national security

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Daniel B. Poneman

Daniel B. Poneman

A U.S. Department of Energy official on Wednesday said the president’s $28.4 billion budget request for DOE emphasizes a “continued commitment to an all-of-the-above energy strategy that prioritizes investments in innovation, clean energy technologies, and national security.”

President Barack Obama released his budget proposal for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 on Wednesday. It still has to be considered by Congress.

U.S. Deputy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman said the proposed budget request for DOE is part of an administration-wide effort to “strengthen the American economy with energy that is cleaner, cheaper, and creates sustainable jobs. [Read more…]

Sequester scenarios: DOE contractors in Tennessee could furlough 1,400, lose $90 million

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Daniel B. Poneman

Daniel B. Poneman

The federal funding cuts that went into effect March 1 could result in 1,400 furloughs or layoffs for U.S. Department of Energy contractors in Tennessee, an official said this week. The furloughs could start as early as April 1.

There could also be spending reductions of about $90 million for DOE contractors in the Volunteer State, DOE Deputy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman said in a March 5 letter to Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.

Funding for contractors at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge could be cut by roughly $41 million, and more than 1,000 contractor employees could be furloughed, Poneman said.

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Y-12 security breach ‘obvious dereliction of duty’

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Lawmakers criticized federal officials and contractors during congressional hearings this week on the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, demanding to know who had been fired and who had been responsible for repairing critical cameras that didn’t work.

“This level of intrusion into the perimeter of a highly secure nuclear weapons facility is unprecedented—and it is completely unacceptable,” said Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican who chairs the U.S. House Strategic Forces Subcommittee. “It is outrageous to think that the greatest threat to the American public from weapons of mass destruction may be the incompetence of Department of Energy security.”

Legislators took aim at federal officials and the “mind-boggling incompetence” of contractors. They wanted to know how an 82-year-old nun was able to reach the “Fort Knox” of uranium, a building inside a high-security area at Y-12 surrounded by fences and protected by alarms and cameras—and where deadly force is authorized.

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U.S. House subcommittee grills federal officials on Y-12 security breach

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Transform Now Plowshares

During a Wednesday hearing, a House subcommittee questioned federal officials about a July 28 intrusion into a high-security area at the Y-12 National Security Complex by the three anti-nuclear weapons activists pictured above. From left to right, the three are Michael R. Walli, Megan Rice, and Greg Boertje-Obed. (Submitted photo)

Members of a U.S. House subcommittee grilled federal officials during a Wednesday morning hearing on the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex, calling it “appalling” and an “all-out failure,” and asking who had been fired and who was responsible for various problems—such as security cameras that didn’t work.

Some of the harshest criticism came from U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican who represents the 7th District in middle and west Tennessee.

She cited a Washington Post report published online on Tuesday that said government investigators had warned of lax security at the site in classified reports nearly two years ago. Among the issues identified then were security cameras that didn’t operate, sloppy equipment maintenance, and poorly trained guards, the Post reported.

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