Oak Ridge National Laboratory Archives

Crews start project to reduce maintenance, operations costs at Molten Salt Reactor

Posted at 8:38 pm January 22, 2019
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The Molten Salt Reactor Experiment building at Oak Ridge National Laboratory housed the reactor and offices for operating personnel. The facility was constructed in the 1950s for a nuclear aircraft project and was later expanded significantly and retrofitted to accommodate the MSRE. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

Cleanup crews started a $4.7 million project this month to reduce maintenance and operations costs at the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, which was shut down 50 years ago at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The project is expected to save nearly $25 million in costs, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management said in an “EM Update” published Tuesday.

The cost-reduction project will relocate employees stationed at the decades-old facility. Personnel currently housed in the building will move to other site locations to help with other projects, the “EM Update” said.

The project is expected to enhance the facility’s electrical distribution, sump pump, fire suppression, and monitoring systems.

“Although it was shut down 50 years ago, certain systems within the reactor building have continued to operate to keep the facility safe and stable until it can be demolished,” said the “EM Update,” with the Oak Ridge story contributed by Mike Butler. [Read more…]

Monday: AC Operations Committee to discuss proposed DOE landfill

Posted at 12:55 pm January 14, 2019
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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…]

K-25 Equipment Building & Viewing Tower: Design complete, construction funding available

Posted at 9:51 pm January 11, 2019
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An outside view showing the K-25 History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

An image published in October 2017 shows the K-25 History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. It wasn’t immediately clear Friday evening, Jan. 11, 2019, if the design has changed. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

The design is complete and funding is available for the construction of an Equipment Building and Viewing Tower that will help commemorate the history of the K-25 Building, once the world’s largest building under one roof.

K-25 was built in Oak Ridge during World War II to help enrich uranium for the Manhattan Project. That was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons. During the war, Oak Ridge enriched the uranium for “Little Boy,” the first atomic bomb used in wartime. “Little Boy” was detonated over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, shortly before the end of World War II.

After the war, the four-story, 44-acre K-25 Building and four other large buildings at the K-25 site continued to use a process known as gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Officials say the K-25 site, which is in west Oak Ridge, helped win the Cold War.

After decades of use, the K-25 site was shut down in the mid-1980s, and as part of a cleanup effort in recent years, the five large gaseous diffusion buildings have been demolished. But the history of the K-25 building and the site will live on in a History Center on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4, which is next to K-25’s concrete slab, and at the Equipment Building and Viewing Tower, which will be just west of the History Center.

The History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower will be on the south side of the former K-25 Building. The site is now known as Heritage Center or East Tennessee Technology Park. [Read more…]

ORNL adding three-story office, laboratory building

Posted at 4:23 pm January 10, 2019
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Oak Ridge National Laboratory is adding a three-story office and laboratory building on its central campus.

It would be the first time a building of this size has been added at ORNL since the Chemical and Materials Science building (Building 4100) was completed in 2011, spokesperson Morgan McCorkle said in a response to questions Thursday.

She said the new building will be located in the central part of the main ORNL campus between buildings 3500 and 3525.

“The facility will offer state-of-the-art laboratory space and offices to support a range of research activities, including growing missions in computing and materials science and development,” McCorkle said. “The space can be adapted to serve the needs of changing scientific programs and priorities.” [Read more…]

Suresh Babu to lead UT-ORNL Bredesen Center

Posted at 4:49 pm December 30, 2018
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Suresh Babu

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville have selected Suresh Babu as the next director of their jointly operated Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education.

Babu will retain his position as UT-ORNL governor’s chair for advanced manufacturing when he assumes his new role on January 3, a press release said. He will be replacing Lee Riedinger, who is retiring at the end of January.

“Dr. Babu has worked extensively with both UT and ORNL through his governor’s chair position, and we’re excited about him taking on this new role,” UT Knoxville Interim Chancellor Wayne T. Davis said in the press release. “He is a nationally recognized expert in the development of advanced materials and advanced manufacturing and has helped us emerge as a leader in those critical research areas.” [Read more…]

DOE not affected by shutdown

Posted at 12:10 pm December 22, 2018
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The Joe L. Evins Federal Building is pictured above in Oak Ridge on Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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

The U.S. Department of Energy is not affected by the partial government shutdown that started at midnight, and DOE employees and contractors, including in Oak Ridge, are expected to continue their normal work schedules.

”The partial government shutdown does not impact Department of Energy facilities,” federal officials said in a statement. “DOE’s fiscal year 2019 appropriations bill was approved by Congress and signed by the president in September. DOE employees and contractors are expected to continue to report to work according to their usual work schedule.”

Among the DOE sites and operations in Oak Ridge are East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, and Y-12 National Security Complex. Y-12 is overseen by the National Nuclear Security Administration, a DOE agency. [Read more…]

DOE names deputy cleanup manager in Oak Ridge

Posted at 7:29 pm December 20, 2018
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Laura Wilkerson

The U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday named a deputy cleanup manager in Oak Ridge.

The new deputy manager, Laura Wilkerson, has been selected as the deputy manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM. That’s the program responsible for cleanup projects at federal sites in Oak Ridge, including the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12 National Security Complex.

Wilkerson previously served as the director of OREM’s Planning and Execution Division, a press release said. She has more than 25 years of federal service. [Read more…]

DOE cleanup: Comment period for EMDF ends at 5 p.m. today

Posted at 4:01 pm December 10, 2018
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The comment period ends at 5 p.m. today (Monday, December 10) for the proposed landfill that the U.S. Department of Energy could use in central Bear Creek Valley west of the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The landfill would be used as the existing landfill, also west of Y-12, fills up as DOE cleanup work shifts from East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site) to Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, possibly after 2020. The new landfill would be called the Environmental Management Disposal Facility. The existing landfill is the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility.

The public comment period for the proposed plan for the new facility was extended until December 10. DOE will accept written comments on the proposed plan at any time during the public comment period. You can send your comments via email at [email protected]. Also, you can mail comment to Mr. John Michael Japp at P.O. Box 2001, Oak Ridge, TN 37831.

Copies of the EMDF Proposed Plan are available at the DOE Information Center. It is also available online at https://doeic.science.energy.gov/uploads/A.0100.030.2596.pdf.

Neutron production at ORNL’s SNS reaches design power level

Posted at 2:05 pm December 3, 2018
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The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has reached its operational power design level by running a neutron production cycle at 1.4 megawatts, the lab said Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has broken a new record by ending its first neutron production cycle in fiscal year 2019 at its design power level of 1.4 megawatts.

Higher power provides more neutrons for researchers who use the facility to study a wide range of materials, an ORNL press release said. The achievement marks a new operational milestone for neutron scattering in the United States and opens the door to studying significantly smaller materials with greater complexity, the press release said.

“The operation of SNS at 1.4 megawatts this cycle has been an outstanding achievement,” said Paul Langan, associate laboratory director for neutron sciences. “It reflects on the maturity of our facility and the high level of technical excellence of our engineering, operational, and scientific staff.”

The power increase was enabled by the combination of extensive improvements to the linear accelerator, including the recent replacement of the radio frequency quadrupole—the first accelerating structure of the accelerator’s frontend assembly, as well as improvements to the liquid mercury target. [Read more…]

UT-Battelle will provide ORNL security starting in December

Posted at 10:49 am November 30, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Photo by ORNL

Starting in December, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex will both manage their own security forces to protect their sites.

Y-12 has been managing its own protective force for about six years, ever since a former contractor, B&W Y-12, terminated a contract with WSI Oak Ridge after a security breach at the 811-acre plant. The current Y-12 contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, confirmed this month that it has been responsible for security and security police officers since it began managing and operating the plant in July 2014.

On Friday, UT-Battelle, which manages and operates ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy, said it is assuming responsibility for providing protective force services at the laboratory starting December 30. That’s when a new security contractor will take over at some federal sites in Oak Ridge.

ORNL Media Relations Manager Morgan McCorkle said about 90 employees who have been providing security services at ORNL under a contract with National Strategic Protective Services LLC will transition from NSPS to UT-Battelle. [Read more…]

Reactor shutdown affects experiments, isotope production at HFIR

Posted at 9:34 am November 29, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

ORNL investigating elevated radiation in HFIR cooling system

Posted at 11:02 pm November 21, 2018
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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)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is investigating an elevated radiation level in the cooling system at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, a research reactor that also produces isotopes.

Workers were bringing HFIR back online on Tuesday, November 13, after a planned outage when the elevated radiation level was detected in the cooling system, according to information provided by David Keim, ORNL communications director.

“HFIR operators decided to shut down the reactor in order to investigate and determine what happened,” Keim said. “The plant is in a safe condition.” [Read more…]