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Demolition work at ORNL radioisotope lab could be complete this spring

Posted at 8:59 am April 22, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A view of the demolition of a hot cell inside a protective cover at the former Radioisotope Development Lab at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy UCOR)

Demolition work at a former radioisotope laboratory in Oak Ridge could be complete this spring.

The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and UCOR announced earlier this year that UCOR, a contractor, had begun removing the two remaining structures at the former Radioisotope Development Lab at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“This project launches our next phase of major demolition and cleanup at ORNL,” said Nathan Felosi, OREM’s portfolio federal project director for ORNL. “Our work is eliminating contaminated structures, like this one, that are on DOE’s list of high-risk facilities and clearing space for future research missions.”

Known as “hot cells,” the structures being demolished are heavily shielded concrete rooms that provided researchers protection from highly radioactive material during the years the laboratory was operational, a press release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, ORNL, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: demolition, Graphite Reactor, Manhattan Project, Nathan Felosi, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, ORNL, Radioisotope Development Lab, radioisotope laboratory, radioisotopes, Susan Reid, U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, UCOR

Name of new element, tennessine, recognizes state’s contributions, including at ORNL

Posted at 2:53 pm November 30, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

tennessine-logo-final

The recently discovered element 117 has been officially named “tennessine” in recognition of Tennessee’s contributions to its discovery, including the efforts of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its Tennessee collaborators at Vanderbilt University and the University of Tennessee.

“The presence of tennessine on the Periodic Table is an affirmation of our state’s standing in the international scientific community, including the facilities ORNL provides to that community as well as the knowledge and expertise of the laboratory’s scientists and technicians,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said in a press release.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, or IUPAC, gave its final approval to the name “tennessine” following a year-long process that began December 30, 2015, when IUPAC and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics announced verification of the existence of the superheavy element 117. That was more than five years after scientists first reported its discovery in April 2010.

IUPAC validates the existence of newly discovered elements and approves their official names.

ORNL had several roles in the discovery, the most prominent being production of the radioisotope berkelium-249 for the search. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: berkelium-249, calcium-48, DOE, element 117, halogen, High Flux Isotope Reactor, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, island of stability, Isotope Program, IUPAC, Jim Roberto, JINR, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, neutron scattering, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, periodic table, Radiochemical Engineering Development Center, radioisotopes, Russia, superheavy element, Tennessine, Thom Mason, Ts, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, Yuri Oganessian

Report: Medical isotope company plans to build manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge

Posted at 9:51 pm October 9, 2016
By John Huotari 3 Comments

heritage-center

A building at the entrance of Heritage Center is pictured above. (Photo by CROET)

Note: This story was updated at 8:45 a.m. Oct. 10.

A Florida newspaper reported on Wednesday that a medical isotope company will build a manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, rather than relocating to a city in north Florida.

Coquí RadioPharmaceutical had planned to build a $250 million manufacturing facility in Alachua, which is near Gainesville, with 164 jobs paying an average of $75,000, the Gainesville Sun reported.

But the company announced Wednesday that it will instead build its facility in Oak Ridge, lured by a gift of 170 acres from the U.S. Department of Energy and the opportunity to work with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a DOE lab, the newspaper said.

On Saturday, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said he is aware of the company, and it is working with the state of Tennessee. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alachua Countu, Alchua, Carmen Bigles, City of Oak Ridge, Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, Coqui RadioPharmaceutical, East Tennessee Technology Park, Florida, Gainesville Sun, Gresham Smith and Partners, Heritage Center, Kevin Tillbury, Mark Watson, medical diagnostic and therapeutic radioisotopes, medical isotope, medical radioisotopes, Mo-99, molybdenum-99, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, radioisotopes, Roane Alliance, Tennessee, Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Florida Foundation, Warren Gooch

Nevada, feds agree to discuss landfill concerns, including ORNL radioactive waste

Posted at 1:54 pm December 29, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ORNL CEUSP Waste Shipping

Workers train to remove a type of shipping cask that would be used to transport 403 canisters of uranium-tainted waste from Oak Ridge National Laboratory to Nevada National Security Site northwest of Las Vegas. (Photos courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Office of Environmental Management)

 

A new group of state and federal workers that was announced Tuesday could discuss contentious waste-related issues that include concerns over shipping low-level radioactive waste from a World War II-era building in Oak Ridge to a federal landfill in Nevada.

The new group, which will include senior-level state and federal employees, was announced in a six-page agreement, a memorandum of understanding signed last week by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval.

The talks started more than a year ago, after Sandoval sent a letter to Moniz expressing concerns over the proposed disposal of the radioactive waste at the Nevada National Security Site, a former nuclear weapons proving ground about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

CEUSP Canister

At left is an actual 24-inch steel canister. At right is a representation of the canister interior.

The waste contains radioisotopes of uranium from the Consolidated Edison Uranium Solidification Project. It originated from a 1960s research and development test of thorium and uranium reactor fuel in New York. It is stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Building 3019—the oldest continuously operating nuclear facility in the Department of Energy complex—in 403 ceramic-like uranium oxide monoliths. Each of the monoliths is bonded to the inside of a steel canister about 3.5 inches in diameter and about two feet long. [Read more…]

Filed Under: National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada National Security Site, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Area 5, Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site, Brian Sandoval, Building 3019, burial, CEUSP, Consolidated Edison Indian Point-1, Consolidated Edison Uranium Solidification Project, Darwin Morgan, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, DOE, Energy Department, Ernest Moniz, landifll, Las Vegas, LLW, low-level radioactive waste, Mark Whitney, memorandum of understanding, National Environmental Policy Act, Nevada, Nevada National Security Site, NNSS, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Environmental Management, Office of Secure Transportation, ORNL, radioactive waste, radioisotopes, U.S. Department of Energy, uranium, uranium oxide

DOE responds to advisory board recommendation
 on groundwater studies

Posted at 10:05 pm August 27, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has responded to a recommendation made earlier this year by the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board.

In May, the federally appointed citizens’ panel recommended that DOE conduct additional groundwater studies to address any potential offsite migration of chemicals or radioisotopes from DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation. The recommendation focuses on developing information that fosters a better understanding of potential impacts of groundwater contamination related to risk mitigation, groundwater remediation, and long-term stewardship.

In 2013, DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation held a series of workshops to prioritize groundwater pathways on the ORR. Together the agencies created a groundwater strategy document that described the potential for releases from waste disposal sites and storage areas. The document also prioritized known groundwater plumes, concentration of contaminants, contaminants of concern, and potential health risks. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge Office, Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: chemicals, contaminants, DOE, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, groundwater contamination, groundwater plumes, groundwater remediation, groundwater strategy document, groundwater studies, health risk, long-term stewardship, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board, offsite groundwater migration studies, offsite mirgation, ORR, ORSSAB, radioisotopes, risk mitigation, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, U.S. Department of Energy, well network, wells

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