The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Sixty-year-old water lines are being replaced at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and 27 of the old lines are identified as high-risk and a Top 10 threat.
Work to replace the pipes began in July 2022 and will continue in April 2023, according to an emailed response to questions provided by spokesperson Kathryn King. The water line replacements are scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2025 at a projected cost of $38.9 million. The old cast iron pipes will be replaced with new ductile iron pipes.
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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. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
A federal safety board has asked for a report and briefing after 15 exothermic (heat-producing) reactions of uranium materials were reported at the Y-12 National Security Complex between 2016 and 2021.
The report and briefing have been requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which wants a response from the National Nuclear Safety Administration. The NNSA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy and oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons work, including at Y-12.
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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. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, and Nevada environmental regulators have agreed to a settlement after classified low-level waste shipped west from the Y-12 National Security Complex allegedly violated waste acceptance criteria at the Nevada National Security Site northwest of Las Vegas, according to documents posted online.
The waste shipments from Y-12 received significant publicity in news stories in 2019 after Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak demanded answers from the U.S. Department of Energy about what were described as unapproved waste shipments. The shipments were incorrectly labeled, according to a letter sent that summer to former Energy Secretary Rick Perry by Sisolak and U.S. senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen. Sisolak said he learned about the shipments from Y-12 to Nevada from Dan Brouillette, who was then deputy energy secretary.
Waste shipments from Y-12 were suspended that July. They remained suspended for almost two years. Shipments of low-level waste resumed in May this year, according to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Work continues to obtain approval to dispose of weapons-related material, the DNFSB said.
The settlement agreement, which was signed in June, addresses reimbursement and factual findings, and it includes, as an attachment, information about how the shipments from Y-12 allegedly violated waste acceptance criteria at NNSS.
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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. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 2:40 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, and Nevada environmental regulators have agreed to a settlement after classified low-level waste shipped west from the Y-12 National Security Complex allegedly violated waste acceptance criteria at the Nevada National Security Site northwest of Las Vegas, according to documents posted online.
The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, and Nevada environmental regulators have agreed to a settlement after classified low-level waste shipped west from the Y-12 National Security Complex allegedly violated waste acceptance criteria at the Nevada National Security Site northwest of Las Vegas, according to documents posted online.
The waste shipments from Y-12 received significant publicity in news stories in 2019 after Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak demanded answers from the U.S. Department of Energy about what were described as unapproved waste shipments. The shipments were incorrectly labeled, according to a letter sent that summer to former Energy Secretary Rick Perry by Sisolak and U.S. senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen. Sisolak said he learned about the shipments from Y-12 to Nevada from Dan Brouillette, who was then deputy energy secretary.
Waste shipments from Y-12 were suspended that July. They remained suspended for almost two years. Shipments of low-level waste resumed in May this year, according to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Work continues to obtain approval to dispose of weapons-related material, the DNFSB said.
The settlement agreement, which was signed in June, addresses reimbursement and factual findings, and it includes, as an attachment, information about how the shipments from Y-12 allegedly violated waste acceptance criteria at NNSS.
The rest of this story, which you will read only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.
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.
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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The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)
No damage was reported on the Oak Ridge Reservation after a 3.8 magnitude earthquake was reported about 30 miles northeast of Oak Ridge on Monday, January 20.
The earthquake was felt in Oak Ridge and other communities, and it vibrated homes and windows here. The earthquake was reported by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Two lower magnitude 2.4 and 2.8 earthquakes were also reported on Sunday, January 19, and Tuesday, January 21, respectively, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in its most recent report.
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.
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.
A low-level aerial shot of Building 9212 at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
After a leak in April, hydrogen fluoride operations have resumed at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
The leak in a cylinder enclosure in Building 9212 in the production area on the west side of Y-12 was reported Thursday morning, April 4. An operational emergency was declared, and employees in the buildings in and around the 9212 processing complex were evacuated to other buildings in the production area.
A low-level aerial shot of Building 9212 at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
After a leak in April, hydrogen fluoride operations have resumed at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge TodayP.O. Box 6064Oak Ridge, TN 37831Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.
A low-level aerial shot of Building 9212 at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
An inspection has determined the likely cause of the hydrogen fluoride gas leak in the main processing building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in April.
A visual inspection found a hole in a calibration valve in a cylinder enclosure in Building 9212 on the west side of Y-12, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in an April 12 report. The hole is the likely source of the leak of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, the DNFSB said.
An inspection has determined the likely cause of the hydrogen fluoride gas leak in the main processing building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in April.
The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:Basic
If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge TodayP.O. Box 6064Oak Ridge, TN 37831Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.
Building 9204-2 (Beta 2) is pictured above at center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Part of Building 9204-2E (Beta 2E) is pictured in the top left. (Photo courtesy Consolidated Nuclear Security)
Building 9204-2 (Beta 2) is pictured above at center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Part of Building 9204-2E (Beta 2E) is pictured in the top left. (Photo courtesy Consolidated Nuclear Security)
Nuclear materials and operations have been removed from an old building at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and that improves safety and reduces the risk to workers and the public, a federal safety board said.
The building, 9204-2, or Beta 2, is on the west side of Y-12. It’s one of nine buildings at the 811-acre site that once used machines known as calutrons to enrich uranium for atomic bombs as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. It’s now used to produce lithium for nuclear weapons.
In an early September report, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said Consolidated Nuclear Security and the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office had officially downgraded Building 9204-2. It had been a category two hazard, but it is now less than category three. It’s considered non-nuclear.
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The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above in this submitted photo.
A federal safety board has announced the appointment of two Oak Ridge resident inspectors, primarily at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and a major board reform has been announced.
The two will serve as Oak Ridge resident inspectors for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, an independent federal agency responsible for safety oversight at U.S. Department of Energy defense nuclear facilities.
In Oak Ridge, the DNFSB reports often focus on activities at Y-12, but they can also include work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. ORNL is a DOE Office of Science lab, and Y-12 is a National Nuclear Security Administration site. The NNSA is a DOE agency. [Read more…]
Federal officials have already 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. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Federal officials have already approved the need for a new Lithium Production Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and this month, they said it could be built on the east side of the 811-acre plant, possibly where the Biology Complex is now.
Current plans call for demolishing the Biology Complex. Officials had recently been saying that removing buildings from that complex would allow the area to be used for “modern national defense missions.” But it hadn’t been clear what those missions might be.
On May 12, Steven Wyatt, public affairs manager for the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office, confirmed that the Lithium Production Facility could be built there. Y-12 is a NNSA site.
“We are in the early stages of planning for the Lithium Production Capability that is needed to replace the aging and obsolete 9204-2 building,” Wyatt said. “We are reviewing options for constructing a facility in the eastern portion of the Y-12 site, including the area of the Biology Complex.” [Read more…]
