DOE Archives - Oak Ridge Today

SNS completes full neutron production cycle at record power level

Posted at 3:31 pm August 9, 2018
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As protons (pink) strike the target vessel and pass into the liquid mercury inside, the protons are absorbed, creating neutrons (blue) that are then sent through moderators and beam tubes to research instruments to study the fundamental properties of materials. (Image credit: Jill Hemman/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

The Spallation Neutron Source at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has reached a new milestone by operating a complete neutron production run cycle at 1.3 megawatts, a press release said.

“Achieving the record power level with a remarkable 94 percent accelerator beam availability establishes a new baseline of operation as well as a path to operate reliably at higher powers,” the press release said. “Increased power offers researchers the ability to conduct faster scientific analyses using neutrons on more types of materials.”

SNS, a DOE Office of Science User Facility, began operations in 2006 and is currently the world’s most powerful pulsed accelerator-based neutron scattering facility, used by scientists to reveal fundamental properties and behaviors of energy and materials at the atomic scale. Neutron contributions at SNS have resulted in advances in electronic devices, improved drug delivery, and stronger building materials for transportation infrastructure, the press release said. [Read more…]

New Y-12 center provides small orders of nuclear samples

Posted at 4:49 pm July 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Workers prepare a shipment in the new NBL Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The center provides special nuclear certified reference materials internationally. (Photo courtesy National Nuclear Security Administration/Y-12)

A new center at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge will provide small orders of nuclear samples around the globe, including to organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“We envision this new facility operating sort of like an Amazon fulfillment center, but for very unique and very small orders of nuclear samples—things you definitely can’t get on Amazon,” said Morgan Smith, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, which operates Y-12 for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The new center, the NBL Center, officially opened with a June 11 ceremony. The center’s work was previously done at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago.

The new facility is operating and made its first shipment, to the IAEA, in April. The IAEA uses the materials to support its international safeguards mission, said Steven Wyatt, spokesperson for the NNSA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. [Read more…]

AMSE: Current museum could close this month, with new home open this fall

Posted at 4:55 pm July 4, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The current location of the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue could close at the end of July, and the museum could re-open at its new home at Main Street Oak Ridge in the early fall, officials said. The new location is pictured above under construction on Thursday, June 21, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

In the meantime, the museum might not be open a month or two as exhibits are moved, said Ken Tarcza, manager of the Oak Ridge Office for the U.S. Department of Energy. But DOE bus tours will continue, Tarcza said at a meeting to give an update about the AMSE project at Oak Ridge High School on June 14. Some specifics of the transition haven’t been worked out yet.

Tarcza said the new 18,000-square-foot museum will feature state-of-the-art interactive exhibits and hands-on activities. It will be in renovated space on the north side of Main Street Oak Ridge near JCPenney. Besides exhibits and activities, the new museum will also have a lecture hall and two classrooms.

There will be four major categories featured in the museum, Tarcza said: energy leadership, “big science,” national security, and environmental restoration. Many of the exhibits at the current AMSE need to be refreshed, and the majority of the exhibits at the new location will have a brand-new design, Tarcza said. [Read more…]

Workers demolish contaminated building at ETTP

Posted at 2:09 pm July 2, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Crews began tearing down Building K-633 at the East Tennessee Technology Park in May 2018 and completed the project in June. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

One of the most contaminated buildings left at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, has been demolished, federal officials said.

Demolition crews began tearing down Building K-633, which was once used to evaluate uranium enrichment equipment, in May and completed the project in June, according to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

The work was done by the Oak Ridge environmental management, or EM, program and its cleanup contractor URS|CH2M Oak Ridge, or UCOR.

“This project eliminates one of the most contaminated remaining buildings at the East Tennessee Technology Park,” DOE said.

Building K-633—the K-633 Test Loop Facility—is the fourth building Oak Ridge’s EM program has removed from ETTP’s Poplar Creek area since last year, DOE said. [Read more…]

Lithium Production Facility could be built in area of Biology Complex at Y-12

Posted at 3:40 pm May 28, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

UPF lawsuit: NNSA considering new, supplemental environmental impact statement for Y-12

Posted at 1:35 pm May 21, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

With a lawsuit pending, federal officials are considering whether a new or supplemental environmental impact statement is needed for the Y-12 National Security Complex after design plans changed for the Uranium Processing Facility, the largest federal construction project in Tennessee since World War II.

As part of the process, the National Nuclear Security Administration is preparing what is known as a supplement analysis, or SA. A draft of the new SA has been issued, and you can read it on the Y-12 website.

Comments on the draft supplement analysis can be submitted through June 20.

The final new supplement analysis and a record of decision could be issued by July 27, although the schedule is subject to change, according to a joint status report filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on May 11. The record of decision is expected to say whether a new or supplemental environmental impact statement is required for Y-12.

There was a site-wide environmental impact statement, or EIS, prepared for Y-12 in 2011. About five years later, in 2016, there was a supplement analysis prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act. It was connected to the decision by the NNSA and U.S. Department of Energy to not prepare a new or supplemental environmental impact statement after the NNSA decided on a new multi-building design for the UPF, rather than a single-building design, as part of an effort to keep project costs down, among other considerations. [Read more…]

Updated: Council approves $500,000 renovation to Fire Station 4 at ETTP

Posted at 12:45 am May 14, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Fire Department Station 4 is pictured above at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. (File photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

Note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. May 15.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday authorized about $500,000 in renovations at Fire Station 4 at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, a federal site in west Oak Ridge.

The funds for the renovations are currently available in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget for the West End Fire Fund, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said in an April 27 memo to City Manager Mark Watson.

The total estimated cost of the renovations, based on a sealed bid process, is not to exceed $515,000, Kerley said. He said funds have been set aside for the past 11 years.

The project was unanimously approved in a 7-0 vote after a brief discussion at the City Council meeting on Monday.

The funds are part of the overall re-industrialization that will convert the ETTP fire station from a U.S. Department of Energy fire station to a municipal fire station through a DOE memorandum of agreement for the operation and maintenance of the fire station. [Read more…]

Learn about DOE’s progress cleaning up federal sites on Wednesday

Posted at 8:34 am May 7, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jay Mullis

You can learn about the progress being made in the cleanup of federal sites in Oak Ridge on Wednesday.

The information will be shared at the annual Community Budget Workshop, which is scheduled from 4:30-6 p.m. Wednesday, May 9. It’s hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM.

The Community Budget Workshop will be in the DOE Conference Room 2714-G at 235 Laboratory Road in Oak Ridge.

“This event serves as one of the most effective forums to educate the community about OREM’s progress, budget, and priorities,” a press release said. “This year’s discussion will focus on the growing financial support Oak Ridge’s environmental cleanup program has received from Congress, and how this support is helping accelerate cleanup and create new opportunities in Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]

Final drums of old transuranic waste from ORNL prepared for disposal

Posted at 4:30 pm April 24, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An aerial view of the Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge, where the final drums of legacy transuranic waste stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be processed before shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for permanent disposal. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

An aerial view of the Transuranic Waste Processing Center in west Oak Ridge, where the final drums of legacy transuranic waste stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be processed before shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for permanent disposal. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

The final drums of old transuranic waste stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been prepared for disposal.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management reported Tuesday that it had recently completed installing vents and sample ports in the final drums of the legacy transuranic waste stored at ORNL. The decade-long effort ensures that the drums do not contain any hazardous gases that could cause rapid combustion.

The ventilated unit where the drums were vented is closed and explosion-proof, DOE said. It is capable of withstanding a combustion event while keeping workers and ORNL, the nation’s largest multi-program national laboratory, safe, DOE said.

“Venting and sampling these drums is an essential part of the waste disposal process,” ORNL Portfolio Federal Project Director Bill McMillan said. “Now that we can ensure the safety of each drum, they are ready for transport to the Transuranic Waste Processing Center for processing and subsequent shipment to a permanent disposal facility away from Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]

Did you know? Five facts about ‘Calutron Girls’ at Y-12

Posted at 1:15 pm April 12, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Image by Cort Kreer, a graphic designer for the U.S. Department of Energy

Information from U.S. Department of Energy

Did you know? “Calutron Girls” were young women hired to work at the Y-12 site in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project in World War II. Many were just out of high school and were tasked with monitoring the calutron, which was the machine that separated enriched uranium isotopes.

Here are some more surprising facts about the “Calutron Girls”, according to DOE: [Read more…]

DOE announces $1.8 billion program for new supercomputers, with one at ORNL

Posted at 11:23 am April 9, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Rick Perry

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced a new supercomputing program on Monday that could be worth up to $1.8 billion and deploy two systems, with one at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, that would be 50 to 100 times more powerful than today’s computers.

The new systems are called exascale computers. DOE said the new supercomputers will solidify United States leadership in exascale computing.

The initiative was announced by U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry in Washington, D.C., on Monday. Perry announced a request for proposals, or RFP, for the development of at least two new exascale supercomputers to be deployed at DOE national laboratories sometime around 2021-2023.

“The new supercomputers funded through this RFP will be follow-on systems to the first U.S. exascale system authorized by Secretary Perry this past June, named Aurora, which is currently under development at Argonne National Laboratory and scheduled to come online in 2021,” a press release said. The RFP announced Monday envisions the possibility of upgrades to Aurora or even a follow-on system in 2022-2023, “depending on an assessment of needs and opportunities at that time.” [Read more…]

Spending bill has $639 million for DOE cleanup in Oak Ridge

Posted at 5:30 pm March 29, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An aerial view of the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Plans call for eventually demolishing the complex. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

The federal spending bill approved last week includes $639 million for the federal government’s cleanup program in Oak Ridge, including what could be full funding for a top priority deactivation and demolition project at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The $639 million for the current fiscal year is an increase of $141 million or more, compared to recent fiscal years, and it’s the most money appropriated in a while.

Besides Y-12, the fiscal year 2018 funding will be used for U.S. Department of Energy cleanup projects at East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“It’s very positive for us,” said Jay Mullis, manager of the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. Mullis gave a brief update at a meeting of the Oak Ridge Reservation Communities Alliance on Monday.

In addition to $125 million to deactivate and demolish the Biology Complex at Y-12, the fiscal year 2018 spending bill includes $17.1 million in funding for the planned Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12, about $200 million for continued cleanup work at ETTP, and a total of roughly $12 million for the Environmental Management Disposal Facility, or EMDF. That’s a proposed landfill that could be west of Y-12 and accept waste from future cleanup work at Y-12 and ORNL, possibly early in the 2020s. The project plan for EMDF is expected to be open to public comment later this summer. [Read more…]