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For members: Companies have agreement to make nuclear fuel

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X-energy-TRISO-Carbonization-and-Heat-Treatment-Furnace
The carbonization and heat treatment furnace used to produce TRISO fuel, a uranium fuel, at a pilot production facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy X-energy)

Note: This story was updated at 12:15 p.m.

A company that has a trial fuel fabrication facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is collaborating with a joint venture led by GE with Hitachi to produce nuclear fuel for the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA.

 

The carbonization and heat treatment furnace used to produce TRISO fuel, a high-assay, low-enriched uranium fuel, at a pilot production facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy X-energy)

 

A company that has a trial fuel fabrication facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is collaborating with a joint venture led by GE with Hitachi to produce nuclear fuel for the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA.

The company, X-energy of Rockville, Maryland, announced the collaboration with Global Nuclear Fuel on November 6.

The two companies have an agreement to develop high-assay, low-enriched uranium TRISO fuel. The fuel could be used in defense micro-reactors and by NASA for nuclear thermal propulsion, a press release said.

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Ten-year costs of nuclear forces estimated at $494 billion

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

U.S. nuclear forces could cost about $494 billion during a 10-year period if current plans are followed, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO is required by law to estimate the 10-year costs every two years. The new estimate is $494 billion for work between 2019 to 2028, the CBO said in a report published this month. That’s an average of just under $50 billion a year.

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge participates in the nuclear weapons work along with other U.S. Department of Energy sites and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The CBO said nuclear weapons have been an important part of U.S. national security since they were developed during World War II. Oak Ridge was the main production site for the top-secret project to build those first weapons, and Y-12 continues to work on nuclear weapons. One modernization program for the W76-1 warhead was recently completed, and another for the B61-12 bomb has started.

The CBO said nuclear forces were central to U.S. defense policy during the Cold War, and a large arsenal was built. [Read more…]

Y-12 facilities could be crucial in plan to replace W78 warhead

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U.S. Air Force missile maintainers working on an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Source: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Braydon Williams/GAO-19-84)

U.S. Air Force missile maintainers working on an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Source: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Braydon Williams/GAO-19-84)

 

The National Nuclear Security Administration is preparing to restart a program to replace the W78 nuclear warhead, and new facilities at the Y-12 National Security Complex could be important to that project, a federal agency said Friday.

The W78 is one of two types of warheads on U.S. Air Force intercontinental ballistic missiles. The W87 is the other.

Critical components inside the W78 are aging, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which published a report about the warhead replacement program on Friday. Also, the military’s requirements for, among other things, the safety and security features of the warhead have changed since it entered the stockpile in 1979, the GAO said.

Besides being used by the Air Force, the replacement W78 warhead could be used in ballistic missiles launched from Navy submarines, although further studies are required, the GAO said.

The two Y-12 facilities that could affect the warhead replacement program are the Uranium Processing Facility, which is now under construction, and the Lithium Production Facility, which could have a new building through a project that is still in the planning stages. [Read more…]

Y-12 approved for B61-12 weapons work

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Image from U.S. Government Accountability Office report in May 2018 on B61-12 Nuclear Bomb.

Image from U.S. Government Accountability Office report in May 2018 on the B61-12 nuclear bomb.

Image from U.S. Government Accountability Office report in May 2018 on B61-12 Nuclear Bomb.

Image from U.S. Government Accountability Office report in May 2018 on the B61-12 nuclear bomb.

 

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge has been approved to produce a major component of a nuclear bomb known as the B61-12.

The approval was the final step to authorize the manufacturing and delivery of the first production unit of a component called the canned subassembly. It’s scheduled for March 2019, according to Y-12. A canned subassembly is the second stage of a modern thermonuclear weapon, and it is part of the nuclear explosives package.

The Y-12 work is part of the B61-12 Life Extension Program, which will consolidate four versions of the bomb into one. The bombs could be carried on B-2A bomber aircraft and F-15Es, several types of F-16s, and PA-200 fighters, and in the future, F-35s and B-21s.

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Trump nominates ORNL national security leader to DOE nuclear nonproliferation job

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Brent Park

Brent Park

 

President Donald J. Trump on Thursday nominated a national security leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to a nuclear nonproliferation job in the U.S. Department of Energy.

Brent K. Park is currently an associate laboratory director at ORNL, where he is responsible for national security programs.

Trump nominated him to be deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation in the Department of Energy. [Read more…]

Grace Veterans’ Ministry joins Vet to Vet TN to identify, honor Vietnam Era Veterans

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The Grace Lutheran Church of Oak Ridge’s Veterans’ Ministry has partnered with Vet to Vet Tennessee to assist in identifying Vietnam Era veterans, spouses of those veterans no longer living but not killed in action, civilians who served the United States during the Vietnam War, or those who served in the military from November 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975. Spouses whose husbands were killed or missing in action are also included in that number.

“Grace would like to honor those in Oak Ridge and surrounding areas who are eligible at a service of reconciliation and healing, where Vet to Vet Tennessee Vietnam veterans will present them with a special service pin or spouse pin and a proclamation from the president of the United States,” a press release said.

The effort is part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemoration, which was authorized by Congress and launched by the President in May 2012. The goal is to thank Vietnam Veterans for their service and to welcome them home, the press release said. [Read more…]

Vietnam veterans honored during Tuesday ceremony

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Raising-Flag-Vietnam-Veterans-Ceremony-March-29-2016

The Clinch Bend Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, along with Anderson County government, commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the War Memorial in front of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. The local ceremony recognized and honored Vietnam veterans with the placing of a wreath on the Courthouse War Memorial and the raising of a special flag commemorating the 50th anniversary of the years-long conflict. (Photo by Leean Tupper)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

CLINTON—A crowd of about 100 people gathered outside the Anderson County Courthouse on Tuesday for a ceremony honoring Vietnam veterans on the fourth observance of what has been declared “Vietnam Veterans’ Day” by President Obama.

The event took place at the War Memorial in front of the Courthouse and included the laying of a wreath at the Memorial, the reading of the names of the 29 Anderson County soldiers who died in the conflict, and the raising of a special flag marking the 50th anniversary of U.S. involvement in the southeast Asian nation.

Remarks were made by County Mayor Terry Frank, and Veterans Services Officer Leon Jaquet read a special proclamation from the president.

The local observance was part of a nationwide effort led by the U.S. Department of Defense to thank veterans of the war for their service and sacrifice. Many Vietnam veterans were met with hostility, not gratitude, upon their return to U.S. soil from the unpopular war. In the years since, many organizations have taken up the cause of making sure that these veterans receive the recognition they deserve. [Read more…]

Metal powder manufacturing company investing $313 million in Oak Ridge, adding 620 jobs

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Michael Hargett and Kamran Khoza of CVMR USA

CVMR President Michael Hargett, left, and Kamran Khozan, chairman and chief executive officer, joined local, state, and federal officials on Friday to announce they’re moving company headquarters from Toronto to Oak Ridge, investing $313 million and adding 620 jobs.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12 a.m.

A company that manufactures high-purity metal powders and super alloys is moving its operations to Oak Ridge from Toronto, Canada, and investing $313 million here and creating 620 jobs, officials said Friday.

CVMR, which has operations in 18 countries, will use the former Theragenics building at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge for its headquarters and research and development. The company closed on that building, which is on 21 acres, on Friday, but executives declined to disclose the sale price.

The first employee was hired Thursday, said Kamran Khozan, chairman and chief executive officer of CVMR (USA) Incorporated.

The company could expand that 65,000-square-foot building; infrastructure that is already in place allows it to be doubled. The company could put 218 people to work right away in its new headquarters and add 402 high-paying manufacturing jobs later, a state official said.

“I can promise you that this is the start of a wave,” said Randy Boyd, the new commissioner of Tennessee Economic and Community Development. [Read more…]

Spotlight: ORAU’s Abelquist authors 2nd edition of ‘Decommissioning Health Physics’

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Eric Abelquist

Eric Abelquist

Revised handbook provides experienced guidance on technical issues of radiation decommissioning projects

As one of the original authors of the “Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM),” Oak Ridge Associated Universities Executive Vice President Eric Abelquist released updated information on the cleanup of radioactive sites in the second edition of a new handbook geared toward those involved in characterization or remediation efforts.

Extensively revised and updated, the second edition of “Decommissioning Health Physics: A Handbook for MARSSIM Users” covers release criteria, survey instrumentation, detection sensitivity, statistics, dose modeling, and survey procedures. The handbook is published by CRC Press, a division of the Taylor and Francis Group.

Abelquist served as a member of the multi-agency committee representing the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, who produced the MARSSIM to provide guidance to federal agencies, states, site owners, contractors, and other private entities on how to demonstrate that their site is in compliance with a radiation dose or risk-based regulation, otherwise known as a release criterion. [Read more…]

Creedon confirmed as NNSA principal deputy administrator

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Madelyn R. Creedon

Madelyn R. Creedon

WASHINGTON—Madelyn Creedon was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday as the U.S. Department of Energy’s principal deputy administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

“Madelyn Creedon’s confirmation comes at a critical point for the National Nuclear Security Administration,” said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. “She is well-prepared for her new role at the department as it follows a long career of public service in national security, including at the Department of Defense, with the Senate Armed Services Committee, and, previously, at the Department of Energy. NNSA Administrator Klotz and I thank the Senate for their attention to Madelyn’s nomination, and look forward to working with her.”

As NNSA’s principal deputy administrator, Creedon will support NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz in the management and operation of the NNSA, as well as policy matters across the DOE and NNSA enterprise in support of President Obama’s nuclear security agenda, a press release said. [Read more…]

IIa wins major U.S. Patent and Trademark Office contract

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Information International Associates

Pictured above is the headquarters of Information International Associates on Union Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

Five-year contract could be worth $135 million

Information International Associates, or IIa, has been awarded a major 100-person, multi-year contract with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to provide a wide range of information technology support, a press release said.

The USPTO is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, and it is an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Its mission is “to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writing and discoveries” and to support the federal registration of trademarks.

“IIa continues to grow and to be recognized as a leader in IT services,” said IIa owner and Chief Executive Officer Bonnie C. Carroll. “In the past year alone, we have been awarded multiple new IT contracts in addition to our ongoing support to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information operations in Oak Ridge and at DOE Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and our contracts for IT infrastructure at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Maryland.”

In September 2013, II was awarded a U.S. Department of Defense contract to operate the DoD Homeland Defense and Security Information Analysis Center. In January 2014, IIa won a major, basic ordering agreement with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide a wide range of IT support to the laboratory during the next five years. [Read more…]

Rollow promoted to director of ORAU’s Project Management Office

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Kathy Rollow

Kathy Rollow

New director brings more than 15 years of project management expertise

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has named Kathy R. Rollow director of its Project Management Office. In this position, Rollow will establish policy and maintain full operational responsibility for the office, facilitating best practices and serving as the catalyst for organizational and cultural implementation of project management principles, a press release said.

Rollow has more than 15 years of experience managing technical and programmatic activities involving multiple concurrent projects at several locations, working with construction support and environmental restoration studies as well as remedial action projects under CERCLA or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.

Previously, Rollow worked with ORAU’s Independent Environmental Assessment and Verification Program, serving as a program lead for health physics and radiological surveys. In 2009, Rollow began directing a large-scale site characterization project for the U.S. Department of Energy, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The project focused on detailing the nature and volume of contaminants to ensure appropriate cleanup and demolition of the site. She implemented project plans, schedules, briefings and budgets, recommended change orders, and tracked resources for DOE Oak Ridge facilities—a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency CERCLA Superfund site.  [Read more…]