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UPF construction could cost more, take longer

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The entrance sign at Y-12 National Security Complex at Bear Creek Road and Scarboro Road is pictured above on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex was supposed to be completed by 2025 for no more than $6.5 billion, but that might no longer be the case.

In the past week, federal officials said construction projects across the country, including UPF, have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain delays, inflation, labor shortages, and increased labor costs. Those factors have led to higher construction costs and longer project timelines, the federal officials said.

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Y-12 celebrates new fire station, emergency operations center

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Y-12 Site Manager Gene Sievers talks about the plant’s new fire station and emergency operations center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new fire station and emergency operations center at the Y-12 National Security Complex will replace “severely outdated” buildings that were constructed in the 1940s, about eight decades ago. The new buildings will improve working conditions, consolidate operations now conducted in separate places, and provide ample space for large equipment like fire trucks, federal officials and Y-12 leaders said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.

Workers at the plant, which manufactures components for the nation’s nuclear weapons, among other activities, have been talking about the new facilities for at least 13 years. The start of construction was celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony in April 2021. The new buildings, reported to have cost $68 million, are part of a “huge transformation,” an effort to modernize the site.

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With director search under way, Jeff Smith leads ORNL for now

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Jeff Smith

While UT-Battelle searches for a new director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, it has appointed former chief operating officer Jeff Smith to serve as interim lab director.

Smith retired in April 2021. He had been ORNL’s chief operating officer when UT-Battelle began managing ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy in 2000, and he served in the position until his retirement.

To help find the next lab director, UT-Battelle has hired executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates.

The company will help find a successor to Thomas Zacharia, who retired at the end of 2022 after a 35-year career at ORNL, including five years as director.

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Railroad could jeopardize airport

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If not removed, this section of railroad tracks at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, would be a “deal-killer” for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport because the runway would be built in this area but could not be with the railroad tracks there. This is looking east across the main entrance to Heritage Center on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Railroad tracks at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, have emerged as a potential “deal-killer” for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport.

On Tuesday, Oak Ridge city leaders said a new company in west Oak Ridge might want to use the rail line to ship materials, but the tracks run through and roughly perpendicular to where the airport runway would be. Officials had expected the rail line, which had been “very inactive,” to be transferred.

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Thornton named director of ORNL Climate Change Science Institute

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Peter Thornton has been named director of the Climate Change Science Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory appointed Peter Thornton as director of its Climate Change Science Institute, or CCSI, effective November 1.

“CCSI was launched at ORNL in 2009, bringing together the lab’s multidisciplinary expertise and big science capabilities to predict the future of the planet’s climate and to evaluate potential mitigation solutions at the intersection of climate, clean energy, national security, and environmental justice,” a press release said. “ORNL’s modeling work informs solutions to meet the nation’s climate goals of a 40% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.”

“I am very pleased that Peter will help develop and guide new local, regional, and national activities within CCSI,” said Stan Wullschleger, associate laboratory director for Biological and Environmental Systems Science. “Peter’s extensive expertise will ensure that our Earth system models provide the best projections of our changing planet and potential resilience strategies for our citizens, industry and society.”

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Busby named ORNL associate lab director for fusion, fission energy & science

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Jeremy Busby will oversee Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s research directorate focused on fusion and fission energy. (Photo credit: ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

Jeremy Busby has been named associate laboratory director for the Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His appointment became effective January 1.

Busby will oversee the directorate’s “unique facilities, capabilities and talented scientists and engineers who are tackling such challenges as extending operations of the current U.S. nuclear reactor fleet; investigating economical and flexible advanced reactor systems; and making fusion energy a viable part of the nation’s energy portfolio,” a press release said.

“ORNL has a proud history of addressing compelling challenges in both fusion and fission energy systems, and I’m honored to contribute to our success moving forward,” Busby said. “ORNL’s Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate has the world-leading expertise to advance the development and deployment of both fusion and fission. Combined with the additional strengths across ORNL’s research and support organizations and ORNL’s unique capabilities, we will fortify our nation’s energy transition.”

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Rueter named to Tennessee Chamber board

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Ken Rueter

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry has appointed Kenneth J. Rueter, who leads a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, to its Board of Directors for a three-year term.

Rueter is president and chief executive officer of United Cleanup Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR). UCOR is the U.S. Department of Energy’s prime contractor for environmental cleanup on the Oak Ridge Reservation. It is a partnership of Amentum, Jacobs, and Honeywell.

The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the state’s oldest and most prominent statewide business trade association, impacting public policy on behalf of business and manufacturing for more than a century, a press release said.

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Langan returning to ORNL as associate lab director

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Paul Langan will oversee Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s research directorate focused on biological and environmental systems science. (Photo credit: ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

Paul Langan will return to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the spring as associate laboratory director for the Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate.

Langan is a former associate lab director for neutron sciences.

In his new role, he will lead the directorate’s convergence research in biology, ecology, engineering, data discovery, physical sciences, and computing that “advances U.S. competitiveness in the global bioeconomy and Earth system sustainability,” a press release said. “This diverse research portfolio encompasses efforts to develop renewable energy solutions, improve Earth system models, and push the frontiers of systems and synthetic biology.”

Langan will succeed Stan Wullschleger, who will retire in 2023 after 33 years at ORNL.

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Power to TRISO at Horizon could cost $13 million

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This map shows the potential route of 69-kilovolt overhead power lines for the TRISO-X nuclear fuel facility at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge, starting at the substation (SUB) on the south side of Highway 95/58 (lower right), continuing up Novus Drive (center right), crossing onto Horizon Center land, and then running east (to the right) on the back side of Site 6 (open area at upper right).

Building a new substation and electrical lines to supply power to a nuclear fuel company could cost $13 million, Oak Ridge officials said in December.

The nuclear fuel company, TRISO-X, needs about 32 to 35 megawatts of electricity at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. That would make the company the city’s biggest electrical customer. (Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex get most of their power directly from Tennessee Valley Authority.)

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NRC will prepare environmental statement for nuclear fuel facility

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TRISO-X has proposed a nuclear fuel fabrication facility on 110 acres at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge. (Photo from TRISO-X environmental report to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Friday that it will prepare an environmental impact statement for a proposed nuclear fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge that could help power advanced reactors for electrical and chemical use, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The project could partially benefit from last year’s federal infrastructure law, specifically about $1.1 billion appropriated for a clean energy supply.

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Lawsuit filed by terminated employee who refused COVID-19 vaccine

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The Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse is pictured above in Knoxville on Jan. 19, 2020. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A lawsuit was filed this year against a federal contractor in Oak Ridge that terminated an employee after she refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

In her lawsuit, the former employee argued that it is illegal under state law to compel her to provide proof of vaccination if she objects to the vaccine.

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Safety board wants briefing on Y-12 uranium reactions

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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. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A federal safety board has asked for a report and briefing after 15 exothermic (heat-producing) reactions of uranium materials were reported at the Y-12 National Security Complex between 2016 and 2021.

The report and briefing have been requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which wants a response from the National Nuclear Safety Administration. The NNSA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy and oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons work, including at Y-12.

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