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Forty-nine COVID-19 cases confirmed at NNSA sites

Posted at 10:35 am April 9, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Wednesday said there were 49 confirmed COVID-19 cases at its sites across the country.

The sites include the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. The NNSA, which oversees work at Y-12, did not say how how many COVID-19 cases there have been among Y-12 employees. The plant is not releasing site-specific numbers of confirmed cases because of operational security concerns, the NNSA said.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, which manages and operates Y-12 for the NNSA, has also declined to say how many COVID-19 cases have been confirmed among Y-12 employees. CNS confirmed the first two cases in March and, when asked about additional cases, would only say that there were several.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Health, National Nuclear Security Administration, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: CNS, Consolidated Nuclear Security, COVID-19, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, UPF, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 begins limited operations, transitions to ‘mission critical’ operations

Posted at 11:32 am April 8, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

Note: This story was updated at 11:45 a.m.

On Monday, the Y-12 National Security Complex began limited operations and transitioning to mission-critical operations. The change is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For now, all non-essential personnel will leave the 811-acre nuclear weapons production plant in Oak Ridge, and employees who can telework will continue to do so.

“Since mid-March, Y-12 has been in a preventive phase of its pandemic plan,” the site in a a response to questions on Wednesday. The response was provided by spokesperson Kathryn King of Consolidated Nuclear Security, a federal contractor that manages and operates Y-12 and another nuclear weapons production plant, the Pantex Plant northeast of Amarillo, Texas.

“With additional cases now confirmed at Y-12 and the growing number of cases in East Tennessee, the plant is transitioning to a ‘containment’ phase that ensures mission-critical operations while further protecting the Y-12 workforce and the community,” the response said. “In the containment phases, all non-essential plant personnel will leave the site until further notice. Employees who are able to telework will continue to do so.”

CNS said all Y-12 processes, systems, and facilities will be maintained in safe and secure configurations. Key mission activities related to stockpile stewardship and modernization, and key infrastructure and reestablishment of production capabilities, will continue.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Health, National Nuclear Security Administration, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Consolidated Nuclear Security, containment, COVID-19, Kathryn King, limited operations, mission critical operations, nuclear weapons, Pantex Plant, UPF, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12: UPF buses now only half-filled at most, cleaned and sanitized

Posted at 2:31 pm April 5, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

In this picture posted March 3, the roof is being raised at the Uranium Processing Facility Salvage and Accountability Building, and the second elevated deck is being set into place. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

The buses that carry employees to and from the Uranium Processing Facility construction project each day are filled to half of their capacity at most, and the buses are being cleaned and sanitized after each drop-off, a federal contractor said.

Oak Ridge Today asked about the buses after an employee at the Y-12 National Security Complex, where the UPF is being built, tested positive for COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

UPF rotates multiple buses throughout the day to take workers to and from the construction site, said Consolidated Nuclear Security, the federal contractor that manages and operates Y-12 as well as the Pantex Plant northeast of Amarillo, Texas.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Health, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: buses, CNS, Consolidated Nuclear Security, COVID-19, UPF, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 reducing UPF bus riders, staggering shifts

Posted at 3:18 pm March 25, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

In this picture posted March 3, the roof is being raised at the Uranium Processing Facility Salvage and Accountability Building, and the second elevated deck is being set into place. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

A federal contractor is limiting the number of employees who can ride a bus at one time to the Uranium Processing Facility construction site at the Y-12 National Security Complex and started the process of staggering shifts at the project to help keep workers separated from each other as the world tries to slow the spread of COVID-19, a contagious respiratory illness that can be deadly.

The changes at Y-12 were disclosed on Wednesday by the plant operator, Consolidated Nuclear Security, in response to questions from Oak Ridge Today after a plant employee tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

Oak Ridge Today had asked about construction workers being bused to the Uranium Processing Facility construction site from the east side of Y-12 each morning and whether the confirmation of a COVID-19 case at the 811-acre plant would affect those construction bus rides, including by possibly requiring employees to have some physical separation on the bus rides.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Front Page News, Health, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: bus rides, COVID-19, UPF, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

Judge voids UPF decision, requires more seismic hazard analysis

Posted at 10:10 pm September 24, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Y-12 Uranium Processing Facility
Structural steel installation is under way on the eastern half of the Main Process Building of the Uranium Processing Facility, the Y-12 National Security Complex said Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

Note This story was last updated at 9:38 a.m. Sept. 25.

A federal judge in Knoxville on Tuesday said a critical decision made in 2016 for enriched uranium operations at the Y-12 National Security Complex, including for the $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility, violated a national environmental law, and she ordered the decision vacated, or set aside.

The UPF is already under construction, and Wedenesday morning, the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees work at Y-12, said construction will continue.

The 104-page opinion and order was filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday by Chief U.S. District Judge Pamela L. Reeves.

One of the plaintiffs said the decision to vacate the amended record of decision published in the Federal Register in 2016 means the NNSA no longer has the legal authority to continue construction work at UPF.

But the NNSA said it was pleased that the court’s memorandum opinion rejected almost all of the plaintiff’s claims regarding National Environmental Policy Act violations related to UPF construction.

“However, with the court agreeing that there was inadequate consideration of new information concerning seismic hazards at Y-12, NNSA will review the seismic analysis while conferring with the Department of Justice on the possibility of appeal,” the NNSA said. “In the meantime, construction of UPF will proceed.”

Besides the amended record of decision, Reeves said supplement analyses prepared in 2016 and 2018 also violated the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, and she said they were to be set aside as well.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Courts, Front Page News, National Nuclear Security Administration, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, United States, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: environmental impact statement, lawsuit, National Environmental Policy Act, National Nuclear Security Administration, NEPA, NNSA, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Pamela L. Reeves, Ralph Hutchison, record of decision, seismic hazard, supplement analysis, U.S. Department of Energy, UPF, UPF construction, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

For members: Y-12, Pantex contract extended for two years, $3.8 billion

Posted at 7:47 am August 1, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

 

The contract to manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, has been extended for two years, and the extension is valued at about $3.8 billion, the National Nuclear Security Administration said Wednesday.

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Filed Under: Front Page News, National Nuclear Security Administration, Premium Content, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: CNS, CNS contract, consolidated contract, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, contract, contract extension, cost savings, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, nuclear weapons, Pantex Plant, U.S. Department of Energy, UPF, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

(For members) New lithium building a priority as ceiling materials fall in old one

Posted at 1:50 pm April 6, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Building 9204-2 (Beta 2) is pictured above at center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Part of Building 9204-2E (Beta 2E) is pictured in the top left. (Photo courtesy Consolidated Nuclear Security)

 

A new lithium processing facility that could be built in Oak Ridge is a priority for the National Nuclear Security Administration, which has cited worker safety and materials that have fallen from the ceiling at the old building now used at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

As a priority, the new lithium processing facility is right behind the number one priorities: the production of plutonium pits at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and uranium processing at the Uranium Processing Facility, which is now under construction at Y-12, said Charles Verdon, NNSA deputy administrator for defense programs.

NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty cited the materials that have fallen from the ceiling at the old Y-12 building used for lithium processing, 9204-2, or Beta 2, in her response to questions during a budget hearing with the U.S. House Energy and Water Development Subcommittee on Tuesday.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. 

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Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Premium Content, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: 9204-2, Beta 2, Biology Complex, budget hearing, budget request, Building 9204-2, CD-1, Charles Verdon, Chuck Fleischmann, critical decision 1, Kathryn King, Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, lithium processing, lithium processing facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Manhattan Project, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, nuclear weapons stockpile, Oak Ridge, plutonium, plutonium pits, Savannah River Site, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. House Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, UPF, uranium, uranium processing facility, World War II, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 hosts eighth annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering

Posted at 6:29 pm March 12, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Photo by Y-12 National Security Complex

Photo by Y-12 National Security Complex

 

The Y-12 National Security Complex says it is helping to open doors and close the gender gap in engineering fields.

In February, Y-12 hosted its eighth annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering at the site’s New Hope Center. The one-day event, held in conjunction with Engineers Week, gave young female students an opportunity to discover and explore science, technology, engineering, and math (or STEM) careers alongside Y-12 and Uranium Processing Facility Project scientists and engineers, a press release said.

More than 300 middle- and high-school students from seven area counties attended this year’s event. About 100 engineers, scientists, and other volunteers—most from Y-12, the Uranium Processing Facility Project, and the Oak Ridge chapter of Women in Nuclear—supported the event, which encouraged students to connect their math and science skills to careers in STEM fields, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Front Page News, K-12, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, engineering, Introduce a Girl to Engineering, science technology engineering and math, STEM, uranium processing facility, Women in Nuclear, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 criticality alarms function properly in tests

Posted at 2:26 pm January 7, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A Nuclear Materials Corporation GA-6 Radiation Detector. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

Nuclear Materials Corporation GA-6 Radiation Detector (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

 

Alarms designed to detect a nuclear criticality accident at the Y-12 National Security Complex have been tested, and the systems functioned appropriately and as required, the plant said in November.

Y-12 has had a criticality accident alarm system since 1945. A criticality accident would occur if there were an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction. It could result in the release of radiation and significant exposures to nearby workers if the area were not immediately evacuated. It’s something that the plant takes steps to avoid. The alarms are designed to alert workers if there is an accident.

A nuclear criticality alarm at the 811-acre plant, which works on nuclear weapons components and stores highly enriched uranium, has been given credit for helping to save lives in a nuclear criticality accident in 1958. In that case, which was the first process criticality accident in the United States, Y-12 employees immediately evacuated when they heard the alarm.

A report published by Consolidated Nuclear Security, a federal contractor, said the basic design and electronic configuration of the older criticality alarm system installed in Y-12’s existing facilities, with the exception of the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, date back to 1957. The legacy system has received many upgrades since installation, and detector stations have been removed and relocated as enriched uranium operations have evolved, said the report, titled “Qualification of Y-12 Legacy Criticality Accident Alarm System Detectors.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: American Nuclear Society, CAAS, Chris Haught, Chris Woodrow, CNS, Consolidated Nuclear Security, criticality accident, criticality accident alarm system, DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments, Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office, Nevada National Security Site, nuclear criticality, nuclear criticality accident, Nuclear Materials Corporation GA-6 detector, Office of Enterprise Assessments, Qualification of Y-12 Legacy Criticality Accident Alarm System Detectors, Troy McMillen, U.S. Department of Energy, uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction, UPF, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

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

Posted at 1:41 pm December 4, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, National Nuclear Security Administration, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Allison B. Bawden, ballistic missile nuclear warhead, ballistic missiles, GAO, GAO report, life extension program, Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, lithium production facility, modernization, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, non-nuclear components, Nuclear Posture Review, nuclear warhead, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons stockpile, secondary, thermonuclear weapons, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Government Accountability Office, U.S. Navy, UPF, uranium processing facility, W78, W78 nuclear warhead, W78 replacement, W78 replacement warhead, W78 warhead, W87, warhead replacement

Anti-nuclear weapons activists to commemorate Hiroshima bombing

Posted at 11:02 pm August 3, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

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. (Oak Ridge Today file photo)

 

Citizens calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons will gather in Oak Ridge on Saturday, August 4, at 10:30 a.m. at Alvin K. Bissell Park to commemorate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945 and to call for the United States to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted in July 2017 by 122 nations, a press release said.

The Oak Ridge events on August 4 are sponsored by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, and they will include music and political theater as well as a report on ongoing nuclear weapons production activities at Y-12, the press release said.

“Y-12 represents the full circle in time,” said OREPA coordinator Ralph Hutchison. “The age of nuclear weapons started here, with the enrichment of the Little Boy bomb’s uranium. And it continues today, in the face of world condemnation, with the production of thermonuclear secondaries and plans for a new bomb production plant, the Uranium Processing Facility, which will continue to make nuclear bomb cores for decades to come.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Front Page News, National Nuclear Security Administration, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Alvin K. Bissell Park, atomic bomb, Hiroshima, Hiroshima bombing, nuclear bomb, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, OREPA, Ralph Hutchison, thermonuclear secondaries, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

Sponsored: Securing America from a valley in Tennessee

Posted at 1:19 pm June 5, 2018
By Y-12 National Security Complex Leave a Comment

Aerial: While the skyline is continuing to change, Y-12’s focus remains the same—securing America’s future.

Aerial: While the skyline is continuing to change, Y-12’s focus remains the same—securing America’s future.

 

By Bill Tindal

What is Y-12? Even to most East Tennesseans, that answer is never quite clear. Long shrouded in secrecy, the Y-12 National Security Complex has received a variety of designations over its history.

Seventy-five years ago, Y-12’s original purpose was to serve as one of several vital components to World War II’s Manhattan Project. The enriched uranium that fueled the world’s first atomic weapon was produced there, next to the “secret city” of Oak Ridge built to house the thousands of scientists, engineers, and workers throughout the Oak Ridge reservation.

Throughout the Cold War, Y-12 supplied materials, machining, and other expertise vital to keeping the peace and avoiding global conflict, while partnering with scientists to pioneer medical isotope production and providing its world-class machining capabilities for national interests.

Today, Y-12 is a key component in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Nuclear Weapons Enterprise. With a focus on more than just nuclear weapons, Y-12 has expanded its missions to include: [Read more…]

Filed Under: National Nuclear Security Administration, Sponsored Posts, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Bill Tindal, National Nuclear Security Administration, uranium processing facility, Y-12

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Classifieds

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Lithium Production Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

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