Oak Ridge Today

Brian Henry named portfolio federal project director for Y-12 cleanup

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Brian Henry (DOE photo by Lynn Freeny)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, has named Brian Henry as its new portfolio federal project director for cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Henry will replace Laura Wilkerson, who is now director of the Planning and Execution Division, where she oversees the portfolio cleanup directors at Y-12, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and East Tennessee Technology Park. Henry will report to Wilkerson.

As the portfolio federal project director, Henry oversees all of the planning and execution for Y-12’s current and upcoming cleanup projects, including all decontamination, demolition, and disposal operations, a press release said. In this role, he is also leading preparations for the Mercury Treatment Facility and the Environmental Management Disposal Facility, two of OREM’s largest and most vital near-term capital projects. [Read more…]

Cange to move to DC to serve in interim DOE Environmental Management job

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Sue Cange, manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, is pictured above at the end of demolition of the K-27 Building on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2:30 p.m.

Sue Cange will be moving at least temporarily to Washington, D.C., to become interim principal deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management. She will be temporarily serving in the role formerly filled by Mark Whitney, who has taken a job in the private sector.

Whitney is a former manager of the Environmental Management program in Oak Ridge. He has been appointed chief operating officer of AECOM’s nuclear and environment strategic business unit. He worked for DOE for 11 years and served in both the Environmental Management office and the National Nuclear Security Administration, AECOM said in a press release.

Cange is expected to move in the next few weeks, sometime in October, said Ben Williams, DOE spokesperson for the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. [Read more…]

Local environmental board meets with federal, state agencies to discuss cleanup mission

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The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board holds its annual planning meeting in August 2016 with U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. (Submitted photo)

 

In August, members of a citizen’s advisory board met with representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to consider key issues for Oak Ridge Reservation cleanup in fiscal year 2017, which begins in October.

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board held its 2016 Annual Planning Meeting in Townsend, Tennessee, on August 6. The Saturday meeting brought together members of the Oak Ridge board, leadership from DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or OREM, and liaisons from federal and state regulatory agencies to review cleanup accomplishments in FY 2016 and discuss priorities for FY 2017.

ORSSAB is a federally chartered citizens’ panel that provides recommendations to OREM on its environmental management activities at DOE sites locally. OREM encourages public participation in federal projects and meets regularly with the Oak Ridge board, as well as with other citizen and stakeholder groups within the community to gather public perspectives regarding a diverse cleanup mission that addresses legacy nuclear waste at sites across the Oak Ridge Reservation through numerous activities, including waste disposition, long-term stewardship, and site restoration. [Read more…]

Dover Development wins national preservation award for Alexander Inn

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Alexander Guest House Front Entrance Sept. 23, 2015

The front entrance is pictured above at the Alexander Guest House, which converted the historic but long-vacant Alexander Inn hotel into a beautifully restored assisted living center. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Rick Dover and Dover Development of Knoxville have won a national preservation award for their work to convert the historic Alexander Inn, a dilapidated, vacant two-story hotel in Oak Ridge, into the Alexander Guest House, a beautifully restored assisted living center.

Knox Heritage, which played a key role in the project, announced the award on Friday. Also playing a key role was the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance.

Dover Development won the Chairman’s Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, or ACHP, a press release said. Members of the ACHP are appointed by the president of the United States.

It’s one of the highest awards given for historic preservation, the press release said. [Read more…]

Munger, retiring DOE reporter for the News Sentinel, receives Muddy Boot Award

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Frank Munger and Jim Campbell Muddy Boot Award

Frank Munger, right, the U.S. Department of Energy reporter for the Knoxville News Sentinel, received a Muddy Boot Award from the East Tennessee Economic Council on Wednesday, June 29, 2016. Munger, who is considered by many to be the best in the field, is retiring Thursday, June 30, after covering DOE for 35 years for the News Sentinel. Also pictured above is ETEC President Jim Campbell. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

 

Frank Munger, U.S. Department of Energy reporter for the Knoxville News Sentinel, received a Muddy Boot Award from the East Tennessee Economic Council during a retirement celebration on Wednesday.

Munger is retiring today (June 30) after 35 years covering DOE for the News Sentinel. Many consider him to be the best DOE reporter in the DOE complex. It’s not clear if he will be replaced. Some have said he is irreplaceable.

Among those who praised Munger’s work and “shoe-leather” journalism on Wednesday, even if DOE wasn’t always pleased with his stories, were current and former DOE and contractor officials Gerald Boyd, Sue Cange, Dave Keim, Thom Mason, Billy Stair, and Jim Alexander. They recalled humorous moments; his pocket-sized voice recorder, which he was carrying Wednesday; the occasional arguments; and his ability to translate stories about complex subjects such as the Spallation Neutron Source into language that people without scientific training could understand. They also presented Munger with mementos, including a framed collection of photos from Oak Ridge National Laboratory showing Munger at work over the years, reporting at the lab.

“I can say without reservation that you were always accurate and fair in your reporting—mostly,” said Boyd, a former DOE Oak Ridge Office manager who was unable to attend but delivered his message through a sometimes-humorous letter to Munger. “You always tried to tell all sides of each story, and we all appreciated that even when the story was hard to accept. Your studied approach to reporting on things DOE Oak Ridge always kept the important issues visible and in the forefront, forcing us to have to deal with them. I believe that made us a better operation. In particular, your in-depth articles on various Oak Ridge programs, projects, and activities were excellent tutorials for the general public and helped us explain the value of the Oak Ridge missions. We will miss that.” [Read more…]

AC students team up with veterinarian, dogs to study, protect state reptile

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CRESO and DOE OREM Turtle Hunt with Boykin Spaniels 1

Pictured above at right is John Byrd, director and co-founder of the Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization, or CRESO. At center is Dr. Matt Allender, DVM (zoo veterinarian from University of Illinois). He operates the Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory, or W.E.L. They worked with Boykin Spaniels and Anderson County middle and high school students to collect information about the state’s reptile, the Eastern Box Turtle, at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. (DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

Anderson County middle and high school students contributed to long-term ecological field studies at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, using Boykin Spaniels to help a veterinarian and an education and research program collect information about the state’s reptile, the Eastern Box Turtle.

The Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization, or CRESO, is leading the “turtle hunts” with the students this week, from June 27-30 in Oak Ridge. More than 20 students will participate in the program and experience hands-on field research, a press release said.

Collecting information about box turtles is a priority for CRESO to learn how local human activity is affecting their health and habitat, the press release said.

The Boykin Spaniels involved in the turtle hunt are a dog breed that has an uncanny ability to sniff out turtles. Boykins can swiftly find four to 12 turtles in an hour compared to the human ability of finding one every four hours. The Boykin’s soft mouth and calm, easy temperament ensures the turtles are not harmed. [Read more…]

Environmental assessment for Oak Ridge airport finds no significant impact

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Oak Ridge Airport Development Plan

The Heritage Center airport development plan is pictured above in a file image from August 2015. (Cropped image from DOE Draft Environmental Assessment)

 

An environmental assessment has been completed for the transfer of 170 acres at Heritage Center for a general aviation airport in west Oak Ridge, and the assessment found no significant impact, officials said Tuesday.

The assessment was completed by the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. The land would be transferred to the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority.

In August, officials said conditions are subject to change, but plans then called for starting construction on the airport at the former K-25 site in 2018. An estimate at that time said the airport could cost between $30 million and $40 million.

The airport would have a 5,000-foot runway that would accommodate general aviation aircraft including corporate jets, private airplanes, and emergency medical services aircraft. A development plan shows the airport at the south side of Heritage Center along Oak Ridge Turnpike, or State Route 58. [Read more…]

Demolition starts on last of big five uranium-enriching buildings at K-25

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A high-reach machine is used to start demolishing the four-story, 10-acre K-27 Building on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. K-27 is the last of the big five uranium-enriching buildings at the former K-25 site, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Demolition started Monday on K-27, the last of the big five uranium-enriching buildings at the former K-25 site, and officials expect the work to be complete by the end of the year.

The five buildings—K-25, K-27, K-29, K-31, and K-33—once used a process called gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Officials credit them for helping to win World War II and end the Cold War, and for playing significant roles in technological developments and the nuclear industry.

The K-25 site, which is now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center, was built during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first nuclear weapons. The site is now slowly being converted into a large industrial park.

“The majority of the property will be reused,” said Ken Rueter, president and project manager for UCOR, or URS |CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Demolition could start this year on K-27, last of five gaseous diffusion buildings

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The interior of the K-27 Building, which once enriched uranium through a process called gaseous diffusion, is pictured above on March 30, 2015. (DOE photo by Lynn Freeny)

 

Information from Oak Ridge Today and the January 2016 issue of “Advocate,” a publication of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board

Demolition work could start early this year on the K-27 Building, the last of five gaseous diffusion buildings at the former K-25 site, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center. The giant buildings were once used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants, starting during World War II and continuing through the Cold War.

Deactivation work continues at the K-27 Building, preparing it for demolition. At the beginning of December, deactivation of the building was more than 96 percent complete. Workers continue to remove transite paneling on the building, but that job is 80 percent complete.

Sue Cange, manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, has previously said that demolition work could start on the building in early 2016 and be complete by the end of the year.

Demolition work on the former K-31 Building, the fourth of the five buildings to be demolished, was completed in June. [Read more…]

DOE launches K-25 Virtual Museum, helps preserve history of Manhattan Project site

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Photo from K-25 Virtual Museum/U.S. Department of Energy

 

Information from the January 2016 issue of “Advocate,” a publication of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board

A new virtual museum helps preserve the history of the former K-25 site, which was built in west Oak Ridge to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II and once had the world’s largest building under one roof.

The K-25 Virtual Museum was launched in November by the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) as part of a memorandum of agreement for the interpretation of the historic site now known as East Tennessee Technology Park, or ETTP.

The debut of the online museum coincided with the November 10 signing of an agreement between the Department of Energy and the Department of Interior establishing the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal effort to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

The K-25 Virtual Museum can be viewed at http://www.k-25virtualmuseum.org/.

[Read more…]

Radioactive components removed from former reactor at ORNL

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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…]

DOE, TDEC, scientist to discuss environmental management at Sept. 22 seminar

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Sue Cange

Sue Cange

A scientist and speakers from the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will discuss environmental management during a September 22 seminar. It’s the second of three new Community School seminars.

The September 22 seminar will feature Susan Cange, manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management; Ellen Smith, environmental scientist and Oak Ridge City Council member; and Chris Thompson, deputy director of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 22, at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Cange will introduce the DOE Environmental Management program, a press release said. Smith will present on the contaminants released and left behind from the federal government activities in Oak Ridge. Thompson will provide an overview of the monitoring of DOE’s activities in the Oak Ridge Reservation relative to public safety and the environment. [Read more…]