Oak Ridge Today

Australian ornithologist finds secretive marsh bird on Oak Ridge Reservation

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An Australian ornithologist has found a secretive marsh bird, a Purple Gallinule, on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory said in a post published on Twitter on Sunday, July 2, 2017. (Screenshot from ORNL video)

An Australian ornithologist has found a secretive marsh bird, a Purple Gallinule, on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory said in a post published on Twitter on Sunday, July 2, 2017. (Screenshot from ORNL video)

 

An Australian ornithologist has found a secretive marsh bird, a Purple Gallinule, on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory said in a video post published on Twitter on Sunday.

Australian ornithologist Liz Znidersic recently came to ORNL to study secretive bird species, ORNL said in the video. She found the new bird using video and audio equipment.

The Purple Gallinule is typically only found in coastal or tropical areas.

“The Purple Gallinule has not been found on the Oak Ridge Reservation ever,” Znidersic said in the video. “This is the first one to be found also in Roane County.” [Read more…]

DOE to conduct emergency preparedness exercise June 7

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Emergency responders from the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12 National Security Complex, and East Tennessee Technology Park, along with federal, state, and local emergency management personnel, will conduct an emergency exercise Wednesday, June 7, a press release said.

“The public may observe emergency responders simulating response activities and performing environmental monitoring or sampling in the area surrounding the Oak Ridge Reservation,” the press release said. “These activities are part of the exercise.”

The exercise will begin at approximately 8 a.m. Wednesday and conclude around 4:30 p.m.

This event is one of a series of emergency exercises conducted regularly by the DOE facilities in Oak Ridge. The exercises test the ability of emergency personnel to respond quickly and effectively to emergency situations and ensure that the public, site employees, and the environment would be protected in the event of an actual emergency at the facilities.

deBeauclair named deputy manager at DOE Oak Ridge Office

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Geoffrey G. deBeauclair (Photo courtesy DOE)

Geoffrey G. deBeauclair (Photo courtesy DOE)

 

Geoffrey “Geoff” G. deBeauclair has been named deputy manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office/Integrated Support Center. The appointment was effective May 1, a press release said.

It’s one of DOE’s most diverse field locations, the press release said. As deputy manager, deBeauclair will help Oak Ridge Office Manager Ken Tarcza manage the Oak Ridge Integrated Support Center. That center provides critical mission support services locally and nationally in the areas of personnel, finance, budget, procurement, legal, security and emergency management, and employee health and safety, the press release said.

“He will also be responsible for advancing ORO’s responsibilities for management of the 32,000-acre Oak Ridge Reservation, which will include addressing cross-cutting issues and among major activities, including the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, East Tennessee Technology Park, and Y-12,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Pink lady’s slipper nature walk scheduled for Sunday, May 7

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A wildlife nature walk featuring observance of the pink lady’s slipper will be conducted from 1:30 until 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 7, on the Oak Ridge Reservation.

This is part of the spring nature walk series offered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and was rescheduled due to rain from a previous date.

Participants will meet at 1:30 p.m. at the North Boundary Greenway along Tennessee Highway 95 located east of the junction with Tennessee Highway 58. [Read more…]

Two spring nature walks remain on Oak Ridge Reservation

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Two more nature walks are scheduled this spring on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation.

They include frog calls and bat monitoring on Friday, May 19, and reptiles and amphibians inventory on Sunday, June 4.

Previous walks included wildflower walks on Saturday, April 15, and Sunday, April 23, and a bird walk on Saturday, April 29.

The May 19 frog calls and bat monitoring event runs from 8 until 10 p.m. as participants will visit some small impounded waterbodies along the Freels Bend causeway to learn how Oak Ridge National Laboratory personnel are monitoring local bat populations and how to identify local frog populations based on calls. Nikki Jones and Kitty McCracken will lead the group along a one-mile level dirt and gravel road. A reliable flashlight is recommended as the walk will occur after sunset, a press release said. The walk is limited to 25, and children are allowed.

[Read more…]

Site prep could start this year for mercury treatment plant at Y-12

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Y-12 Mercury Treatment Facility

The Mercury Treatment Facility that will be at the east end of Y-12 National Security Complex could start operating in 2022. (Image by David Brown/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

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

Site preparation could start later this year for the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex as the U.S. Department of Energy prepares for demolition and cleanup work at the nuclear weapons plant.

DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, expects to complete demolition and cleanup work at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, in 2020. It will then focus on the large-scale demolition work at Y-12.

Among the Y-12 buildings that could be demolished are Alpha 4, Alpha 5, and Beta 4, all large buildings where mercury, a toxic metal, was once used. The buildings used mercury to separate lithium for nuclear weapons. The lithium separation operations started in 1955 and ended in 1963.

But before that cleanup work can begin, OREM needs the Mercury Treatment Facility. The plant was first announced at a press conference featuring U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, about four years ago, in May 2013.

“This water treatment plant is a major step in addressing one of the biggest problems we have from the Cold War era—mercury once used to make nuclear weapons getting into our waterways,” Alexander said at the time. [Read more…]

USW, UCOR offer hazardous waste response training to local high school students

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Students from three Morgan County high schools receive certificates after completing 40-hour HAZWOPER training. Also pictured are Joseph Miller, Director of the Morgan County Career and Technical Center, and Sarah Seavers, counselor. (Photo by UCOR)

Students from three Morgan County high schools receive certificates after completing 40-hour HAZWOPER training. Also pictured are Joseph Miller, Director of the Morgan County Career and Technical Center, and Sarah Seavers, counselor. (Photo by UCOR)

 

Students from three Morgan County high schools are now trained in hazardous waste emergency response thanks to a 40-hour class offered by the United Steel Workers in partnership with URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, a press release said.

Participants in the class, commonly called HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response), were from Coalfield High School, Sunbright School, and Wartburg Central High School. Twenty students attended the training, which was held at the Morgan County Career and Technical Center in Wartburg from March 27 to April 3.

“We were very excited to participate with USW and UCOR to offer this hazardous waste training class,” said  Joseph Miller, director of the center. “As a result of this training, our students have earned a credential that will allow them to more easily transition from school to the work force.” [Read more…]

DOE’s public bus tour began in March, continues through November

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DOE Public Bus Tour

A U.S. Department of Energy public bus tour in August 2012. (File DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

Visitors see Oak Ridge’s past and present

The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2017 Oak Ridge facilities public bus tour began March 3 and continues through November 27. The tour offers visitors a first-hand look at the DOE’s Oak Ridge facilities and provides historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 70 years, a press release said.

The reservation-wide tour is a popular destination for tourists visiting the area, the release said. Since its inception in 1996, the DOE public tour program has attracted more than 40,000 visitors from all 50 states. The three-hour tour allows visitors to see the Oak Ridge Reservation and learn historical facts and updates on the world-class missions underway in Oak Ridge.

The bus tour itinerary includes: [Read more…]

Wildfire that burned 18 acres in west Oak Ridge is contained

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A wildfire burned about 18 acres of federal land in west Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon, March 25, 2017. The fire was on U.S. Department of Energy land south of Whippoorwill Drive and west of Wisconsin Avenue, in the area below (to the left of) the water tower pictured above. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A wildfire burned about 18 acres of federal land in west Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon, March 25, 2017. The fire was on the Oak Ridge Reservation, U.S. Department of Energy land, south of Whippoorwill Drive and west of Wisconsin Avenue, in the area below (to the left of) the water tower pictured above. Smoke from the fire is visible near the water tower. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A wildfire burned about 18 acres of federal land in west Oak Ridge on Saturday afternoon.

The fire was reported on the Oak Ridge Reservation, U.S. Department of Energy land, at about 12:27 p.m. Saturday. It was west of Wisconsin Avenue and south of Whippoorwill Drive.

Firefighters initially reported it as about a five-acre fire in a cut between two ridges, said Ray Burney, Oak Ridge Fire Department captain. There is a trail down there, Burney said.

The fire was below East Ridge Boundary Road near a water tower in west Oak Ridge. It emitted smoke that could be seen hanging over neighborhood streets and above the trees from several miles away.

At about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oak Ridge Fire Department crews were cutting fire lines with hand rakes, Burney said. To contain fires, firefighters rake down to the dirt in a containment line that is about three to four feet wide. [Read more…]

With transfer agreement signed, plans call for developing AMSE site, relocating museum, demolishing building

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american-museum-of-science-and-energy-front-3-jan-2-2017-web

The American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 3.

With a property transfer agreement signed, new businesses could be built on the 17 acres that now house the American Museum of Science and Energy, the museum will be relocated, and the AMSE building could be demolished, officials and a business executive said Friday.

The changes are allowed under an agreement approved by federal officials, unanimously approved by the Oak Ridge City Council in December, and signed by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch in a Friday morning ceremony at Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

The U.S. Department of Energy said the transfer of the museum property, owned by the federal government, will allow the City of Oak Ridge to “explore future innovative development and economic stimulus opportunities.”

“From the Manhattan Project of World War II to the cutting-edge materials research of today, Oak Ridge has long played a vital role in American science and security,” Moniz said. “This agreement will ensure that Oak Ridge’s history is preserved and shared while providing the city a new opportunity to create jobs and strengthen the local economy.”

When the transfer is completed, DOE public outreach and education missions that are now conducted at AMSE and focused on Oak Ridge history, science, and national security will continue in renovated space in a two-story building that once housed a Sears store next to JCPenney at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The former mall is being redeveloped as Main Street Oak Ridge.

DOE said the AMSE property transfer will save more than $2 million in deferred maintenance costs at the museum and greatly reduce operating expenses. [Read more…]

First year: More than 80,000 visit three Manhattan Project Park sites in 2016

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bill-wilcox-and-international-friendship-bell-scaled

The late Bill Wilcox by the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge. (Courtesy of Friends of the International Friendship Bell via Atomic Heritage Foundation)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m. Dec. 8.

More than 80,000 people have visited the three sites of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, according to a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.

Besides Oak Ridge, the park includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

In Oak Ridge, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park has a volunteer or ranger at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge when the museum is open. The park also has activities. For example, there is a program on secrecy, security, and spies at the Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse in west Oak Ridge on Saturday, December 17. And the park, in partnership with the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, will be featuring a Parks in Focus photography exhibit during the month of December. The photography exhibit is located in the Imagination Gallery at the museum located at 461 West Outer Drive.

Also, a virtual tour of the K-25 Building can be found at the new K-25 Virtual Museum website. And from March to November, admission to AMSE includes a three-hour bus tour of the Oak Ridge Reservation, including the X-10 Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, New Bethel Church at ORNL, the visitor overlook at the East Tennessee Technology Park (former home to the K-25 gaseous diffusion building), and Y-12 New Hope History Center. [Read more…]

DOE, National Park Service mark first year of Manhattan Project Park

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By U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management

The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Park Service have made considerable progress in their inaugural year managing the national park commemorating the Manhattan Project, according to DOE.

“Everyone involved with the park from DOE, the National Park Service, and our community partners has put a lot of work into the Manhattan Project National Historical Park over the past year and it shows,” DOE Office of Legacy Management Acting Director Thomas Pauling said in a November 30 newsletter called “EM Update.” “The Office of Legacy Management is excited to join the team, and we’re looking forward to contributing to its continuing success.”

Established on November 10, 2015, the park consists of facilities at three sites—Hanford, Washington; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico—that played key roles in the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The park tells the story of the people, events, science, and engineering that led to the creation of the atomic bomb, which helped end World War II. [Read more…]