Oak Ridge Today

Gordon-Hagerty confirmed as NNSA administrator

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Note: This story was updated at 9:15 a.m.

Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday as the U.S. Department of Energy’s under secretary for nuclear security and administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Once she is sworn in to the position, Gordon-Hagerty will be responsible for the management and operation of NNSA, supporting the nuclear security agenda of Energy Secretary Rick Perry and President Donald Trump, a press release said.

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is an NNSA site.

The NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within DOE, and it is responsible for nuclear nonproliferation, the nation’s naval reactor programs, and managing and securing the nation’s nuclear weapons. It also responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the United States and abroad; provides safe and secure transportation of nuclear weapons, components, and special nuclear materials; and has other national security missions. [Read more…]

Y-12 reactor core could be used for power on Moon, Mars

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NASA fission power system concept (Image credit: NASA Glenn Research Center)

NASA fission power system concept (Image credit: NASA Glenn Research Center)

 

A reactor core that includes highly enriched uranium alloy components produced at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge could power future space exploration, including on the Moon and Mars, federal officials said.

The reactor core fabricated at Y-12 has been delivered to the Nevada National Security Site, where it is being used in a experiment called Kilopower. That’s a new power source that could provide safe, efficient energy for future robotic and human space exploration missions, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. The power source could help provide lighting, water, and oxygen on those missions.

NASA said the pioneering space power system, which would use nuclear fission, could provide up to 10 kilowatts of continuous electrical power for at least 10 years. That’s enough power to run two average households.

Four Kilopower units would provide enough power to establish an outpost, NASA said. The system could enable long-term stays on planetary surfaces.

Testing, which started in November, is being performed through this spring at the National Critical Experiments Research Center in the Device Assembly Facility at the Nevada National Security Site. [Read more…]

Trump administration requests more money for DOE, NNSA

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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)

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)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2:50 p.m.

The Trump administration has requested more money for the U.S. Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration than it did last year, but the impact could vary at Oak Ridge’s major federal sites.

The NNSA, a semi-autonomous agency within DOE, would get a big increase of $2.2 billion, compared to spending levels enacted in fiscal year 2017. The boost would raise NNSA funding to $15.1 billion. The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is an NNSA site.

The NNSA proposal is more than $1 billion higher than the $13.9 billion requested by the Trump administration in fiscal year 2018, which was up $1.4 billion over the fiscal year 2016 spending level ($12.5 billion).

Oak Ridge Today reported last year that Y-12’s funding would have been up 25 percent under President Donald Trump’s budget request for the current fiscal year, if Congress had approved the proposed spending levels. [Read more…]

With government shut down, Y-12 employees still working

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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)

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 some apparent exceptions, employees at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge will continue working even after the federal government shut down after federal funding expired Friday.

Y-12 posted an announcement after the federal government shut down early Saturday. The announcement said workers at Y-12 and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, are expected to report to work on their next scheduled work day unless they have previously approved leave or have been given formal notice by their management to not report to work.

A few other federal organizations and federal contractors didn’t immediately appear to have posted notices as of early Saturday afternoon, about 12 hours after the shutdown began. Those include Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]

Y-12 to build replacement parts for nuclear warheads on submarine missiles

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A Trident II D5 missile test launch (Photo courtesy National Nuclear Security Administration)

A Trident II D5 missile test launch (Photo courtesy National Nuclear Security Administration)

 

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge has been approved to build parts for a system being replaced in the W88 nuclear warhead, which is deployed on submarine-launched missiles, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The W88 has been a key part of the nation’s nuclear deterrent since it became part of the weapons stockpile in 1988, the NNSA said on its website Tuesday. But it needs maintenance.

The W88 Alteration (Alt) 370 program will replace the warhead’s Arming, Fuzing, and Firing, or AF&F, subsystem and address other aging issues to maintain its current state of readiness, the NNSA said.

Y-12 has been approved to build component parts for the W88 Alt 370 nearly two years ahead of schedule. [Read more…]

NNSA has information session on Y-12, UPF, electrical substation on Wednesday

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H-frame or H tower transmission towers are pictured at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex off Scarboro Road on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

H-frame or H tower transmission towers are pictured at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex off Scarboro Road on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The National Nuclear Security Administration will have an information session on Wednesday about the Y-12 National Security Complex, the Uranium Processing Facility construction project, and the work to replace the electrical substation at Y-12.

The information session was scheduled after Oak Ridge officials raised concerns in November and December about the power lines proposed on top of Pine Ridge as part of the electrical substation project. Pine Ridge separates Y-12 from the center of the city, and Oak Ridge officials have said they had not received adequate notice of the power line project and didn’t know what other options had been considered. They also expressed concerns about the lack of public input and the visual impact of building power lines and installing transmission towers on top of the ridge. As of December, Oak Ridge City Council members said they hadn’t seen a visual representation of what the power lines could look like. [Read more…]

NNSA developing research-reactor fuel that can’t be used in nuclear weapons

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Qualification of the new high-density fuel will allow for the conversion of U.S. high performance research reactors, such as the Advanced Test Reactor located at Idaho National Laboratory, shown here. (Photo by National Nuclear Security Administration)

Qualification of the new high-density fuel will allow for the conversion of U.S. high performance research reactors, such as the Advanced Test Reactor located at Idaho National Laboratory, shown here. (Photo by National Nuclear Security Administration)

 

The National Nuclear Security Administration is leading an effort to develop and qualify a new fuel that will allow high-performance research reactors in the United States that currently use highly enriched uranium to be converted to reactors that use low-enriched uranium fuel.

The research reactors that could be converted include the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The goal is to develop a fuel that cannot be used in a nuclear weapon. The research reactors perform unique science and are a critical part of the U.S. nuclear complex, but all together, they use 200 kilograms of highly enriched uranium each year. That’s enough material for at least eight weapons, according to the NNSA.

On Wednesday, the NNSA said it has presented the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission with a preliminary report on uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) monolithic fuel. The report contains data about the performance of the new fuel in a reactor and how it holds up under a variety of conditions. [Read more…]

Trump nominates nuclear security leader, NNSA administrator

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President Donald Trump has nominated an under secretary for nuclear security in the U.S. Department of Energy, a position that includes serving as administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is an NNSA site.

The nomination of Lisa Gordon-Hagerty was announced by the White House on Monday, December 11.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Gordon-Hagerty would replace Frank G. Klotz, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general who was confirmed by the Senate on April 8, 2014.

Gordon-Hagerty, of Virginia, is president of Tier Tech International Inc., a national security consulting company. She also serves as president of LEG Inc., providing strategic advice and counsel in domestic and national security issues, the White House said. [Read more…]

NNSA grants 45-day discussion for Pine Ridge logging, Y-12 power lines

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Dale Christenson, Uranium Processing Facility federal project director, standing at right, talks to Oak Ridge City Council during a non-voting work session in the Jefferson Middle School Library on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. In the background are city staff members and members of the public. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Dale Christenson, Uranium Processing Facility federal project director, standing at right, talks to Oak Ridge City Council during a non-voting work session in the Jefferson Middle School Library on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. In the background are city staff members and members of the public. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The National Nuclear Security Administration has granted a 45-day discussion period for a project to build a new electrical substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex that could include logging work on top of Pine Ridge.

Oak Ridge officials had requested a 30-day delay of the logging work. City officials have raised concerns about that part of the project because they said they didn’t know about it until a week or two before logging operations were scheduled to start, there has been no public input, and cutting down trees and replacing them with transmission towers on top of the ridge would affect the view in that part of the city, including from two residential neighborhoods, Scarboro and Groves Park Commons. Pine Ridge is between Y-12 and the center of the city.

Oak Ridge officials have also said they don’t know what other options were considered, besides installing the high-voltage power lines on top of Pine Ridge.

The 161-kilovolt power lines will provide electricity to a new electrical substation that will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12. UPF is the largest federal construction project in Tennessee since World War II, and it is expected to be completed by 2025 at a cost of no more than $6.5 billion.

Oak Ridge officials have emphasized that they support the project, but they don’t think the city has been treated as an equal partner on the electrical substation and power line portion of the project.

In a press release Tuesday, the City of Oak Ridge said the electrical substation project would involve clear-cutting 2.1 miles of mature trees along the top of Pine Ridge. The NNSA has delayed that project for 45 days, although some logging activity will still occur during that time. [Read more…]

City wants to minimize impact of new power lines for Y-12, UPF

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Pine Ridge, which separates the Scarboro neighborhood from the Y-12 National Security Complex, is pictured above from the Scarboro Community Center playground. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

Pine Ridge, which separates the Scarboro neighborhood from the Y-12 National Security Complex, is pictured above from the Scarboro Community Center playground. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

The City of Oak Ridge has asked federal officials to consider an option that minimizes the impact of new high-voltage power lines planned on top of Pine Ridge, which is between the center of the city and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The 161-kilovolt power lines will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The new substation will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12.

Dale Christenson, federal project director for the UPF, presented the project to Oak Ridge City Council during a November 7 work session. Less than a week later, at its November 13 meeting, City Council unanimously approved a letter that requested a postponement of tree-clearing work that is part of the project in order to discuss alternatives. The National Nuclear Security Administration agreed to a two-week delay, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release Monday. Y-12 is an NNSA site.

In order to install the power lines, federal officials plan to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge. The ridge is between Y-12 and two Oak Ridge neighborhoods: Scarboro and Groves Park Commons.

“Several weeks ago, the NNSA advised of proceeding with plans to clear cut 2.1 miles of mature trees and vegetation along the crest of Pine Ridge,” the city’s press release said. “More than 30 79-foot Tennessee Valley Authority transmission towers will be erected along the top of the ridge after clear cutting occurs. Although DOE has been planning this initiative for at least two years, the city has not been engaged in the process or studying electrical options for serving the new Uranium Processing Facility.” [Read more…]

Ray Smith receives DOE Gold Medal Award for helping to create national park

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D. Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian, left, received a U.S. Department of Energy Gold Medal Award on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, for his role in helping to create the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge. The award was presented to Smith by retired Lieutenant General Frank G. Klotz, DOE under secretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. (Photo courtesy NNSA)

D. Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian, left, received a U.S. Department of Energy Gold Medal Award on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, for his role in helping to create the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge. The award was presented to Smith by retired Lieutenant General Frank G. Klotz, DOE under secretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. (Photo courtesy NNSA)

 

Note: This story was updated at 4:05 p.m.

D. Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian, received a U.S. Department of Energy Gold Medal Award on Monday for his role in helping to create the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.

The award was presented to Smith by retired Lieutenant General Frank G. Klotz, DOE under secretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Smith is retiring this month. He previously told Oak Ridge Today that he would retire November 22.

Established in November 2015, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park is a unique three-site park that includes Oak Ridge; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. Among other activities, Oak Ridge built uranium enrichment facilities for the Manhattan Project at Y-12 and the former K-25 site, and the city had the pilot facility for plutonium production at the Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which was then known as X-10. [Read more…]

With $3 billion in savings expected, not clear how much saved at Y-12, Pantex so far

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Y-12 National Security Complex

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (File photo/B&W Y-12)

 

More than $3 billion in savings are expected during a decade, but it’s not clear yet how much money has been saved after three years under a consolidated contract at two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The savings of $3.27 billion are expected under a contract that could last 10 years at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.

On Monday, officials said Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor at the two sites, has generated significant savings in three fiscal years, although it’s not clear exactly how much they’ve saved. CNS has managed and operated Y-12 and Pantex Plant since July 1, 2014.

Federal officials announced the expected savings of $3.27 billion during a decade when the five-year contract was announced in January 2013. Officials said the consolidated contract, the result of years of work, could save money in part by eliminating redundancies in such areas as human resources, purchasing, finance, and information technology. [Read more…]