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Glenwood, JMS, RMS receive STEM grants

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Three Oak Ridge schools—Glenwood Elementary, Jefferson Middle, and Robertsville Middle—recently learned they had been awarded grants for projects involving science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM. The grants were for $5,000 and $10,000.

Glenwood Elementary School received a grant for $5,000 to fund a project titled, “Engineering a Brighter Future.” That’s a hands-on initiative to engage students in STEM-based learning focused on careers of the future.

This competitive grant came from a program sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority that provides teachers an opportunity to apply for funding up to $5,000. Preference was given to grant applications that explored TVA’s primary areas of focus: environment, energy, economic and career development, and community problem solving.

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TVA, law enforcement investigating suspicious package on Norris Dam

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Norris Dam is pictured above on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. (Photo by Tennessee Valley Authority)

Tennessee Valley Authority Police and local law enforcement officers are investigating a suspicious package found on Norris Dam on Thursday.

TVA Police responded to Norris Dam to investigate the suspicious package at about 3 p.m. Thursday. When they arrived, officers found an abandoned package on top of the dam.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the highway was closed, and mutual aid was requested from the Knox County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad,” TVA said in a statement. “The bomb squad responded and determined that the package was not a threat to the dam nor the public. The highway crossing the dam was then reopened (9 p.m.). TVA Police and local law enforcement agencies will continue to follow up on this matter.”

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NRC will issue early site permit for TVA Clinch River site

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TVA Clinch River Site
The Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge is pictured above. The road running from bottom to top on the right (east) side of the Clinch River connects to Bear Creek Road in southwest Oak Ridge. Highway 58 is off to the top left of the photo and the Heritage Center is to the north. (Photo courtesy TVA)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Tuesday that it will issue an early site permit to the Tennessee Valley Authority for the Clinch River site in west Oak Ridge, where small modular nuclear reactors could eventually be built.

The early site permit closes several site-related issues, including many related to environmental impacts, for small modular reactors at the site, the NRC said in a press release Tuesday.

The Commission authorized the agency’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to issue the permit following a hearing on August 14. The Commission found the staff’s review of TVA’s application to be adequate to make the necessary regulatory safety and environmental findings, the press release said.

The early site permit, which will be valid for up to 20 years, is expected to be issued in the next few days.

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TVA says Claxton material that caused concern is consistent with soil

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Note: This story was last updated at 4:50 p.m.

The Tennessee Valley Authority said Thursday that the material that caused concern in Claxton, near the Bull Run Fossil Plant, is consistent with surface soil.

The material had reportedly fallen on vehicles, houses, mailboxes, and driveways in Claxton near Bull Run, a coal-fired TVA power plant. That raised concerns that the material might be coming from Bull Run.

On Thursday, TVA said it collected 11 samples and received three samples from a home owner and sent them to an independent laboratory for testing. That was in response to the concerns about the airborne materials found on vehicles and property around Bull Run, TVA said.

“Results show the material is not coming from air emissions at Bull Run and is consistent with surface soil in the area,” TVA said. “TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation) also sampled material at several locations, and their results affirm that the material is consistent with surface soil.”

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TDEC: Most material tested in Claxton, after residents expressed concern, was soil

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Note: This story was last updated at 4:50 p.m.

The vast majority of the material tested in Claxton, after residents raised concerns about an unidentified substance falling around the Bull Run Fossil Plant, was soil, a state official said Thursday.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said it sampled material in the area, and TDEC Deputy Communications Director Kim Schofinski released a short statement Thursday.

“TDEC takes the concerns of citizens very seriously, and in response to their direct requests, we independently conducted sampling of the material in the area,” the statement said. “We also reviewed lab results from samples taken by TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) and citizens…All results indicated the vast majority of the material was soil. As it relates to coal ash, sampling results ranged from non-detectable amounts, amounts too low to quantify, or trace amounts.

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TVA creating community group for Bull Run Fossil Plant, looking for volunteers

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority is seeking volunteers as it creates a Community Action Group for the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton.

The volunteers could focus on issues related to TVA’s management of the plant, an email notice said.

“TVA is committed to doing the right thing to handle the legacy of coal generation and ensuring the safety of the workforce and the communities where TVA has or had fossil plants,” the notice said. “As part of its commitment to safety and best practices to protect its workers and local residents, TVA is creating a Community Action Group for the facility (Bull Run).”

According to the notice, the core responsibilities of this volunteer group will be to:

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NRC could finish design review of small reactor by 2020

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Cross-sectional view of the NuScale Power small modular reactor building. (Image courtesy NuScale Power)

NuScale Power of Portland, Oregon, said Monday that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed the second and third phases of its review of NuScale’s design for a small modular nuclear reactor, and the NRC is on track to complete the design review by September 2020.

This could be important to Oak Ridge because small modular reactors are possible at the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge, although there are additional approvals that would be required.

The completion of the second and third phases of the NuScale design review is six weeks ahead of schedule, the company said in a press release on Monday.

“Completing phases 2 and 3 of the NRC’s design review certification process is a critical milestone for our company and the advanced nuclear industry,” said NuScale Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins.

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TVA has open houses about Bull Run Fossil Plant this week

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority will have two open houses next week to discuss the future of the Bull Run Fossil Plant, a coal-burning power plant in Claxton that is scheduled to close in about four years.

One open house will be in Oak Ridge, and the other will be in Claxton. Both are open to the public.

The first open house is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, at the YWCA at 1660 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The second is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 15, at Claxton Elementary School at 2218 Clinton Highway.

“This will be an open house format, where the public can interact with TVA staff and experts on the various activities at Bull Run, including the future of coal combustion residuals at the site,” TVA said in an announcement.

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NRC has hearing on Oak Ridge site that could host small nuclear reactors

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Image by the NRC from the April 2019 “Reader’s Guide” for the “Final Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit at the Clinch River Nuclear Site.”

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a hearing for an application for a site in west Oak Ridge where small modular nuclear reactors could be built.

The hearing has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, August 14, at the NRC in Rockville, Maryland.

The NRC will discuss an early site permit application submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority for the Clinch River Nuclear Site. TVA has proposed using the 935-acre site, which is along the Clinch River south of Heritage Center (the former K-25 site), to build two or more small modular reactors. The site once hosted the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project.

During the August 14 hearing, the NRC will have an evidentiary session to hear testimony and receive exhibits in the uncontested proceeding for TVA’s early site permit application, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Monday.

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Small reactors can be safely located on Clinch River site, NRC says

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Two or more small modular nuclear reactors could be built on a 935-acre area of the Clinch River Nuclear Site in west Oak Ridge, south of Heritage Center near Highway 58. (Image from the “Final Safety Evaluation Report for the Early Site Permit Application for the Clinch River Nuclear Site” published by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in June 2019.)

Two or more small nuclear reactors could be safely located on a site in west Oak Ridge, a federal agency said this month.

The reactors could be built on the Clinch River Nuclear Site. That’s a 935-acre site south of Heritage Center (the former K-25 site) in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge. The plant would be off Bear Creek Road near Highway 58 on a peninsula surrounded by the Clinch River on the east, south, and west.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed a final safety evaluation report for an early site permit application for the site.

“The report concludes there are no safety aspects that would preclude issuing the permit for the site,” the NRC said in a press release Tuesday. The report, which is about 600 pages, had been expected this month.

The Tennessee Valley Authority applied for the early site permit in May 2016. The NRC’s final safety evaluation report for the site was published Friday, June 14.

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TDEC to attend county’s Bull Run meeting on June 10

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The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will attend a June 10 meeting where the planned closure of the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton will be discussed, a county commissioner said.

It will be the June 10 monthly meeting of the Anderson County Commission’s Intergovernmental Committee. The public is encouraged to attend, said Anderson County Commissioner Catherine Denenberg of District 6 in Oak Ridge.

TDEC is the state department that is responsible for monitoring the Tennessee Valley Authority, Denenberg said.

“They will have a Power Point presentation and will be there to answer questions about their involvement with the closing of the Bull Run Fossil plant in Claxton,” Denenberg said.

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NRC still reviewing early site permit for Clinch River Nuclear Site

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Clinch-River-Site-Bear-Creek-Road-Entrance-March-27-2016
The small nuclear reactors that could be built along the Clinch River could provide enough electricity to power several cities the size of Oak Ridge. The Bear Creek Road entrance to the Clinch River Site, where the reactors could be built by the Tennessee Valley Authority, is pictured above on Sunday, March 27, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is still reviewing a permit application for a site in west Oak Ridge where two or more small modular nuclear reactors could be built.

The application for the early site permit for the Clinch River Nuclear Site was submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority on May 12, 2016. The application was supplemented by a revision on January 18, 2019, the NRC said in a notice published in the Federal Register on Friday.

The 935-acre Clinch River Nuclear Site is located in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge along the Clinch River.

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