Oak Ridge Today

Historic day: Last wall to be demolished at last of big five uranium-enriching buildings at ETTP (K-25)

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K-27 Demolition Aug 17 2016 Freeny

The last wall of the last of the big five buildings once used to enrich uranium at the former K-25 site will be demolished Tuesday. A section of the K-27 Building, the last to be demolished, is pictured above on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (DOE photo by Lynn Freeny)

 

The last wall of the last of the big five buildings once used to enrich uranium at the former K-25 site will be demolished Tuesday.

Demolition on the last building, the K-27 Building, started in February.

The other four buildings—K-25, K-29, K-31, and K-33—were demolished between 2006 and 2015. All five of the huge buildings once used a process called gaseous diffusion to produce highly enriched uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants, starting during World War II and continuing through the Cold War. The largest was K-25, a mile-long U-shaped building.

When K-27 demolition is complete, it will be the first time that all of a site’s uranium-enriching gaseous diffusion buildings will have been cleaned up anywhere in the world, officials said.

“Demolition eliminates environmental hazards and prepares the land for productive reuse through deindustrialization,” a media advisory said. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project Park formally established in DC ceremony

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Sally-Jewell-Ernest-Moniz-Manhattan-Project-National-Historical-Park-Nov-10-2015-1

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz shortly after they signed a memorandum of agreement and created the 409th park in the National Park System, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The park was authorized by Congress in December 2014. The park will have three sites in Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The ceremony took place at the South Interior Building in Washington, D.C., on November 10, 2015. (NPS Photo by Anthony DeYoung.)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9 a.m. Nov. 11.

After more than a decade of work, the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Interior formally established the Manhattan Project National Historical Park on Tuesday. The new park, which includes Oak Ridge, commemorates one of the signature scientific achievements of the 20th century. It was formally established when Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz signed a memorandum of agreement, or MOA, in Washington, D.C.

The unique, three-site Manhattan Project National Historical Park includes Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. It’s the nation’s 409th park.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II—before Germany could. It was an unprecedented national program, a world-changing event that harnessed the atom, and the largest industrial project ever, employing 130,000 people at just the three park sites. Whole cities and gigantic industrial plants were built in just a few short years, and Oak Ridge quickly swelled to a population of 75,000. Plants like the B Reactor at Hanford, the world’s first large-scale plutonium production reactor, were built in 11 months, still considered a marvelous feat today. The Manhattan Project is credited with helping to end World War II through its creation of the two atomic bombs dropped over Japan in August 1945.

During Tuesday’s ceremony, officials said the Manhattan Project was a groundbreaking scientific and engineering achievement that helped end the war, ushered in the nuclear age and new discoveries, and determined how the Cold War would be fought. But it also raised important moral questions about the devastating consequences of nuclear weapons. Officials vowed to tell all sides of the story during the signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning.

“You can trust us with this story,” National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said. “We will be fair to all.” [Read more…]

Interior, Energy to sign agreement establishing Manhattan Project Park

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Building 9204-3 at Y-12

Building 9204-3 at the Y-12 National Security Complex could be among those included in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. Also known as Beta 3, Building 9204-3 has beta calutrons that produced stable isotopes until 1998 and are still on standby. (Photo courtesy of Y-12 National Security Complex.)

 

Note: This story was updated at 7 p.m.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz will sign a memorandum of agreement, or MOA, in Washington, D.C., to establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which will include Oak Ridge.

The new park will be the first of its type to commemorate the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. The park will have three locations: Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Hanford, Washington.

National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis will attend the Tuesday morning ceremony along with U.S. senators Lamar Alexander, Maria Cantwell, Martin Heinrich, and Tom Udall, who represent each of the park’s locations. Leaders of the communities that will host the park, including Oak Ridge, will attend the ceremony. [Read more…]

Y-12, ORNL tours offered Nov. 12 to celebrate new Manhattan Project Park

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DOE Public Bus Tour

A previous public bus tour of the U.S. Department of Energy’s facilities in Oak Ridge. (File photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)

 

Public bus tours will be offered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex on Thursday, November 12, as part of the celebration of the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The new park, which is still being set up, includes Oak Ridge.

The special-access tours at ORNL and Y-12 are part of other planned activities in Oak Ridge, and they will include a peek inside Y-12’s Building 9731 and 9204-3 (Beta 3) and ORNL’s historic Graphite Reactor.

Y-12 and Clinton Laboratories—the wartime name for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory—were constructed as part of the Manhattan Project in 1943. The Y-12 Plant provided the Uranium-235 needed for Little Boy, the world’s first nuclear weapon used in warfare. The historic Graphite Reactor at X-10 (now ORNL) proved that plutonium could be produced in a uranium reactor on an industrial scale. These facilities will eventually become a part of the Oak Ridge location of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. [Read more…]

Planning to preserve history of K-25, which could be part of national park

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building, pictured above, was once used to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Located in west Oak Ridge, the site could become part of a new Manhattan Project National Historical Park. There is a separate effort to preserve K-25’s history; that work could be incorporated into the new park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

 

It was once the world’s largest building under one roof and part of the one of the largest industrial projects ever, a top-secret program to build the world’s first atomic weapons in World War II.

Today the building is gone—demolition was completed in December 2013—but the stories of what took place inside the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building could live on in a replica equipment building, viewing tower, and history center.

And K-25 could become part of a new Manhattan Project National Historical Park approved by Congress in December and signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 19. The 14-page bill was the culmination of 15 years of work, said Colin Colverson, Manhattan Project Park lead in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

The law recognizes the Manhattan Project as one of the most significant events in U.S. history, with assets and history that must be preserved. It’s considered one of the top scientific achievements of the 20th century, and Oak Ridge residents still marvel at how quickly the three local sites (K-25, X-10, and Y-12) were built and began operating in all-out race to build an atomic bomb before Germany. [Read more…]

Today is Oak Ridge’s 72nd birthday

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Y-12 Calutron Operators

Women enriching uranium in calutrons at Y-12 as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. (Photo by Ed Westcott)

 

It’s Oak Ridge’s birthday today, September 19.

Oak Ridge was picked for the top-secret Manhattan Project on September 19, 1942. That was the day 72 years ago when General Leslie Groves approved the acquisition of 59,000 acres of land along the Clinch River for what soon became the Manhattan Project, a federal effort to build the world’s first atomic bombs.

By the time President Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan Project on December 28, 1942, work on the East Tennessee site where the first production facilities were to be built was already under way.

Oak Ridge became the home of two uranium enrichment plants (K-25 and Y-12), a liquid thermal diffusion plant (S-50), and a pilot plutonium production reactor (X-10 Graphite Reactor). Groves approved Oak Ridge as the site for the pilot plutonium plant and the uranium enrichment plant in 1942. Manhattan Project engineers had to quickly build a town to accommodate 30,000 workers—as well as build the enormously complex plants. [Read more…]

Tours of Manhattan Project sites a highlight of Secret City Festival

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Secret City Festival Logo

One of the highlights of the annual Secret City Festival, taking place Friday and Saturday at A.K. Bissell Park, is the series of tours that run all day both days.

Each of the four tours will depart from the American Museum of Science and Energy at scheduled times. In addition, the Secret City Scenic Excursion Train will be chugging along during the festival.

Visitors will have a unique opportunity to tour three historic Manhattan Project World War II sites. On Friday, June 13, Y-12 will host tours from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. The one-hour tour will include the Y-12 History Center, Building 9731, the Chestnut Ridge Overlook, and Bear Creek Road.

Also on Friday, visitors can take the U.S. Department of Energy Facilities Bus Tour, which is included with a $1 admission to AMSE. This tour includes stops at the Y-12 New Hope Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Graphite Reactor, and a tour around the East Tennessee Technology Park. A separate tour that focuses on the X-10 Graphite Reactor is available at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday.

On Saturday, there will be four opportunities to tour the ORNL Graphite Reactor. All tours will begin at the American Museum of Science and Energy. The Secret City Scenic Excursion Train will be running three tours as well. Departure times for both tours are listed below: [Read more…]

Ed Westcott: Chief photographer in Oak Ridge during WWII, Muddy Boot winner today

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Ray Smith Presents Muddy Boot Award to Ed Westcott

Ray Smith, left, Y-12 National Security Complex historian, presents a Muddy Boot Award to Ed Westcott, chief photographer in the “Secret City” during the Manhattan Project in World War II. (Photo by East Tennessee Economic Council)

He was one of the first workers hired in Oak Ridge as part of the top-secret race to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

At only 20 years old, he became the chief photographer for what was then the Manhattan Engineer District, Clinton Engineer Works. He was the only person authorized to take pictures in the “Secret City” during the Manhattan Project, and he captured some classic moments, including the jubilation of Oak Ridge residents the day they learned World War II had ended.

Now 91, Ed Westcott was honored for his historic photography in a surprise ceremony this month. He was given the Muddy Boot Award by the East Tennessee Economic Council. The awards, which have been given out since 1973, pay tribute to people who have made East Tennessee a stronger region through their work and community activities.

“Ed’s photographs are so broadly used that they literally express our history and visually tell the unique story of Oak Ridge and its impact on East Tennessee, the Southeast, the nation, and even the world,” said Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian. “So, he definitely qualifies for Muddy Boot consideration. Without Ed’s thousands of wonderful images, we would not be nearly as able to present our history.” [Read more…]

Atomic Heritage still hopeful that Manhattan Project Park legislation will pass

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. The site could be included in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

Note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 4.

A bill to create a Manhattan Project National Park that would include Oak Ridge has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives, but now it’s tied up in the Senate.

Still, the nonprofit Atomic Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., remains hopeful that the legislation will pass.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act was included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the House passed in June.

The Senate is now negotiating the procedure for considering 507 amendments that have been offered to that legislation, the Atomic Heritage Foundation said in a Tuesday e-mail. [Read more…]

ORHPA meeting offers rare look inside historic church in west Oak Ridge

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George Jones Memorial Baptist Church

A Sept. 12 meeting at the George Jones Memorial Baptist Church, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, will provide a rare look inside the church and include an overview of the history of the former Wheat community. (Photos courtesy Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association)

Next week’s meeting of a historic preservation organization will feature a rare chance to see inside the George Jones Memorial Baptist Church in west Oak Ridge, a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association’s monthly membership and public meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12. It includes a field trip to the former Wheat community and the George Jones Memorial Baptist Church and cemetery, which is located off Blair Road, near the former K-25 site, which is now known as the Heritage Center. [Read more…]

Department of Labor has meetings Wednesday for nuclear weapons workers

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The U.S. Department of Labor will host three town hall meetings on Wednesday in Oak Ridge to provide information about the medical benefits provided under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.

The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. At the meetings, specific information will be discussed concerning home health care services, the Privacy Act, and how to better serve EEOICPA claimants.

The meetings are scheduled for 9:30 a.m., 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. Wednesday.

[Read more…]