Oak Ridge Today

DOE responds to advisory board recommendation
 on groundwater studies

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has responded to a recommendation made earlier this year by the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board.

In May, the federally appointed citizens’ panel recommended that DOE conduct additional groundwater studies to address any potential offsite migration of chemicals or radioisotopes from DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation. The recommendation focuses on developing information that fosters a better understanding of potential impacts of groundwater contamination related to risk mitigation, groundwater remediation, and long-term stewardship.

In 2013, DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation held a series of workshops to prioritize groundwater pathways on the ORR. Together the agencies created a groundwater strategy document that described the potential for releases from waste disposal sites and storage areas. The document also prioritized known groundwater plumes, concentration of contaminants, contaminants of concern, and potential health risks. [Read more…]

Rubber meets the road with new ORNL carbon, battery technologies

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Recycled Tire Battery Schematics

ORNL researchers’ goal is to scale up the recovery process and demonstrate applications as anodes for lithium-ion batteries in large-format pouch cells. (Image courtesy ORNL)

 

Recycled tires could see new life in lithium-ion batteries that provide power to plug-in electric vehicles and store energy produced by wind and solar, say researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

By modifying the microstructural characteristics of carbon black, a substance recovered from discarded tires, a team led by Parans Paranthaman and Amit Naskar is developing a better anode for lithium-ion batteries. An anode is a negatively charged electrode used as a host for storing lithium during charging.

The method, outlined in a paper published in the journal RSC Advances, has numerous advantages over conventional approaches to making anodes for lithium-ion batteries.

“Using waste tires for products such as energy storage is very attractive not only from the carbon materials recovery perspective but also for controlling environmental hazards caused by waste tire stock piles,” Paranthaman said.

The ORNL technique uses a proprietary pretreatment to recover pyrolytic carbon black material, which is similar to graphite but man-made. When used in anodes of lithium-ion batteries, researchers produced a small, laboratory-scale battery with a reversible capacity that is higher than what is possible with commercial graphite materials. [Read more…]

ORNL scientists uncover clues to role of magnetism in iron-based superconductors

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Magnetism of Iron-based Superconductors

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists used scanning transmission electron microscopy to measure atomic-scale magnetic behavior in several families of iron-based superconductors. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

New measurements of atomic-scale magnetic behavior in iron-based superconductors by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Vanderbilt University are challenging conventional wisdom about superconductivity and magnetism.

The study published in Advanced Materials provides experimental evidence that local magnetic fluctuations can influence the performance of iron-based superconductors, which transmit electric current without resistance at relatively high temperatures.

“In the past, everyone thought that magnetism and superconductivity could not coexist,” said ORNL’s Claudia Cantoni, the study’s first author. “The whole idea of superconductors is that they expel magnetic fields. But in reality things are more complicated.”

Superconductivity is strongly suppressed by the presence of long-range magnetism—where atoms align their magnetic moments over large volumes—but the ORNL study suggests that rapid fluctuations of local magnetic moments have a different effect. Not only does localized magnetism exist, but it is also correlated with a high critical temperature, the point at which the material becomes superconducting. [Read more…]

Guest column: City manager urges citizen engagement in key decisions

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Many projects are happening in Oak Ridge at the present time. Our city does not slow down and is affected by issues at the state, federal, and local levels.

As your city manager, I am concentrating on matters such as the implementation of EPA sewer requirements on a tight timeframe, creation of a national park, development of a new mall, and installation of a new dispatch center.

Among its many other decisions, Oak Ridge will be facing a pair of major initiatives which particularly important for our community. The American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE), owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory contractor UT-Battelle, is under new leadership as veteran museum director David Moore takes the helm. With this change, the DOE knows that the long-term viability of a museum is dependent upon local and regional involvement.

Recently, the AMSE Foundation and the City of Oak Ridge have been co-hosting a series of community meetings about AMSE to discuss options for developing a new operating model for the museum. Two of four public discussions have been held about this topic.

Last week, we heard from the directors of the MUSE in Knoxville, the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, and the new Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol to hear how today’s museums remain current and relevant to their visitors. Turnout for the first two meetings has been very encouraging; the next public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 25, from 6-8 p.m., when heritage tourism will be discussed. [Read more…]

City Council hosts Aug. 25 public meeting on Clark Center Park

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Clark Center Park Picnic Area

One of two large picnic areas at Clark Center Park. The park also includes a small playground, two ball fields, boat ramp, fishing trails, and beach.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council will have a public meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, August 25, to collect community input regarding the possible transfer of Clark Center Park from the U.S. Department of Energy to the city. The meeting will be held in the Municipal Building Courtroom, and it will be in lieu of the regularly scheduled monthly work session.

The DOE’s Oak Ridge Office is in the process of reviewing the agency’s land holdings across the Oak Ridge Reservation. The reservation is located within the city limits of Oak Ridge, and it includes Clark Center Park.

Clark Center Park (formerly known as Carbide Park) is an 80-acre parcel under consideration by DOE for possible transfer from federal ownership. The park area includes a swimming area along Melton Hill Lake, and incorporates two picnic areas, a playground, restrooms, a boat ramp, two ball fields, and also provides access to the Gallaher Bend Greenway. DOE spends about $300,000 per year to maintain the park.

In an August 4 letter to the city, DOE Oak Ridge Office Manager Larry Kelly said, “Given the park’s benefit to the citizens of Oak Ridge, the option we currently favor would be to transfer ownership to the city at no cost, provided that the property remains a recreational park asset for the public.” [Read more…]

USEC: ORNL extends American Centrifuge demonstration program into 2015

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photos courtesy USEC)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has exercised an option to extend the American Centrifuge demonstration program into 2015, USEC announced Wednesday.

The announcement was included in a report on second quarter results, when the uranium enrichment company had a net loss of $28 million. USEC, which has operations in Oak Ridge, is undergoing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is turning over its gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky, to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Funding for the next-generation American Centrifuge activities was previously provided under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy. Under that cost-sharing agreement, DOE provided 80 percent of the funding, and USEC provided 20 percent for research, development, and demonstration work performed from June 1, 2012, through April 30, 2014, when the agreement expired.

On May 1, USEC signed a new agreement with UT-Battelle, which manages and operates ORNL for DOE. The agreement was called the American Centrifuge Technology Demonstration and Operations, or ACTDO, agreement, and it allows for continued cascade operations and the continuation of core American Centrifuge research and technology activities and the furnishing of related reports to ORNL, USEC said in its quarterly report.

On July 31, ORNL exercised its option to extend the period of performance for the ACTDO Agreement by an additional six months to March 31, 2015. The agreement also provides ORNL with one additional option to extend the agreement by six months to September 30, 2015. [Read more…]

DOE responds to SSAB’s waste disposal recommendation

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has responded to a recommendation made earlier this year by the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board.

In May, the federally appointed citizens’ panel recommended that DOE continue to plan for additional on-site waste disposal capacity on the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation, or ORR, for low-level radioactive and chemically hazardous waste.

DOE currently operates the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, or EMWMF, a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Bear Creek Valley near the Y-12 National Security Complex. When the facility began accepting waste in 2002, it was expected to handle all projected low-level waste from cleanup operations on the ORR. However, with the amount of demolition and work left to complete, EM requires additional disposal capacity onsite.

DOE has conducted a study to develop, screen, and evaluate alternatives for an additional waste disposal facility, with a working name of EM Disposal Facility, or EMDF. ORSSAB’s recommendation encouraged the agency to continue working toward adding disposal capacity and proposed recommendations for a new facility.

The ORSSAB encouraged DOE to minimize the need for additional on-site capacity when possible. In its response, DOE said it was examining the final cover design of the EMWMF to allow for extended capacity. The waste acceptance criteria for other so-called “sanitary landfills” on Chestnut Ridge are being evaluated for possible modifications to allow a wider variety of waste. [Read more…]

DOE, ORNL, state conduct emergency preparedness exercise Aug. 20

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Emergency responders from the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory—along with federal, state, and local emergency management personnel—will conduct an emergency exercise on Wednesday, August 20, at ORNL.

The public may observe emergency responders simulating response activities and performing environmental monitoring or sampling in the area surrounding the Oak Ridge Reservation. These activities are part of the exercise.

The exercise will begin at approximately 8 a.m. Eastern time and conclude around noon.

This event is one of a series of emergency exercises conducted regularly by the DOE facilities in Oak Ridge. The exercises test the ability of emergency personnel to respond quickly and effectively to emergency situations and ensure that the public, site employees and the environment would be protected in the event of an actual emergency at the facilities.

Second meeting on AMSE features regional museum executives

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The American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

The American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

 

The second in a series of community meetings on the American Museum of Science and Energy will feature executives from regional museums and attractions. They will discuss how their museums were established and developed, and how each is currently managed and operated.

The executives who are participating are:

  • John Joslyn, owner/operator of The Titanic Museums in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri;
  • Leah Ross, executive director of Birthplace of Country Music Museum and Association in Bristol, Virginia, and Tennessee; and
  • Ellie Kittrell, executive director of The MUSE Knoxville (formerly The Discovery Center).

The community meeting is sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation. It’s scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, August 19, at AMSE. [Read more…]

Council considers Clark Center Park, ORHS stoplight, Woodland development

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Clark Center Park Water View

A view of Melton Hill Lake near a boat ramp and between two picnic areas at Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday night will consider the start of negotiations over the future of Clark Center Park, a new stoplight on Oak Ridge Turnpike in front of the high school, and changes, including rezonings, that could allow a small commercial development near Aldi grocery on South Illinois Avenue.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday, August 11, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. See the agenda here.

A resolution to be considered tonight would allow Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson to discuss the future of Clark Center Park with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office. DOE-ORO  has said it wants to transfer the park to the city at no cost as long as it remains a recreational park asset for the public.

The Oak Ridge Office now spends about $300,000 per year to maintain the park. One of the questions for city officials is whether Oak Ridge can afford to take over the 80-acre park, which is in south Oak Ridge on Melton Hill Lake. Also known as Carbide Park, it includes two ball fields, two large picnic areas, a small playground, a boat ramp, restrooms, fishing trails, and a beach. It also includes access to the Gallaher Bend Greenway. [Read more…]

DOE wants Clark Center Park to remain recreational if transferred to city

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Clark Center Park Water View

A view of Melton Hill Lake near a boat ramp and between two picnic areas at Clark Center Park in south Oak Ridge.

 

The U.S. Department of Energy wants to ensure that Clark Center Park remains a “recreational park asset” if it is transferred to the city of Oak Ridge, an official said this week.

That ought to be good news to park supporters. Some of them have expressed concern that the 80-acre park could be turned into a gated community or a waterfront development featuring “McMansions” if DOE turns the property over to the city.

John C. Shewairy, assistant manager for administration in DOE’s Oak Ridge Office, said federal officials are interested in transferring the property to the city as a “public benefit conveyance.”

“Given the park’s benefit to the citizens of Oak Ridge, the option we currently favor would be to transfer ownership to the city at no cost, provided that the property remains a recreational park asset for the public,” Shewairy said. “We are focused on this possible option.” [Read more…]

Fleischmann touts record, Appropriations seat; Wamp willing to work across aisle

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

They’ve battled over negative ads, political endorsements, special interest money, and the Affordable Care Act.

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, the two-term incumbent, touts his seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and, important to Oak Ridge, the Energy and Water Subcommittee.

Meanwhile, Weston Wamp, his challenger, has suggested a willingness to work across party lines to “move the country forward.”

The two men face off in a in two-man battle in the Republican primary on Thursday. It’s in part a rematch of the three-man GOP primary in Tennessee’s Third District in 2012, when Wamp and Scotty Mayfield lost to Fleischmann. [Read more…]