Current Stories
Y-12 is proud of its accomplishments as a world leader in manufacturing technology. It is not uncommon to find us in the media spotlight.
About
- Ecological health of East Fork Poplar Creek continues to improve
East Fork Poplar Creek, which originates within the Oak Ridge Y‑12 National Security Complex before flowing through the City of Oak Ridge, continues to recover from its Cold War legacy of contamination. more... - Y-12 Closes the Circle
The Y‑12 National Security Complex has received a 2006 White House Closing the Circle award for its Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle team's efforts. The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive presented the awards at ceremony in Washington. more... - Responding to the call
In September 2005, President George W. Bush directed the leaders of federal departments and agencies to “take appropriate actions to conserve natural gas, electricity, gasoline and diesel fuel” and directed the U.S. Department of Energy to take a leadership role in the reduction of energy use. Y‑12 responded to that call but in fact had already initiated efforts to conserve energy. more... - First impressions, lasting impacts
The workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex are actually stewards for the nation. It's no secret that Y-12 provides stewardship over the materials for our nation's nuclear weapons. We are committed to perform these activities with taxpayers' money, so our further responsibility is to carry out our mission in a cost-effective and efficient manner. more... - Jack Case: The ultimate facelift
Increased productivity is just one benefit that will be realized when the Jack Case Center is occupied. Employees will be able to interface easily with co-workers who used to sit a half mile (or more) away. Access to service organizations, like Reproduction, will be more convenient, and with many organizations under one roof, fewer vehicles will be needed. more...
Doing Business
- Paving the road to success
A Federal Highway Administration software project — the result of a Y-12 Complementary Work program — was recently named one of the top 20 programs in the 2006 Excellence.Gov awards. The Industry Advisory Council's Collaboration and Transformation Shared Interest Group presents these awards to programs that demonstrate the best practices in information sharing for federally led information technology program implementations. more...
Capabilities
- Crime-solving microscope
Best-selling author Patricia Cornwell begins chapter 19 of her newest novel, Book of the Dead, in a location unknown to most of the world. “Y‑12 National Security Complex. Scarpetta stops her rental car at a checkpoint in the midst of concrete blast barriers and fences topped with razor wire.” more... - Licensed Y-12 technology helps New Orleans recover
Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, Unisys Corp., a strategic partner of Y‑12 licensee RAMSAFE Technologies Inc., began helping New Orleans reassemble the city's common infrastructure. To meet the overwhelming 24/7 data demands, Unisys and city officials selected RAMSAFE emergency‑management software. more... - New weapons system deployed
The first automated security weapons system within DOE’s Nuclear Weapons Complex has been deployed at Y‑12. The use of the technology provides a significant enhancement to Y‑12’s security. more... - Building a better birdcage
Y‑12 Engineering has designed and is evaluating a new birdcage for use across the Nuclear Weapons Complex. This monolithic birdcage — so dubbed because the new design can be manufactured from a small number of components machined from solid metal — must meet stringent strength and reliability requirements. more... - Wireless technology aids maintenance
Researchers at the Y‑12 National Security Complex pursue improving processes and tasks for the Nuclear Weapons Complex. Wireless condition-based maintenance, which Y‑12 researcher David Mee presented at this year’s National Nuclear Security Administration Future Technologies Conference, is one such advancement. more...
Community
- Y-12 volunteers receive national awards
During Y‑12’s 10-year partnership with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, employees have contributed more than 10,000 hours of labor and buckets of sweat equity. more...
Missions
- UPF: Y-12’s largest planned construction
If the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) future lies in a smaller, more efficient Nuclear Weapons Complex (NWC) that can respond to changing national and global security challenges, where does Y‑12’s largest planned construction project fit in? more... - HEUMF team prepares to hit the ground running
Construction of the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility (HEUMF) is not scheduled for completion before late 2007, but the project team is already laying the groundwork for startup of operations. Representatives from just about every organization are working together to draft requirements documents, develop training and become familiar with how the new facility will look and function. This preparation is happening now so that operations can begin quickly after construction ends. more... - Pure success
The history associated with the Manhattan Project is awesome. In less than 30 months four production plants were built in Oak Ridge; 125,000 people were hired; a city was built to support their efforts; tons of materials were transported and then transformed — all to obtain a small amount of U‑235 and to prove the production of a new element, plutonium, was possible. more... - New containers take a beating
Y‑12 employees have designed the shipping container of the future — the ES‑3100 — and are ready to see it in action, transporting bulk highly enriched uranium and other fissile materials safely, securely and at greater capacity than ever before. more... - Bombs away — warheads safely recycled
What is the nation to do with the valuable, and in some cases, hazardous components and materials used in the production of nuclear weapons? The answer: Safely and securely dispose of them in ways that protect the environment, or store them until an effective disposition path is developed. more... - The skin-ny on lying
Some Analytical Chemistry employees' contributions to a study on deception detection may one day help to further safeguard national secrets. more... - ACREM heats up
Y‑12 is the first U.S. Department of Energy–National Nuclear Security Administration site to destroy accountable classified removable media. more... - From weapons to fuel
Y‑12 manages programs that remove surplus highly enriched uranium from the stored, secured inventory on site. These programs are in line with the U.S. commitment to reduce potential nuclear proliferation. more...
News
- Y-12 preserves the past for the future
A dedication ceremony recently was held at New Hope Cemetery to honor the family members of those displaced in the New Hope Community in 1942 for the war effort. more...