Oak Ridge Today

Workers start demolishing Poplar Creek facilities at ETTP

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Workers tear down the K-832 Cooling Water Pumphouse at East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

Workers tear down the K-832 Cooling Water Pumphouse at East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management)

 

Note: This is an edited version of a story that was first published by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management in an EM Update on Friday, July 28.

Workers began demolishing the Poplar Creek facilities this month, bringing Oak Ridge’s environmental management, or EM, program closer to completing major cleanup at the East Tennessee Technology Park by 2020.

“Demolishing the Poplar Creek facilities is significant for our program because it continues the visible transformation of ETTP’s skyline, and it removes the most contaminated facilities remaining at the site,” said Jay Mullis, acting manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM.

OREM has taken down more than 400 facilities at ETTP, including all five former uranium enrichment facilities. That’s about 10 million square feet of buildings that have been removed.

ETTP, also known as Heritage Center, is the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge. The site was built to help enrich uranium for atomic bombs during the top-secret Manhattan Project in World War II, and it continued to operate through the Cold War, including to enrich uranium for nuclear power plants. [Read more…]

Senate bill recommends $8 million for K-25 historic preservation work

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K-25 Historic Preservation Footprint at ETTP

An image showing the footprint of the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center. Built during World War II to enrich uranium, the K-25 Building has been demolished but its “footprint” has been preserved. This image shows the footprint at center, the K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station, front right, and the Equipment Building and Viewing Tower at front left. (Graphic by David Brown/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

A bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday recommends $8 million for K-25 historic preservation work.

If approved, the funding would help preserve the historic contributions that the K-25 Site made to the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

The historic preservation work is required under a 2012 agreement that allowed the complete demolition of the K-25 Building, which was once the world’s largest building under one roof.

The 2012 agreement allowed workers to demolish the North Tower at the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge. Historic preservationists had lobbied for years to save the North Tower.

In exchange for the complete demolition of K-25, the agreement, announced in August 2012, called for a replica equipment building, a viewing tower, and a history center at a city-owned fire station. It also included an online virtual museum and a $500,000 grant to buy and stabilize the historic Alexander Inn in central Oak Ridge, which has since been converted into an assisted living center. [Read more…]

Park Service program on women of the Manhattan Project on Saturday, July 29

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Y-12 Calutron Girls

Women enriching uranium in calutrons at Y-12 as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. This is the “Calutron Girls” photograph by Manhattan Project photographer Ed Westcott.

 

Join National Park Service staff for an interpretive program on women of the Manhattan Project at the American Museum of Science and Energy on Saturday, July 29.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present the free program at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 29.

“The program will outline the life for women before, during, and after World War II,” a press release said. “Come learn about the women of the project and how they shaped the nation for future generations.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge could set up committee to celebrate its 75th anniversary

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Y-12 Calutron Girls

Women enriching uranium in calutrons at Y-12 as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. The 75th anniversary of the city that became Oak Ridge and still includes Y-12 is Sept. 19, 2017. (Photo by Ed Westcott)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider setting up a committee to celebrate the city’s 75th anniversary.

Oak Ridge’s birthday has been recognized on September 19. That’s because the city that is now Oak Ridge was picked for the top-secret Manhattan Project on September 19, 1942, almost 75 years ago. That was the day that General Leslie Groves approved the acquisition of 59,000 acres of land along the Clinch River for what soon became the Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs, before Germany could. Oak Ridge was then 90 square miles of East Tennessee farmland. It was the first site for Manhattan Project facilities.

By the time President Franklin Delano Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan Project on December 28, 1942, work on the East Tennessee site where the first production facilities were to be built was already under way.

Oak Ridge became the home of two uranium enrichment plants (K-25 and Y-12), a liquid thermal diffusion plant (S-50), and a pilot plutonium production reactor (X-10 Graphite Reactor). Groves approved Oak Ridge as the site for the pilot plutonium plant and the uranium enrichment plant in 1942. Manhattan Project engineers had to quickly build a town to accommodate 30,000 workers—as well as build the enormously complex plants. [Read more…]

Updated: Cange, former Oak Ridge cleanup manager, appointed visiting scholar at Vanderbilt

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k-27-demolition-aug-30-2016-cange-web

Sue Cange, who was then manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, is pictured above at the end of demolition of the K-27 Building on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

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

Sue Cange, former head of the federal government’s cleanup program in Oak Ridge, has been appointed as a visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

It’s a two-year appointment as a visiting scholar in civil and environmental engineering that started July 5, Vanderbilt University spokesperson Jim Patterson said. Cange has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental engineering from Vanderbilt University.

Cange remains a paid U.S. Department of Energy employee, Patterson said. At Vanderbilt, she will help to establish a nuclear environmental engineering curriculum and internship program.

Cange is a former manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. She had most recently worked at U.S. Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, D.C. In December, she was named principal deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management, or EM. She had previously been interim principal deputy assistant secretary, temporarily serving in the role formerly filled by Mark Whitney, who took a job in the private sector. Whitney is also a former manager of the Environmental Management program in Oak Ridge.

In January, Cange became acting assistant secretary for environmental management, the Exchange Monitor reported. She replaced Monica Regalbuto on a temporary basis, at about the time that President Donald Trump was inaugurated. Regalbuto was the Obama administration’s final appointee to the position that oversees DOE’s $6-billion-a-year legacy nuclear cleanup program.

But last week, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that James M. Owendoff had been promoted to principal deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Environmental Management, or EM, replacing Cange. Owendoff had served as a senior adviser to the assistant EM secretary since January 2010, DOE said. [Read more…]

Carr to discuss history of Los Alamos Lab in talk in Oak Ridge next week

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Alan Carr

Alan Carr

 

Senior historian Alan B. Carr will discuss the history of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico during a talk in Oak Ridge next week, a press release said.

Carr will speak to the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association’s public and membership meeting on Tuesday, July 11. That meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. July 11 at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road.

(Note: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, not the second Thursday, the normal date for the ORHPA’s monthly meetings. This is being done to accommodate Carr’s schedule as he is coming to Oak Ridge on business travel and must leave on Thursday, the press release said.)

The press release said Carr currently serves as senior historian for Los Alamos National Laboratory. During his tenure as a laboratory historian, which began in 2003, Carr has produced several publications pertaining to the Manhattan Project, early nuclear weapons design, and nuclear testing history, the release said. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project program: Secrecy, Security, Spies at Turnpike Gatehouse on June 23

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The Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse is pictured above on the west end of town. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse is pictured above on the west end of town. (Submitted photo)

 

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present a program on Friday, June 23, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the Turnpike Gatehouse. The program will give visitors some insight to what life was like in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project with all the security, the need for secrecy, and the worry of spies, a press release said.

This program is free and open to the public. Parking is limited, so please try to carpool if possible, the press release said.

The Gatehouse is located at 2900 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Visitors can access the Turnpike Gatehouse from Oak Ridge by following the Oak Ridge Turnpike west as if you are leaving town. Parking will be next to the Gatehouse on the north side of the road. [Read more…]

‘Natural Synergy’: Photography exhibit celebrating impact of naturalized citizens on Manhattan Project opens Thursday

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Maria Geoppert Mayer Born: June 28, 1906, in Kattowitz, German Empire Naturalized: March 13, 1933 Received Nobel Prize: 1963 Died: Feb. 20, 1972, San Diego, CA

Maria Geoppert Mayer
Born: June 28, 1906, in Kattowitz, German Empire
Naturalized: March 13, 1933
Received Nobel Prize: 1963
Died: Feb. 20, 1972, San Diego, CA

 

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will host “Natural Synergy,” a photography exhibition focusing on some of the Manhattan Project’s most prominent scientists who left their homeland to be become naturalized U.S. citizens. The month-long exhibit will open on Thursday, June 15, with a reception starting at 4:30 p.m. The photo exhibit is sponsored by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, and Explore Oak Ridge.

Beginning in the 1930s, there was active persecution of religious minorities and political opponents, a press release said. As a result, many leading scientists, philosophers, and academics fled to the West, the press release said. A number of the refugees later joined the Manhattan Project, and the large number of refugees and immigrants working on the Manhattan Project gave the American nuclear program an international character unusual in such a top-secret program.

The “Natural Synergy” photography exhibit opens the day before a naturalization ceremony for new United States citizens on Friday, June 16, that is hosted by the National Park Service and United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. That ceremony is open to the public and starts at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is located at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike. For more information please call Manhattan Project National Historical Park at (865) 567-6767.

Manhattan Project public program: Bike with a Ranger on North Boundary Greenway on Saturday

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Join a park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway in Oak Ridge to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 70 years. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present a free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

Join a park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway in Oak Ridge to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 70 years. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present a free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 17, 2017. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

 

Join a park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway to see how the former communities of the area have changed over the past 70 years.  The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present a free program on Saturday, June 17, at 10 a.m.

The program will begin at the Turnpike Gatehouse and travel down Quarry Trail, a press release said.

“Along the ride, we will explore the former communities that were here before the Manhattan Project,” the press release said. “Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area.”

The Turnpike Gatehouse is located at 2900 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

ETEC accepting nominations for 2017 Muddy Boot Award, Postma Young Professional Medal

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The East Tennessee Economic Council is now accepting nominations for the 2017 Muddy Boot Award and Postma Young Professional Medal, a press release said.

In 1973, the founders of ETEC (then the Roane Anderson Economic Council or R-AEC) created the Muddy Boot Award to reflect the efforts of the Manhattan Project founders of Oak Ridge, who worked through adverse conditions to build the community, the press release said. Each year since then, ETEC has honored individuals or groups of people who have continued to help build and bolster the community’s economic base. The award has been presented to elected officials, business leaders, representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy, and others.

The objective is to recognize an individual—not an institution—for significant and long-term contributions to the East Tennessee region with respect to the federal government programs and its spin-offs by leveraging the federal presence to create private sector jobs, the press release said. Participation in the community beyond the workplace is essential.

The 2016 recipients included Mike Belbeck, Covenant Health; Chuck Fleischmann, U.S. Congressman, Third District; Frank Munger, recently retired from Knoxville News Sentinel; and Mike Pasqua, recently retired from SAIC/Leidos. [Read more…]

Secret City Festival: ORHPA has history exhibit at Midtown Community Center on Friday, Saturday

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The first 100 visitors to the History Exhibit at the Midtown Community Center on Friday, June 2, 2017, and Saturday, June 3, 2017, get a free 43-page Pocket Guide from the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. (Submitted photo)

The first 100 visitors to the History Exhibit at the Midtown Community Center on Friday, June 2, 2017, and Saturday, June 3, 2017, get a free 43-page Pocket Guide from the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. (Submitted photo)

 

Submitted

Bring the family by the historic Midtown Community Center next to Kroger from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, June 2, and Saturday, June 3, during the Secret City Festival—to enjoy the fascinating story behind the creation of U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear complex and the City of Oak Ridge. The Midtown Center is located at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge.

As a special treat, the first 100 visitors on each day will get a free Manhattan Project Secret City pocket guide from the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association.

The pocket guide, a $5 value, has 43 pages packed with “Wow-Facts” and photos on early Oak Ridge and the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, a press release said. The guide also includes a map of historical locations in the city and a driving tour.

This year is the 75th anniversary of both the DOE nuclear complex and the “Secret City” of Oak Ridge. Both were created by the federal government in the difficult year following the Pearl Harbor attack, 1942, during the super-secret Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was President Roosevelt’s effort to build the very first atomic bomb and end World War II. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project public program: Ride with a ranger, learn about Oak Ridge history on Saturday

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Join a park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway in Oak Ridge to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 70 years. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present a free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

You can join a park ranger for a bicycle ride and learn more about the history of Oak Ridge on Melton Lake Greenway on Saturday morning, May 13, 2017. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

 

You can join a park ranger for a bicycle ride and learn more about the history of Oak Ridge on Melton Lake Greenway on Saturday morning.

The free program is presented by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. It will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, at Elza Gate Park, former entry point to the “Secret City,” and continue down Melton Lake Greenway.

“Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area,” a press release said. [Read more…]