September 2008
Demolition & cleanup of K-1401 almost done
DOE's Shewairy gets a second job
The Dept. of Energy apparently is being forced to join the Do-More-With-Less Club.
John Shewairy, the agency's director of public affairs, is getting a second job at the Oak Ridge Operations. Effective immediately, he also is the deputy assistant manager for administration and will assist Dan Wilken with that program.
After Shewairy told me he wasn't getting a second salary, I wasn't sure whether to congratulate him or not, but I did anyway.
How secure is HEUMF?
Here's a video I did, based on that question, at Monday's event celebrating the construction of the new storage center for bomb-grade uranium at Y-12.
Science funding at ORNL: Just how crazy will it get?
There are storm clouds hovering, and they're not just on the horizon. Some of them are directly overhead.
The financial crisis on Wall Street may affect the fabric of everything in this country, and that sure as heck includes the federal institutions, such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Y-12, it seems, can crawl or climb under the umbrella of national security, but shockingly enough -- despite the known impact on the nation's economy -- science and technology research sometimes get shunted aside during periods of financial difficulty.
Continue reading "Science funding at ORNL: Just how crazy will it get?"
Y-12 looking ahead to UPF
Today's celebration at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant was about completing construction of the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, but folks were very much looking ahead to the next big project -- the Uranium Processing Facility, a proposed multibillion-dollar production center that would really set up Y-12 for the future.
Nobody got a bigger ovation at the ceremonies than did A.J. Eggenberger, chairman of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, who wholeheartedly endorsed the UPF at Y-12 and urged those folks with any influence to get behind the project.
Shults heads Coalition of Oak Ridge Retirees
Dub Shults, left, talk with Shafik Iskander at last week's meeting.
(photo/Clay Owen)
Dub Shults, ex-director of ORNL's Analytical Chemistry Division, is the newly elected president of the Coalition of Oak Ridge Retired Employees. The group represents the interests of about 12,000 contractor retirees and surviving spouses.
About 350 people last week attended the group's annual meeting at Heritage Fellowship Church in Oak Ridge.
Bailout bill shortens VIP list for HEUMF celebration
The elected officials due to be in Oak Ridge today, including U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, were forced to cancel because of the pending action on the Wall Street bailout legislation. Much of the Tennessee delegation had been expected to attend the event celebrating completion of the new storage complex for weapons-grade uranium at Y-12.
Reinhold Mann's great adventure continues
Reinhold Mann is packing his bags again, this time for the trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he'll join the management team with Battelle Asia for a renewable energy lab just getting starting there. His appointment is effective Nov. 1.
Mann has been a research leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for a while, with his tenure at ORNL interupted for a 2001-2003 stint as deputy director for science and technology at Pacific Northwest National Laboraory in Washington state.
Most recently at ORNL, Mann has been associate laboratory director for biological and environmental sciences.
Continue reading "Reinhold Mann's great adventure continues"
Sirens sound Wednesday at Y-12, ORNL, ETTP
It's that time of month, also known as First Wednesday,
Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., the Dept. of Energy contractors will test their emergency systems at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, OaK Ridge National Laboratory and the East Tennessee Technology Park. Folks in the area will hear the screaming sirens.
Continue reading "Sirens sound Wednesday at Y-12, ORNL, ETTP"
Y-12 boss to speak Sept. 30
Darrel Kohlhorst, president and general manager of B&W Technical Services Y-12, will speak Sept. 30 (Tuesday) at the American Museum of Science and Energy. His talk is part of the Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series that's open to the public.
A reception starts at 6 p.m., followed by Kohlhorst's presentation at 6:30.
ORNL petascale by year's end
Jim Hack, director of ORNL's National Center for Computational Sciences, said the 150 cabinets for the Cray XT5 have arrived or will shortly, as well as the AMD quadcore processors, and he's confident that the lab's new "Jaguar" will reach petascale status by the end of the year.
"To a large extent, the cabinets have been delivered and assembled," Hack said. By the way, the cabinet color this time around is GREEN.
Gordon & Matheson ask NRC to reject waste-import permit
U.S. Reps. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., and Jim Matheson, D-Utah, sent letter to NRC asking them to reject the EnergySolutions application to import nuclear waste from Italy. Thomas Burr of the Salt Lake Tribune has the story.
First Oak Ridge shipment arrives at WIPP
The Dept. of Energy confirmed that the first shipment of TRU waste from Oak Ridge arrived today at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant at 10:37 a.m. Mountain Time. It left Oak Ridge shortly after 9 a.m. yesterday (Wednesday).
Two drivers shared the time behind the wheel on the straight-through trip to New Mexico. Visionary Solutions is handling the transportation.
Y-12 nuke guard disciplined for phone calls on duty
The story is online at Knoxnews.com.
VIPs for HEUMF shindig
Big ceremonies on Monday will commemorate the (mostly) completed construction of Y-12's new storage complex for bomb-grade uranium. Among those expected for the event are U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, as well as Congressmen Zach Wamp, Jimmy Duncan and Lincoln Davis.
Bob Smolen of NNSA is also due in town. But the guest list is not yet complete, according to those folks in the know. I'm doubting the Hollywood glam crowd will show. Paris probably sends her regrets.
HFIR returns to operation
The High Flux Isotope Reactor is operating at full power (85 megawatts) after a month-and-a-half outage for maintenance, etc. I did an earlier post that described some of work at ORNL's research reactor.
Energy Frontier Research Centers
Today's column is about the Energy Frontier Research Centers, which are being proposed as platforms for scientific breathroughs to help solve U.S. energy needs.
DOE, Bechtel Jacobs sign $1.48 billion contract
Under terms of the new agreement, the company will get a fixed fee of $53.2 million for the contract period. It also settles the fee differences under the old one.
Oak Ridge sends first nuke shipment to WIPP
Workers in bubble suits at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center(photo/Emily Spence)
The first truck bound for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant left the Oak Ridge waste-processing center this morning. Story is available at the main front of Knoxnews.com
CORRE meeting at 2 p.m. Wednesday
Reminder notice: The Coalition of Oak Ridge Retired Employees will hold its annual meeting at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Heritage Fellowship Church in Oak Ridge. The address is 121 N. Illinois Ave.
ORNL computer models flight of hummingbird
For just a second, forget about the challenges of global climate change, fusion energy and understanding the miracle of the human body. Tracking the way hummingbirds fly is a pretty cool thing, don't you think?
Andrew Johnson of Digital Rocket Science used ORNL's Phoenix supercomputer (due to be decommissioned at the end of this month) to better understand the remarkable flying techniques of hummingbirds. The info may benefit studies of aerodynamics, etc. Scott Jones has the story on the National Center for Computational Sciences' website. AP photo
GAO investigation of sick worker program
Sen. Lamar Alexander is among seven U.S. senators who wrote Sept. 16 letter asking the Government Accountability Office to "review the implementation" of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. The senators asked the GAO to focus on a number of concerns, including delays in processing claims and the credibility of the compensation decisions for sick nuclear workers.
Here's a copy of the letter.
IBM Blue Gene=Eugene at ORNL computer center
ORNL used to name its supercomputers for animals (such as Jaguar), but the lab folks opted to name the newly arrived IBM Blue Gene/P System after Eugene Wigner. The naming was noted in a recent issue of ORNL Reporter.
Wigner was ORNL's first scientific director and, of course, was revered as a scientist, gentleman, and Nobel Laureate. I had the good fortune to interview Wigner many years ago, and he was gracious beyond any expectation.
Asked for the story behind the decision, Jim Hack, the director of the National Center for Computational Sciences, said there wasn't much of one. "The machine was dubbed 'Eugene' in honor of Eugene Wigner. I guess it also had the benefit that it rhymed with the product line. Sorry there's not anything more to it than that."
Continue reading "IBM Blue Gene=Eugene at ORNL computer center"
Operation Crossroads: A-bombs at Bikini
Test shot Baker created quite a scene on July 25, 1946. (AP photo)
In case you missed it, here's a link to Sunday's story about Ray Beatty, the atomic veteran who recounts his experience with test shots Able and Baker at the Marshall Islands in 1946. Also, above is a video done at Beatty's home in Clinton.
ORNL revs up for science proposals
While football fans were tailgating Saturday afternoon, members of ORNL's scientific braintrust were busy working on proposals (to be submitted this week to DOE headquarters) that could significantly enhance the lab research agenda in coming years.
Michelle Buchanan, the associate lab director for physical sciences, said ORNL teams were fine-tuning proposals for the Energy Frontier Research Centers. The new program is sponsored by the Dept. of Energy's Office of Basic Energy Sciences, and there's genuine excitement about the possibilities -- if indeed Congress provides the money to focus research on advanced energy technologies.
ORNL's reactor ready for action after rehab
Ron Crone, the research reactors director at ORNL, said there are plans to restart the High Flux Isotope Reactor on Wednesday after a month-and-a-half outage for repairs and extensive maintenance.
All told, there were about 175 different projects of varying types done during the outage, Crone said. The plan is to restart the reactor at low power on Tuesday night, do some surveys, and then crank it up to full power on Wednesday morning, he said.
Continue reading "ORNL's reactor ready for action after rehab"
A TRU surprise at Oak Ridge
When dealing with old nuclear storage sites, there are always surprises -- or so it seems. That's certainly no different when it comes to dealing with the backlog of transuranic wastes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Tony Buhl, the general manager and chief exec of EnergX, DOE's operating contractor at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center, said the surprise was the amount of water found in some of the concrete casks that have stored remote-handled TRU wastes for decades.
Holifield investigation done; problem 'correctable'
Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility was evacuated July 28.
(photo/Michael Patrick)
Michelle Buchanan, ORNL's associate lab director, didn't want to give away too much info because she's still waiting on the Holifield investigation report to be written and submitted. But based on the briefings she's received, Buchanan said, "I think we're in pretty good shape. From what I can tell, it's a correctable issue. I think it's something we'll be able to act on and get it repaired very quickly. I don't think it's going to be anything long-term."
The research facility was shut down and evacuated in late July because of elevated radiation readings.
Continue reading "Holifield investigation done; problem 'correctable'"
EnergX gets safety kudos
EnergX LLC, the operating contractor at DOE's Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge, received "merit" level recognition in the Voluntary Protection Program. According to info from DOE, "The VPP recognizes outstanding programs promoting safety and health excellence through cooperative efforts among labor, management and government at the DOE contractor sites."
Weaknesses in DOE's cyber security
Despite improvements in recent years, new IG report says there are continuing vulnerabilities in the DOE's unclassified cyber security program. Here's the link.
Don't expect to find the weak links (or weak labs, in this instance). "Due to security considerations, information on specific vulnerabilities and locations has been omitted from this report," the IG said.
Climate myth-busting
John Fleck, ace reporter and blogger, has now joined the peer-reviewed crowd as a co-author on a paper ("The Myth of the 1970s Global Cooling Scientific Consensus") in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
Congrats.
Governor's Summit on Clean Energy
ORNL and TVA are co-sponsoring the Governor's Summit Oct. 14-15. It'll be at the Knoxville Convention Center, and ex-U.S. Sen. Howard Baker will be among the speakers. Governor Bredesen will be there, of course.
Here's the governor's statement:
"Innovation in the clean-energy tech sector is leading to higher skilled, better paying jobs. It also happens to be the right thing to do for energy and the environment. Globally, clean-energy technology could be one of Tennessee's next great exports. We need to turn it to our advantage, and make it work for our great state."
1.8 metric tons of Libyan UF6?
Not sure I've seen this stat before. In a fact sheet distributed by the NNSA to tout anti-terrorism accomplishments, agency said it "helped eliminate Libya's nuclear weapons program by removing 1.8 metric tons of uranium hexafluoride and over 500 metric tons of centrifuge components and related materials."
Cleaning up ORNL & Y-12
Steve McCracken, DOE's environmental manager in Oak Ridge, said the dispute resolution recently achieved by DOE, EPA and the Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation will ultimately make the cleanup program better in Oak Ridge. In fact, the new agreement should cover all of the cleanup projects in Oak Ridge, he said.
"We all know that the current accelerated closure plan does not include all the scope that is necessary to clean up the Oak Ridge reservation," McCracken said. "So what we're going to do is begin a process soon to see what the expanded scope is and try to prioritize that and put that into an Appendix J (milestone)."
Party time at the uranium house
Note the many gun ports visible along HEUMF exterior (photo Brett Pate/B&W)
The folks at Y-12 are hosting an invitation-only event Sept. 29 to celebrate the construction milestone at the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility -- the new $549 million home of the U.S. inventory of bomb-grade uranium.
Thumbs down on nuke reprocessing
The Union of Concerned Scientists distributed a letter this week urging Senate to take nuclear reprocessing out of the energy bill. The letter (click here) was signed by reps of 30 national and regional groups.
Sen. Alexander on Yucca . . . and beyond
The big news in the waste world, at least this month, was the NRC's docketing of the Dept. of Energy's application for the Yucca Mtn repository. That means the controversial project is going to get a technical review for possible licensing.
Meanwhile, DOE spokeswoman Joann Waldrip said the Nuclear Waste Policy Act requires the dept. to report to Congress on the need for a second repository and that report is due between 2007 and 2010. She said DOE expects to submit it "by the end of the year."
Anybody seen a warhead around here?
A 25-year-old Knoxville man was arrested today when he called 911 after getting stuck in the air-conditioning vent at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Odd, but that wasn't the half of it.
As AP's Duncan Mansfield reported:
Hoisted up and read his rights, Smith told police he was a "special agent from the United States Illuminati, badge number 0931" and had rappelled onto the museum from a helicopter, a police report said.
He said he was following orders to "defuse and confiscate" a Soviet-made nuclear warhead, specifically a "MERV6SS-22AN" warhead, according to the report. The bomb supposedly was hidden in a blue, plastic cow sculpture in the museum basement, he said.However, Smith told officers his "agency" called while he was in air-vent limbo to say it made a mistake and the bomb might be in a Memphis museum instead.
Scholarship honoring Manfred Kopp of ORNL/ORDELA
Daniel Kopp, the son of Manfred Kopp, a former researcher at ORNL and founder and president of ORDELA Inc., has created a UT physics scholarship in honor of his father, who died tragically last week.
As a professional engineer, scientist, and entrepreneur, Manfred K. Kopp understood the value of an education. His career included over 50 publications, 12 patents, and pioneering development of detectors and instrumentation for ORDELA, Inc. where he was president . . . In his memory, his family is establishing a scholarship at the University of Tennessee that will be designated for students studying physics. Individuals wishing to contribute may send checks, payable to the University of Tennessee, to:
The University of Tennessee
Office of Development
B022 UT Conference Center
Knoxville, TN 37996-4102The funds will be used to support a student scholarship in the area of physics in Manfred Kopp's name. At some point in the future, these funds could be used to establish an endowment for this same purpose in Mr. Kopp's name.
For further information, please contact Mr. Randy Atkins, Director of Development, UT College of Arts & Sciences, 865-974-2365,
Continue reading "Scholarship honoring Manfred Kopp of ORNL/ORDELA"
Emerson, Thoreau and you?
Listen up, budding environmental writers. According to info distributed my way recently, Penguin Classics and the Union of Concerned Scientists are seeking new writers "to carry the legacy of classic environmental writers Emerson and Thoreau into the 21st century."
They are looking for aspring writers and photographers to contribute -- submitting their personal stories and images -- for a new online book, "Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories About Global Warming." Here's the link.
DOE & Volvo
Don't know if there's anything much going on here, but it seems like this summer there've been persistent questions about DOE's relationship with Volvo. Maybe the bottom line is U.S. companies want to know why there's so much interest in international ties for fuel-efficient vehicles. Maybe it's something else.
Oak Ridge incinerator test delayed; other contract news
As noted earlier, a number of companies are working on technologies or adjustements to their current waste-processing technologies to supplement or replace the TSCA Incinerator in Oak Ridge when (if?) DOE shuts it down at the end of fiscal 2009.
Because of that Bechtel jacobs Co., the environmental manager in Oak Ridge (and current operator of the incinerator), earlier this year put on hold a procurement that would have hired subcontractor to do tests on the mixed-waste incinerator that specializes in destruction of PCBs.
Continue reading "Oak Ridge incinerator test delayed; other contract news"
Hot new version of Science.gov
Science.gov 5.0, the latest version of the fab search tool for science info, is now available. Check it out here. The new version has seven new databases with access to more than 200 million pages of scientific information, according to the Dept. of Energy.
DOE's Office of Scientific and Technical Information in Oak Ridge manages Science.gov.
Weather & warheads
A meteorologist at a nuclear weapons plant? An interview with Y-12's Tom Bellinger is part of this month's column in the Knox Biz Journal.
There's always next year . . .
Leaders of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability met in Oak Ridge this week for their annual strategizing session.
Susan Gordon, staff director of the Alliance since 1995, said they went over goals and accomplishments for 2008 and began formulating plans for 2009. I asked Gordon if the group achieved its 2008 goals, and she replied with a hint of humor:
"Some of them. Did we get rid of nuclear weapons? No."
Storm clouds over Nevada
No, it has nothing to do with Hurricane Ike. There a big brouhaha over the pay raises for long-time nuke projects chieftain Bob Loux, etc. It's probably not a good idea for a state servant to make more money than the Governor. Attracts too much attention.
Keith Rogers of the Review-Journal has a good story.
It costs money to process uranium
Yep, and it's not clear right now whether the folks at Y-12 are going to have enough taxpayer dollars to run the "oxide conversion" facility beyond the end of this month.
The Oak Ridge plant restarted the operation back in late spring for the first time in nearly two years and one of the few times in the post-Cold War era. It was a big deal. The process converts enriched uranium oxide to a compound known as "green salt" (uranium tetrafluoride), which then goes through a reduction system to produce uranium metal buttons of potential weapons use.
For the families of sick nuclear workers
The amendment introduced this week by Sen. Lamar Alexander and seven other senators to help families of sick nuclear workers collect money from the federal compensation fund is attracting quite a bit of interest, particularly it seems among former workers at the former Pinellas plant in Florida.
Alexander on 9/11
I had a telephone interview with Sen. Lamar Alexander this morning to discuss some stuff he's doing regarding power plant emissions. The story's on Knoxnews.com. Given today's anniversary, I asked the senator where he was on Sept. 11, 2001.
Say 'Cheese!': The grater was radioactive
Yep, a common household cheese grater was found to be hot at a Flint, Mich., recycling operation. The Detroit News has the story.
The Uranium Video
If you haven't seen it, here's the link on YouTube. It's an entertaining and informative six minutes.
Farragut grad gets McDermott scholarship
Brian Pitcher, a graduate of Farragut High School, has received the McDermott International Scholarship for 2008, valued at $1,500 a year for four years. He plans to attend UT and major in engineering, according to info provided by Babcock & Wilcox, one of the McDermott holdings.
More on ESS Scandinavia
The communications officer for the Scandinavian team on the European Spallation Source sends along info about a cooperative agreement the group signed with ORNL during the visit to Oak Ridge last week. Here's the stuff.
UT installs security cameras at Neyland Stadium
The story's at Knoxnews.com. I guess they're finally going to crack down on those annoying fans who stand up and cheer.
Grin.
We'll worry when they start using the buff boys at Wackenhut as ushers.
Keeping up with the neutron crowd
Control room at the Spallation Neutron Source.
In today's column, I mentioned that a delegation from Sweden was at ORNL last week to learn a bit more about SNS and its impacts, etc. Well, a delegation from Denmark apparently was in before them, for much the same. The Scandinavian folks are teaming in hopes of acquiring a European version of the SNS known as ESS (European Spallation Source).
Earlier this week, I talked on the phone with Ian Anderson, ORNL's neutron sciences chief, to try to catch up on a few things, including the European activity and the latest with SNS. The other competitors for the ESS, by the way, are Spain and Hungary.
Oak Ridge retirees to meet Sept. 24
The Coalition of Oak Ridge Retired Employees will hold its annual meeting at 2 p.m., Sept. 24, at the Heritage Fellowship Church in Oak Ridge. Address is 121 N. Illinois Ave.
Not sure if there'll be any fireworks at the meeting (after all it's going to be in church), but there might be a little fire and brimstone from Dub Shults, who's due to become the organization's new president. Shults, pictured at right, is former director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Analytical Chemistry Division.
Congressman sees Y-12's terror response center
When U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. visited Y-12 last week, a favorite stop reportedly was the plant's Nuclear and Radiological Field Training Center. The high-security training site, where military personnel and emergency responders train with real radioactive materials, is located on Chestnut Ridge above the sprawling plant.
Continue reading "Congressman sees Y-12's terror response center"
Solar flair at DOE HQ
The Dept. of Energy hosted a shindig today, with start-up of a roof-top photovoltaic system at the Forrestal Building that's reportedly one of the largest solar (power) systems in Washington. DOE said the system is 40 to 50 times larger than a typical residential unit and would generate about 200 megawatt hours of electricity annually.
New attorneys in nuke theft case
Public defenders have been appointed to represent Roy Lynn Oakley, who's accused of stealing and trying to sell classified equipment taken from the K-25 site in Oak Ridge. His former attorney, Herb Moncier, has been barred from federal courts for a while. Here's the story at Knoxnews.com.
Did feds forget who built the HEUMF?
The National Nuclear Security Administration today issued a press release, finally confirming what had become pretty doggone obvious -- construction is essentially complete at Y-12's new storehouse for bomb-grade uranium.
Oddly enough, the two-page release about the "major construction milestone" never mentions who built the mammoth nuke facility. For the record, it was Cadell-Blaine Joint Venture, a partnership of Caddell Construction of Montgomery, Ala., and Blaine Construction of Knoxville.
When asked why the press release didn't mention the construction contractor for the big project, NNSA spokesman Steven Wyatt said, "It was probably an oversight."
Nonetheless, there are quotes from NNSA local boss Ted Sherry and Darrel Kohlhorst, the general manager for B&W, the managing contractor at Y-12.
Flood damage at historic Alpha-1
Building 9201-1 (Alpha-1) was part of the Manhattan Project operations.
A federal spokesman confirmed today that the Aug. 17 break of a major water line caused some structural damage at Alpha-1, a World War II-era facility at Y-12.
Alpha-1 was part of the original uranium-enrichment operations that extracted U-235 for the first atomic bombs. It currently is used for "non-nuclear machining operations" and houses a testing-and-calibration shop.
Big crowd for Nuke Security Summit
Reports are that as many as 250 are attending the event at Y-12. As I drove by the Oak Ridge plant earlier this afternoon, the parking lot at New Hope Center had runneth over, and there were tents out front for vendors or whomever. It also looked like a robot was on display. (Of course, since I was trying to drive, my observations were limited.)
Construction of U-235 storehouse a done deal
Y-12's new Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility is essentially complete, from what I'm told, but there's still no official announcement. That could come as early as this week.
The major milestones apparently were completed before the end of August, as promised, although a number of finishing touches are still under way at the high-security site.
Continue reading "Construction of U-235 storehouse a done deal"
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability in Oak Ridge
The national network of 35 groups, including the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, is meeting in Oak Ridge next week. (Interesting that it coincides with a nuclear security summit taking place at Y-12.)
The organization was originally called the Military Production Network. It focuses on issues related to production of nuclear weapons (decidedly against), nuclear waste and other concerns in communities near the government facilities.
Y-12/Pantex melding
This apparently is the first step in previously referenced plans to share services between the B&W contractor organizations at the Pantex warhead assembly plant in Texas and the Y-12 production facility in Oak Ridge.
The chieftains at each plant acknowledged the formation of a new Shared Services Human Capital organization, which will be based at Y-12 and serve both facilities. Donna Hampton (photo, right), the human resources manager at Pantex, is relocating to Y-12, where she will become Human Capital Director and head the new integrated organization.
According to the distributed message, Debbie Shecterle, the ex-human capital manager and senior VP at B&W Y-12, will be on "special assignment" at the corporate end and assist with the transition.
SSAB meeting Sept. 10 in Oak Ridge.
The Dept. of Energy's environmental advisory board meets at 6 p.m.at the DOE Information Center, 475 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The meeting is open to the public.
Below is the meeting agenda:
$4.8M award for whistleblowing pipefitters at Hanford
Annette Cary has the story on the Washington State Supreme Court's ruling.
Nuke security summit in Oak Ridge
Firearms certification at Central Training Facility (photo/Joe Howell)
Terror types might want to be on their best behavior next week in the Atomic City. Nuclear security hotshots from around the country are expected to gather for what's being described as a national summit.
The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant apparently will play host, but there's not a lot of info (surprise, surprise) on the security shindig. Word is the Pentagon and Nuclear Regulatory Commission are sending folks, along with the usual suspects from the National Nuclear Security Administration's weapons sites.
Understanding the mechanics of memory
There's a cool story in the NY Times about a study published today in Science.
What if half of DOE retired?
No, that's not the set-up line for a joke (although I guess it has potential). It's just stating a possibility.
According to John Shewairy, DOE's public affairs chief, almost 50 percent of the 402 feds holding positions at the Oak Ridge Operations office are eligible for retirement within the next four years.
ORNL assists energy-saving project for industry
Overlooked in a recent announcement was ORNL's participation in a DOE grant program (still subject to congressional appropriation) for development of energy-efficient industrial processes. Most of the grants are to support work in the steel industry and other high-energy-use areas.
If approved by Congress, DOE would provide $26.6 million over three years, and that would be boosted by $15.3 million from the industrial partners, etc.
Continue reading "ORNL assists energy-saving project for industry"
DOE spokesman comments on retiree pensions
Oak Ridge retirees continue to push their case for a pension increase and ask the question: Why not? A few weeks ago, elected officials basically said they were getting nowhere with the Bush administration.
It'd been awhile since I'd asked DOE's Oak Ridge office to respond to the issue, so this afternoon I did. Federal spokesman John Shewairy's initial comment: "Consistent with what we've said for the past year, it's not a decision at the field level. It's something that headquarters is going to have to address. It's not in our ballpark."
Continue reading "DOE spokesman comments on retiree pensions"
Getting rid of the Raccoon in Oak Ridge
With more than a little help from the city of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Associated Universities got what it wanted -- a road sign to call its own.
ORAU Way is the new name of the road that leads to the main campus (and the Center for Science Education that's under construction) off Illinois Avenue and the Oak Ridge Turnpike. It replaces Raccoon Road, and the switcheroo apparently didn't offend anybody, except maybe a few critters in the area. There's still a Badger Avenue running through the campus, which I suppose constitutes a little animal love.
Congrats.
A little piece of Y-12 history
As the folks at Y-12 dismantle and demolish old facilities as part of the plant's ongoing modernization program, they're finding interesting artifacts from the Manhattan Project and the ensuing Cold War years.
The dated spike shown here (photo by Brett Pate) is one of many that were retrieved from about 500 utility poles taken down a couple of years ago. The 43 stands for 1943, the time of construction, and reflects how long these poles had been in place.
"One reason that the poles last more than 60 years is that they were made of (much-coveted) western cedar," plant spokeswoman Ellen Boatner said. "Some of the poles are still in use."
Hanford winners: Lockheed Martin, Jacobs & Wackenhut
Dept. of Energy announced this afternoon that a partnership known as Mission Support Alliance, LLC, was selected for the "mission support contract" at the Hanford site. The cost-plus-award-fee contract is valued at $3 billion over 10 years (five-year base with option).
According to the DOE release:
The Mission Support Alliance, LLC is a limited liability company formed by Lockheed Martin Integrated Technology, LLC; Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.; and Wackenhut Services, Inc. Pre-selected subcontractors include Abadan, Akima Facilities Management, Dade Moeller & Associates, HPM, Longenecker and Associates, Protection Strategies, R. J. Lee Group, Vivid Learning Systems, Westech International, TestAmerica, and Lampson International.
Continue reading "Hanford winners: Lockheed Martin, Jacobs & Wackenhut"
The all-time favorite Oak Ridge anecdote (for politicians)
Did Alexander borrow a story from his mentor? (photo/Michael Patrick)
I've probably heard this anecdote 100 times over the years. Maybe more. It was a staple of Howard Baker's Oak Ridge oratory and, more recently, it's become a regular part of Lamar Alexander's repertoire.
The story explains Oak Ridge's involvement in the super-secret Manhattan Project. It's an ice-breaker and a crowd pleaser. But the reason it's so popular with the Washington crowd (or so I'm convinced) is that it contains a broad measure of political machismo.
Here's Alexander's abbreviated version, as contained in a recent speech:
Continue reading "The all-time favorite Oak Ridge anecdote (for politicians)"
Tobin to speak to FORNL
Ken Tobin, director of the newly created Measurement Science and Systems Engineering Division at ORNL, will speak to the Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the group's monthly luncheon, Sept. 17 (that's a Wednesday).
Tobin will talk about how the division came to be, some of the history behind it, and what kind of research activities -- including work on sensors and electronics of many types -- that take place there. He was named a corporate fellow five years ago, recognizing his career achievements -- especially in applied computer vision research.
Peace activist spreads his message
Hutchison earlier this year at Oak Ridge hearing. (photo/Michael Patrick)
Ralph Hutchison, longtime coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, always speaks his mind, and by no means does he limit his voice to local protests and occasional trips to New York and Washington, D.C. Here's a link to his letter, Nuke Power Leads to Nuke Proliferation, published in the Statesman Journal in Oregon.
DOE to get cleanup extension
It looks like regulators will grant the Dept. of Energy more time to complete the environmental cleanup in Oak Ridge. The good news is that more work may be accomplished under the new agreement. Here's today's column.
Congressman Duncan at Y-12
Congressman John J. Duncan Jr. is supposed to visit Y-12 on Thursday, getting a look-see and briefing at the nuclear weapons production facility. No details on what the Second District Republican plans to see, but the itinerary will likely include the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility -- the newly constructed storage complex for bomb-grade uranium.
What to do with notorious White Oak Lake
White Oak Lake remains posted because of hot sediments.
(photo/Michael Patrick)
Tomorrow's column will be about a tentative agreement to extend the deadline (now at 2016) for completing the Oak Ridge cleanup of the Dept. of Energy's Oak Ridge reservation.
One of the decisions yet to be made is what to do with White Oak Lake, which historically was used as a giant settling basin for ORNL's radioactive discharges before the water was released into the Clinch River and reservoirs beyond.
Obama couldn't do that, could he?
Tis the political season in all its fury, and one report that's been circulating for a while is that Sen. Barack Obama, if he's elected President, would likely relocate some of the research programs now at ORNL to labs in his home state of Illinois (presumably Argonne and Fermilab).
Sirens in Oak Ridge
Get ready for 1st Wednesday. On Sept. 3, the Dept. of Energy will test its emergency warning system in Oak Ridge. Sirens will sound between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the three major federal facilities -- ORNL, Y-12 and the East Tennessee Technology Park (former K-25 site). It's a monthly event to prepare for the big one.
More detail on Y-12's mercury stockpile
Most of the mercury was acquired by the Atomic Energy Commission, the Dept. of Energy's predecessor, in the 1950s. It was used in the COLEX lithium-6 isotope separation process that operated at Y-12 until the early 1960s for development and production of thermonuclear weapons.
According to a fact sheet from the NNSA, "The COLEX operations were shut down in 1963 and the production process dismantled and mercury recovered in the 1960s."
Alexander: no more mercury in Oak Ridge
Sen. Lamar Alexander said he's blocking legislation that could result in thousands of tons of mercury being shipped to Y-12 -- where about 1,200 tons already are warehoused. The story is at Knoxnews.com. Mercury, of course, is a big part of the Cold War legacy in Oak Ridge.
Frank Munger will be covering the Dept. of Energy's Oak Ridge facilities and other things nuclear. The blog will include random thoughts and opinions, behind-the-scenes tidbits, and expanded coverage and analysis of Oak Ridge news. 