Oak Ridge Today

DOE plans to demolish world’s oldest operating nuclear facility

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Building 3019, the oldest operating nuclear facility in the world, is pictured above at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

The U.S. Department of Energy plans to demolish the oldest operating nuclear facility in the world.

The cleanup and demolition of Building 3019 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could start sometime around 2030.

But the work won’t start until more than 500 canisters of uranium-233 stored in the building have been processed and removed, possibly by 2025.

More than 70 years old, Building 3019 was built during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. That was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs.

From 1943-1976, the building was used as a pilot plant to test radiochemical processes before they were used on a large scale at other nuclear facilities.

Now Building 3019 stores the nation’s inventory of uranium-233. Processing and removing that uranium is the top cleanup priority at ORNL because, among other things, storing the highly enriched fissile nuclear material increases security costs and creates nuclear safety issues. The cleanup work is being done by DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and its contractor Isotek.

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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.

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ORNL supercomputer used to identify drug compounds that could help fight coronavirus

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A compound, shown in gray, was calculated to bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, shown in cyan, to prevent it from docking to the Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2, or ACE2, receptor, shown in purple. (Image credit: Micholas Smith/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

Note: This story was last updated at 10:55 a.m.

The Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been used to identify drug compounds, including medications and natural compounds, that could help fight coronavirus, although more study is needed.

“The researchers used Summit, the world’s most powerful and smartest supercomputer, to identify 77 small-molecule drug compounds that might warrant further study in the fight against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which is responsible for the COVID-19 disease outbreak,” ORNL said in a response to questions Wednesday.

The researchers performed simulations on Summit of more than 8,000 compounds to screen for those that are most likely to bind to the main “spike” protein of the coronavirus, rendering it unable to infect host cells. They ranked compounds of interest that could have value in experimental studies of the virus. They published their results on “ChemRxiv.”

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Fusion research: ORNL chosen for plasma materials experiment facility

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Scientists use a laser to align the plasma created at the Proto-MPEX (Materials Plasma Exposure Experiment) machine at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo credit: Ted Biewer/ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been chosen as the site of an experimental facility to test materials that would withstand the harsh conditions of the plasmas created in fusion devices, which, researchers hope, could eventually provide carbon-free energy to people around the world.

The proposed facility, the Materials Plasma Exposure Experiment facility, or MPEX, has an estimated cost range between $87 million and $175 million. It would be in an existing facility in an area at ORNL known as the Energy Systems Test Complex.

Fusion devices would use the same reactions that power the sun. Temperatures inside a fusion reactor could reach millions of degrees.

Scientists are studying materials that could withstand the conditions inside fusion reactors by exposing them to prototypical plasma conditions. Plasma, the heated matter created in a fusion device, has high-energy neutrons, electrons, and ions. MPEX would study materials that face the plasma. Finding materials capable of withstanding the harsh environment remains a major hurdle to using fusion to produce energy.

A critical decision for the MPEX facility was completed in early February by the U.S. Department of Energy. ORNL is a DOE Office of Science lab. The critical decision, CD-1, is the second step in the five-step process that DOE uses to manage projects. The CD-1 decision included an alternative selection and a cost range.

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ORNL involved in early research on coronavirus

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory is involved in early research and using the Summit supercomputer to better understand components of the coronavirus. (Photo credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is involved in early research and using the Summit supercomputer to better understand components of the new coronavirus, which was first reported in China but is now being reported in a growing number of countries across the world, including the United States.

The early research at ORNL uses computational modeling and data analysis techniques on Summit, the world’s most powerful supercomputer. Results are not published yet, ORNL said Friday afternoon.

Oak Ridge Today has requested more information about the lab’s research, including who the work is for and what parts of the virus are being researched, but that information wasn’t immediately available.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is closely monitoring the outbreak of respiratory illnesses caused by the new coronavirus, and there are ongoing investigations to learn more.

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ORISE to host virtual career fair for ORNL internships, fellowships, research associates

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Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education will host a virtual career fair on Thursday, February 20, from noon to 3 p.m. Eastern time to highlight the paid internships, fellowships, and research associate programs available to college students and recent graduates at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

During this time, attendees can interact with ORNL scientists, researchers, recruiters, and staff, as well as ORISE program representatives. They also can learn more about the different directorates, or major focus areas, that make up ORNL, such as Computing and Computational Sciences, Energy and Environmental Sciences, Neutron Sciences, Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Physical Sciences.

“The ORISE Virtual Career Fair provides a unique and exciting opportunity for university-level students and postgraduates to investigate internships, fellowships, and research associate programs available at Oak Ridge National Laboratory,” said ORISE Workforce Development Director Craig Layman. “Representatives from ORNL and ORISE will be on hand to chat with the virtual attendees.” [Read more…]

Roane State graduate doing climate change research at ORNL

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Rachel Andrews, a graduate of Roane State, is shown in an Oak Ridge National Laboratory lab getting serum bottles ready for an incubation experiment. (Photo courtesy Lynn Freeny/U.S. Department of Energy)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

A recent Roane State Community College graduate is researching climate change and the microorganisms that contribute to it.

Rachel Andrews, a Morgan County resident who graduated from the community college in May 2019, is an intern at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She’s doing research with Christopher Schadt in the Biosciences Division at the lab.

They are investigating methane production in peat, which is formed by the partial decomposition of plants in wet, acidic conditions of bogs. Scientists say methane gas is one of the major contributors to a warming planet.

“We study the methanogens that live in peatland soil,” Andrews said in an emailed response to questions about her research. She said these microorganisms produce quite a bit of methane and carbon dioxide, also identified as a culprit in climate change.

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Volkswagen, UT, ORNL announce collaboration, innovation hub

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Volkswagen Group America Innovation North University Tennessee Research Park
Volkswagen Group of America will lease space in the Innovation North building on the UT Research Park campus. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

Volkswagen Group of America, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee on Friday announced a collaboration to create Volkswagen’s first innovation hub in North America at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm.

“Working with the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a great opportunity to continue growing Volkswagen’s engineering footprint in the North American region,” said Wolfgang Demmelbauer-Ebner, executive vice president and chief engineering officer for Volkswagen’s North American region. “This hub, along with other research institutions here, is an integral part of Volkswagen’s global research and development efforts and can also directly contribute to vehicles in North America.”

The collaboration involves research opportunities for doctoral students and space in the Innovation North building at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm in Knoxville, a press release said. Initial work will focus on developing lighter vehicle components made from composite materials and the electrification of vehicles.

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Humphries named ORISE group manager for ORNL office

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Leigha Humphries
Leigha Humphries

Leigha Humphries has been named group manager for the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

In her role, Humphries will provide leadership and development oversight for STEM-based workforce development and education programs averaging up to 2,000 research participants a year and an equal number of mentors, a press release said. (STEM is an acronym referring to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.) In addition, Humphries will also represent ORISE at external venues, including professional meetings and site visits with potential and current customers.

“We’re excited for Leigha to take on this role as she possesses extensive management and stakeholder engagement experience within the communications and human resources sectors,” said ORISE Director Jim Vosburg. “Her addition to the ORISE team will further strengthen the management of our research participation programs by helping to ensure continuity between ORNL and ORISE.”

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About 600 experiments affected by HFIR shutdown

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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)

About 600 experiments and roughly 500 users were affected by the nearly year-long shutdown of the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the lab said Thursday.

HFIR, which is used for research and isotope production, restarted October 29, 2019. It had been shut down since November 13, 2018, after an elevated radiation level was detected in the reactor’s primary cooling system.

Reactors users who had approved proposals when HFIR was shut down have been running those experiments since it restarted in the fall, according to a response to questions provided by ORNL spokesperson Morgan McCorkle on Thursday. The backlog is expected to be completed by the spring.

The shutdown did not affect the production of plutonium-238, but it did delay the production and distribution of some medical and industrial isotopes, the lab’s response said.

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For members: DOE investigating fuel element performance after elevated radiation found at HFIR

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The High Flux Isotope Reactor is pictured above at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

The U.S. Department of Energy is investigating fuel element performance in the High Flux Isotope Reactor, which is used for research and isotope production at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, after elevated radiation levels were found in the cooling system last year, possibly due to a pinhole leak.

The investigation of potential noncompliances with DOE nuclear safety program requirements was announced this month by the DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments’ Office of Enforcement. The office notified UT-Battelle LLC, ORNL’s managing and operating contractor, and BWXT Nuclear Operations Group Inc. of Lynchburg, Virginia, on December 5. BWXT manufactured components that were involved.

High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The High Flux Isotope Reactor is pictured above at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy is investigating fuel element performance in the High Flux Isotope Reactor, which is used for research and isotope production at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, after elevated radiation levels were found in the cooling system last year, possibly due to a pinhole leak.

The investigation of potential noncompliances with DOE nuclear safety program requirements was announced this month by the DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments’ Office of Enforcement. The office notified UT-Battelle LLC, ORNL’s managing and operating contractor, and BWXT Nuclear Operations Group Inc. of Lynchburg, Virginia, on December 5. BWXT manufactured components that were involved.

ORNL has said the slightly elevated reading in the primary cooling system was well below alarm levels, and there was no impact to the public, the environment, or workers, and the reactor was not damaged or compromised.

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Updated: TerraPower, Isotek extracting cancer treatment materials from U-233 at ORNL

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DOE EM ORNL Pumping Uranyl Nitrate Solution into Resin Columns
TerraPower, a company that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates helped launch in 2006, is working with Isotek Systems LLC, a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, to extract rare isotopes from nuclear materials for cancer treatment and research. Pictured above is a uranyl nitrate solution being pumped into resin columns. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

Note: This story was last updated at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 25.

A company that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates helped launch in 2006 is working with a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge to extract rare isotopes from nuclear materials for cancer treatment research.

The project will significantly increase the number of cancer treatment doses available each year, federal officials and company executives said Friday. It will help remove highly enriched fissile nuclear material from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and save taxpayers an estimated $90 million, the officials and executives said. And it will recycle an isotope that would otherwise be “irretrievably lost” as the nuclear material, uranium-233, is converted into a disposal-ready form.

The U.S. Department of Energy, Isotek Systems LLC, and TerraPower celebrated with an announcement of the project in Oak Ridge on Friday morning.

TerraPower, which is based in Bellevue, Washington, where Gates is chairman, is particularly interested in actinium-225. That isotope can be extracted from thorium-229. The thorium will be removed from the fissile material, the uranium-233 stored at ORNL, by the federal cleanup contractor, Isotek.

The unique agreement, a public-private partnership, is expected to allow TerraPower the ability to make 100 times more actinium-225-based cancer treatment doses per year than the 4,000 doses that are currently available worldwide. TerraPower could first offer actinium-225 in late 2020, company executives said.

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