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ORNL isotope center estimated to cost $250 million

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory had a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 24, 2022, for the U.S. Stable Isotope Production and Research Center. A design image of the new center is pictured above.

Note: This story was last updated at 4 p.m.

A new center to research and produce isotopes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could cost an estimated $250 million.

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With key isotopes depleted, DOE plans production center at ORNL

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The U.S. Department of Energy has proposed an isotope production and research center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that could be important for medical, national security, and research projects.

In a budget request released in February, DOE said its supply of certain key enriched stable isotopes has been depleted, making the United States more dependent upon foreign imports for enriched stable isotopes. Isotopes are forms of an element that have the same number of protons but different number of neutrons in their nuclei.

DOE said the demand for enriched stable isotopes continues to grow substantially, including for the medical, national security, and fundamental research projects.

The new center at ORNL, the U.S. Stable Isotope Production and Research Center, would reduce the nation’s dependence upon foreign countries for those isotopes, DOE said.

DOE approved the mission need for the facility in January 2019. Although the cost range could change, the current project estimate is between $175 million and $298 million.

[Read more…]

Reactor shutdown affects experiments, isotope production at HFIR

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The High Flux Isotope Reactor vessel at Oak Ridge National Laboratory resides in a pool of water illuminated by the blue glow of the Cherenkov radiation effect. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

The High Flux Isotope Reactor vessel at Oak Ridge National Laboratory resides in a pool of water illuminated by the blue glow of the Cherenkov radiation effect. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Experiments and isotope production have been affected, but employees are still able to carry out their normal duties at the High Flux Isotope Reactor as the U.S. Department of Energy investigates a slightly elevated radiation level in HFIR’s primary cooling system.

The High Flux Isotope Reactor, which is used for research and isotope production, is at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

In a response to questions on Wednesday, ORNL Communications Director David Keim said the slightly elevated reading in the primary cooling system was well below alarm levels.

“The HFIR operators promptly responded to the reading and placed the reactor in a safe condition,” Keim said. [Read more…]

Alexander: Bill raises Office of Science funding to highest-ever, includes UPF, supercomputing, cleanup funding

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

A bill approved by a U.S. Senate subcommittee on Tuesday would give $5.144 billion to the federal agency that oversees work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It’s the highest level of funding ever for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which oversees 10 national labs, including ORNL, federal officials said.

The bill would also provide $430 million for the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, which will “continue to keep this project on time and on budget,” according to a press release from the office of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

Alexander’s office also said the legislation would provide funding for:

  • a new mercury treatment plant in Oak Ridge,
  • cleanup of nuclear facilities that are no longer in service,
  • nuclear infrastructure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and
  • advanced computing, which supports the new Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The bill was unanimously approved on a voice vote by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development on Tuesday afternoon. Alexander is chair of that subcommittee, and he said the approval shows that there is bipartisan support for energy research, waterways, and national security. [Read more…]

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