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Radioactive components removed from former reactor at ORNL

Posted at 1:17 pm September 28, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Group Photo Radioactive Components Reactor Pool

Federal and contractor employees who worked on the project to remove irradiated components from a reactor pool gather to watch the transport of the shipment offsite for disposition. (Photo courtesy DOE Office of EM)

 

Water was found seeping from a pool at a former reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory one year ago, and in August, workers removed four irradiated components from the pool that produced about 96 percent of the radiation, federal officials said Thursday.

The four irradiated components weigh about 200 pounds each, said the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management, or EM.

Water was found seeping from the reactor pool at the Oak Ridge Research Reactor during a routine inspection in September 2014. The facility, also known as Building 3042, is one of hundreds of Manhattan Project and Cold War-ear structures across the Oak Ridge Reservation monitored by the Oak Ridge Office of EM.

Nuclear research had not been conducted at the facility since 1988, but it still contained the highly irradiated components from those operations. The leak was causing the pool to lose the water that served as a protective, shielding agent for the irradiated components, officials said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: AREVA, EM, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Oak Ridge Research Reactor, Oak Ridge Reservation, Office of Environmental Management, reactor, Sue Cange, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR

TVA: Watts Bar Unit 2 more than 90 percent complete, key milestones ahead

Posted at 3:59 pm August 12, 2014
By Tennessee Valley Authority Leave a Comment

Watts Bar Unit 2 Nuclear Reactor Vessel

The core barrel being lowered into the Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear reactor vessel. The core barrel is over 33 feet tall and weighs 282,000 pounds and will hold 193 nuclear fuel assemblies. Once operational by the end of 2015, Watts Bar Unit 2 will produce approximately 1,150 megawatts of carbon free electricity, enough for 650,000 homes. (Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Authority)

 

SPRING CITY—The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant’s Unit 2 reactor is more than 90 percent complete and moving through key testing to become the nation’s first new nuclear generation of the 21st century.

In the eighth quarterly report since TVA revised its estimate to complete the project, TVA said Monday that Watts Bar Unit 2 continues to meet safety and quality targets and remains on schedule and within budget to become the first U.S. reactor to generate “new” power in nearly two decades, and the first since Watts Bar Unit 1 in 1996.

Watts Bar Unit 2 is projected to begin commercial operation between September 2015 and June 2016, with a most likely date by December 2015. The project has a projected completion cost between $4 billion and $4.5 billion, with a most likely target of $4.2 billion.

Testing of individual and combined plant systems is under way, TVA said in the latest quarterly update, covering February to April 2014. The first major system test, called open vessel testing, began ahead of schedule during the period and was completed earlier this summer. OVT involves pumping water into the reactor vessel through systems used when shutting down the reactor and in support of nuclear operations. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: Mike Skaggs, NRC, nuclear generation, nuclear operations, nuclear plant, nuclear power, quarterly update, reactor, reactor containment, reactor vessel, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Unit 2, Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Watts Bar Unit 2

UT receives DOE funds, ORNL help for spent nuclear fuel studies

Posted at 10:05 am September 26, 2013
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

KNOXVILLE—The question of what to do with spent nuclear fuel in the U.S. has never been definitively answered. A University of Tennessee in Knoxville professor has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop new capabilities for evaluating potential alternatives to directly disposing of used fuel.

The award is part of the DOE’s 2013 Nuclear Energy University Programs which is awarding $42 million to 38 American universities and colleges for nuclear energy research and development projects focused on developing innovative solutions.

A proposal by Steven Skutnik, assistant professor in nuclear engineering, was awarded $755,000 to develop new capabilities for a fuel cycle simulator called CYCLUS by building on an Oak Ridge National Laboratory software package for nuclear fuel modeling called ORIGEN. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: CYCLUS, flexible reactor analysis module, National Nuclear Laboratory, NEUP, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Energy University Programs, nuclear engineering, nuclear fuel, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORIGEN, ORNL, reactor, research and development, software, spent nuclear fuel, Steven Skutnik, University of Tennessee, used fuel, UT, waste, Yucca Mountain

ORNL starts new six-year californium-252 production contract

Posted at 1:50 pm March 2, 2013
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory—home of one of only two reactor facilities in the world capable of producing californium-252 (Cf-252)—has begun implementing a new six-year contract between the U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program and industry to make this unique and versatile radioisotope.

The new contract follows the successful completion of a four-year Cf-252 program under an agreement with a consortium of industries that use the neutron-emitting radioisotope for a number of applications that focus mostly on analysis, detection, and nuclear energy.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories Tagged With: californium-252, cf-252, HFIR, High Flux Isotope Reactor, industry, Isotope Program, Julie Ezold, neutron emissions, neutron source, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Science, ORNL, radioisotope, reactor, U.S. Department of Energy

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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