Environmental Management Waste Management Facility Archives

Oak Ridge EM prepared for cold weather to prevent failures

Posted at 11:31 am January 25, 2023
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

From DOE Office of Environmental Managementâ€™sÂ “EM Update”Â newsletter

UCOR employees Andy Rodgers, left, and Alex Johnson install heat tracing to protect systems at the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility during the cold snap in Oak Ridge. Temperatures did not reach above freezing for more than four consecutive days.

Much of the nation experienced an extreme cold snap over the recent holidays, and Tennessee was no exception with temperatures dipping to nearly zero degrees inÂ Oak Ridge. Despite the bitter weather, preparations and recent upgrades helped prevent infrastructure failures during that time.

Many employees with EMÂ cleanup contractor UCOR reported to work over the holidays to ensure issues were resolved at several essential facilities. (EM stands for environmental management.)

At the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, advanced planning and preparation protected critical water management systems during the deep freeze over the nearly weeklong cold snap, including a 6.5-hour unplanned power outage.

[Read more…]

DOE has open house about landfill on Thursday

Posted at 7:09 pm December 3, 2022
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

There will be an open house in Oak Ridge on Thursday to discuss the proposed new federal landfill in Bear Creek Valley, west of the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The open house is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, December 8, in the Scarboro Community Center.

“After much work and coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, we are excited to share that the three parties recently signed the final Record of Decision (ROD) for the Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF) project,” the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management said in a notice posted on its website.

[Read more…]

Monday: AC Operations Committee to discuss proposed DOE landfill

Posted at 12:55 pm January 14, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Operations Committee will discuss the proposed U.S. Department of Energy landfill in a meeting this evening (Monday, January 14).

The meeting will start at 6 p.m. at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

The proposed landfill is known as the Environmental Management Disposal Facility, or EMDF. It would be in Bear Creek Valley west of the Y-12 National Security Complex. [Read more…]

CNS still responsible for security, security police officers at Y-12

Posted at 10:21 am November 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)

A new security contractor will take over at federal sites in Oak Ridge at the end of December, but the contract does not include Oak Ridge National Laboratory or Y-12 National Security Complex. So Oak Ridge Today has requested information about who will provide security at those two sites.

On Tuesday, Y-12 sent a statement thatÂ it continues to be responsible for security and theÂ security police officers who protect the plant. That has been true since since Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC began managing and operating the plant in July 2014, Y-12 said.

ORNL said it is working on a response. Oak Ridge Today will update this story, or publish a new one, when that information becomes available. [Read more…]

(For members) New DOE security contractor will take over in December

Posted at 2:27 pm November 19, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Joe L. Evins Federal Building is pictured above in Oak Ridge on Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

After a protest was denied this month, a new security contractor will take over protecting U.S. Department of Energy sites in Oak Ridge at the end of December.

The contract couldÂ be worth close to $66 million and be in place for five years.

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SSAB to hear about DOE work to ensure sufficient waste disposal capacity

Posted at 12:40 am November 14, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board on Wednesday will hear about work by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management to ensure there is sufficient waste disposal capacity to complete future cleanup work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex.

DOE is considering a new landfill known as the Environmental Management Disposal Facility. It could be built in central Bear Creek Valley west of Y-12. There was a public meeting to discuss the project at the New Hope Center at Y-12 on Wednesday, November 7.

The existing landfill, the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility west of Y-12, is about three-quarters full, and it is expected to fill up in the early 2020s after cleanup work is complete at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site. [Read more…]

Tonight: Public meeting on DOE landfill

Posted at 11:52 am November 7, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

There is a public meeting about the Environmental Management Disposal Facility in Oak Ridge tonight (Wednesday, November 7).

The meeting is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. in the New Hope Center auditorium at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Scarboro Road. Presentations are expected to begin around 6:30 p.m., and a question and comment period could start around 7:15 p.m. [Read more…]

Public availability session on proposed DOE landfill is Thursday

Posted at 2:18 pm October 8, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

There is a public availability session on the proposed federal landfill in Oak Ridge on Thursday.

The U.S.Â Department of Energy has issued a proposed plan to build a new landfill on the Oak Ridge Reservation. The landfill, the Environmental Management DisposalÂ Facility, would be in Bear Creek Valley west of the Y-12 National Security Complex. It is intended for disposal of radioactive, hazardous, and toxic wastes. It would be used as cleanup work ends at the East Tennessee Technology Park and the existing landfill, the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility fills up, and cleanup work moves to Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

A press release said theÂ Sierra Club has invited state and federal officials from DOE,Â Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to be available for public questions about the Environmental Management DisposalÂ Facility. The public availability session has been scheduled from 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 11, at the TDEC office at 761 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

For members: Knoxville man charged with attempted murder in Oak Ridge

Posted at 1:03 pm September 9, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A Knoxville man was charged with attempted first-degree murder in August after he allegedly traveled to Oak Ridge armed with two pistols, magazines, and ammunition, intending to kill an Oak Ridge man, according to court records.

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Daniel Ray Price

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: an advertiser or subscriber to Oak Ridge Today.

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Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

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Oak Ridge, TN 37831

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We also acceptÂ donations. You can donateÂ here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

During training, workers removed a type of shipping cask that was expected to be used to transport 403 canisters of uranium-tainted waste from Oak Ridge National Laboratory to Nevada National Security Site northwest of Las Vegas. (File photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Office of Environmental Management)

This story was updated at 5 p.m. Aug. 30. They haven’t agreed on a final budget number, but the Trump administration and the U.S. House and Senate have proposed spending between about $33 million and $52 million in the next fiscal year to continue disposing of uranium-233 waste materials that are stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in a building that is the oldest continuously operating nuclear facility in the U.S. Department of Energy complex. The uranium-233,Â or U-233, waste is now stored in secure vaults in Building 3019, which was built in the 1940s at ORNL.Â Removing the waste could allow ORNL to relax its overallÂ security posture, which will reduce costs, eliminate nuclear safety issues, and make the campus more conducive to collaborative science, according to a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee report published in July. Some of the waste is from a 1960s research and development test in New York, and it is being shipped to the Nevada National Security Site, a former nuclear weapons proving ground about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.Â In interviews this summer, DOE officials in Oak Ridge declined to discuss the amount of that waste that has been shipped to Nevada or to say how long the shipments might continue.Â But they are making progress, said Jay Mullis,Â acting manager of DOEâ€™s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. Once all of those materials are shipped, the remaining U-233 at ORNL will be treated in “hot cell” facilities across the street from Building 3019, at Building 2026. TheÂ DOEâ€™s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management owns both buildings. Mullis said there is other U-233 waste stored in Building 3019, including from glovebox research at ORNL, from reactor plates, and from conglomerate materials. [Read more…]