May 2008
Wampathon
As Larisa Brass notes on Connected, today's the start of the annual Summit that tends to move around in leaps and bounds. For Oak Ridge feds and key contractors in town, the Summit (this year in Huntsville, Ala.) is a be-there-or-run-a-risk function. Attendance is taken.
Wadsworth to head Battelle
DOE photo/Lynn Freeny
Jeff Wadsworth, a former director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will become the new CEO of Battelle. He left Oak Ridge last year to become Battelle's executive in charge of laboratories.
Here's the story.
Another twist in K-25 worker's trial
Reporter Matt Lakin has the latest story today on Knoxnews.com. This is trial of Roy Lynn Oakley, who's accused of stealing classified equipment from uranium-enrichment site in Oak Ridge and trying to sell it to the French Embassy in Washington, D.C.
UT-Battelle's extravagant spending
ORNL is singled out for overspending on scientific conferences by new IG report. Full report is here. At a time when everybody's supposed to cool their spending, inspectors found ORNL's spending to be over the top -- including meals that were "upscale and elaborate."
As a side note, the report said it appeared that some federal and contractor attendees may have eaten those upscale and elaborate meals at the conference and later filed for meal allowance on their travel vouchers.
Investing in weapons futures?
John Fleck has a good column on the Reliable Replacement Warhead.
David Michaels' book and DOE's sick workers
As I've said before on this forum and perhaps elsewhere, I'm a fan of David Michaels -- particularly because of his work as an asst. secretary at DOE during the Clinton administration. I've seen a bunch of folks serve as political appointees at the Dept. of Energy over the past 25-plus years. David Michaels was one of the best, and he made a difference during his three years (I think that's right) at DOE.
When I mentioned some time back that Michaels had authored a new book ("Doubt Is Their Product -- How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health"), now on the market, and that he had discussed his time at DOE and his role in developing the sick nuclear worker compensation program, it generated some fairly strong comments from Oak Ridge workers. Anyway, a few people remembered well Michaels' first visit to Oak Ridge, and it was an important milestone _ and significantly referenced in his book.
Here's an excerpt that addresses that formative moment:
Continue reading "David Michaels' book and DOE's sick workers"
Memorial service for Cold War workers at Portsmouth
For decades, of course, the Portsmouth uranium-enrichment plant in Ohio came under the oversight and direction of DOE's Oak Ridge office. On Memorial Day, Cold War workers and their advocates at that site will hold a candelight vigil for "fallen heroes" and to push for quicker response in the compensation program for sick workers.
The National Nuclear Workers for Justice and the Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety & Security have a petition drive at this link.
BJC contract will be rebid (post-2011)
There have been rumblings, imagined or real, that DOE might extend the Bechtel Jacobs cleanup management contract beyond the 2011 timeframe currently planned, so I asked some questions.
"Our outlook or approach to the work that Bechtel Jacobs is doing has not changed," DOE spokesman John Shewairy said. "We're positioned and moving toward their work ending on Dec. 31, 2011."
Top 5 warning signs you're being 'greenwashed'
This comes from the Greenopia website. Here's No. 3 on the list:
Vagueness. If a company says "Hey, we're Green" or uses the phrases "our environmental commitment" or "all-natural" without explaining further, chances are they're greenwashing. All-natural is a particularly common greenwashing phrase. It sounds great and brings to mind images of nature and bunnies, but arsenic, lead, uranium and all sorts of other lovely toxic elements are also completely "all-natural". Expect a company to back up its claims with specifics.
It's finally official at Los Alamos
I reported on AC Underground Jan. 25 that Todd Davis was leaving his DNFSB post at Y-12 to become a safety rep at Los Alamos. The defense board has finally announced the appointment on its website.
DOE's decision on K-25 preservation
It's apparently still a ways off, based on comments today from John Shewairy, the agency's public affairs manager in Oak ridge.
"We're still involved in the cost analyses, in terms of the options that we have for saving it versus bringing it down," Shewairy said. "That process is still ongoing. We hope to have that process completed as soon as possible to move forward to the next stage in making a decision."
Changes in fed office at Y-12
Terry Olberding, who has worked in the NNSA site office for seven years, has been named the assistant manager for operations management at the Y-12 National Security Complex. She will be responsible for "oversight of the day-to-day operations, conduct of operations, maintenance, training, occurrence reporting, and the startup and restart of nuclear facilities at Y-12," NNSA said in release.
Meanwhile, Tom Vereb, a newly retired U.S. Air Force colonel, has been hired as the assistant manager for administration -- Oldberding's old position at Y-12. According to the NNSA, Vereb has almost 27 years of experience in financial management, serving as deputy comptroller for the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base (in Florida).
Oak Ridge cleanup contractors bite their lips
Some pretty knowledgeable folks estimated years ago that it might cost $1 billion to dismantle the K-25 and K-27 behemoths in Oak Ridge, and they weren't happy when Bechtel Jacobs (with DOE's help) ran off all bidders who couldn't (or wouldn't) meet the fixed-price demands and opted to do the work itself. Now the cost, once reportedly targeted at $167 million, is at $810 million and maybe not capped yet.
Based on some of the e-mails and phone messages I've been getting lately, that really sticks in the craw of other, would-be environmental contractors.
Mailbag rollcall & other shenanigans
A Maryville reader wrote to tell me I could take credit, if I wanted to (which I don't), for his ideas on how to deal with the nation's -- and the world's -- nuclear waste problem. "One is to get NASA involved," Roger wrote. "Their (sic) not doing that much good for mankind in general. I say let them carry nuke waste to space, whether it be storage site on the Moon or to the Sun or millions of miles away. Then I say they would be helping all of mankind, not just these expensive experiments."
Another writer, this one from Crossville, wrote to thank me for editing his letter to the editor and correcting some of his mistakes. "I can tell you made the corrections as I read almost all of your articals (sic) and I can see your style in my letter." Well, thanks (I guess), for the compliment (I guess), but I don't interfere with the letters to the editor. The editor wouldn't much care for that.
Princeton fusion experiment axed
DOE Under Secretary Ray Orbach reportedly told Princeton University officials today that DOE is closing the National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) construction project. The shutdown will reportedly take place in a phased way to capture some good from the research investment.
Here's a DOE paper that discusses the decision, which the agency said evaluated the project's scientific value against the taxpayer interests:
K-25's good stuff goes to Y-12
The significant U-235 deposits extracted from the processing equipment at the World War II-era K-25 facility are being transported to the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant a few miles away. Y-12, of course, is the nation's storehouse for highly enriched uranium.
Kelly Trice, the Bechtel Jacobs vice president and deputy general manager who's heading the dismantlement effort at K-25, said he couldn't release the amount of uranium that's been removed from K-25 and sent to Y-12 or specify what the "criticality" threshhold is to determine what uranium is salvageable and what's classified as waste (and sent to Nevada Test Site, etc.).
Ted Sherry's confidence, etc.
A few topics in today's column on Knoxnews.com.
Private financing at federal facilities
Some folks complain that private financing of new facilities at federal sites, such as ORNL and Y-12, is just a way of circumventing the federal appropriations process. That hasn't stopped Oak Ridge contractors from pushing ahead as a quick way to modernize the government installations.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory used the technique for three major facilities, and Y-12 got a private developer to build the New Hope Center and the Jack Case Center, a massive office complex in the middle of the plant.
Bill Wilburn, a Y-12 spokesman, said more of the same could be forthcoming.
'Hey, guys, over here . . . Look over here'
photo/B&W
ORAU President Ron Townsend and Y-12 GM Darrel Kohlhorst today signed a memo of understanding to collaborate on projects.
Continue reading "'Hey, guys, over here . . . Look over here'"
A preservationist's view of K-25
Excavator cuts beams at northwest corner of K-25 building
Bill Wilcox, Manhattan Project vet and Oak Ridge historian, is one of the major supporters of K-25 preservation. He strongly believes that the WWII site, where uranium was enriched for bombs and nuclear reactors, can be turned into a tourist attraction.
Wilcox offered some comments after an article this week in which Kelly Trice, a top exec with Bechtel Jacobs Co., described the North End of K-25 as "old, ugly and dilipidated." (It should be noted that Trice didn't offer an opinion on whether the North End should be preserved and he noted that DOE is mulling multiple options. He also emphasized that ultimately BJC will do whatever DOE wants.)
Here are Wilcox's comments:
Is proposed ban on waste imports anti-nuke?
Apparently some folks think the legislation, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., to ban imports of nuclear waste is actually a stance against the nuclear power industry. Here's a link to story in the Salt Lake Tribune.
Here's the link on The Tennessean's story on congressional hearing on the issues.
Foaming uranium-enrichment equipment at K-25
photo/Bechtel Jacobs
Workers inject polyurethane compound into old uranium-processing equipment to stabilize conditions prior to the big building's demolition.
Cancer assessment on beryllium
The Environmental Protection Agency has released an updated toxicological review of beryllium for public comments. The draft assessment is available here.
Indiana Jones tackles climate change
Celebrated actor Harrison Ford is featured in a new video by Conservation International calling for actions to counter the rapid disappearance of the planet's tropical forests.
"Every year, tropical forest equal to an area the size of England disappears," Ford said. "That's a jungle the size of Manhattan lost every four hours."
Need a discount hip replacement?
ORNL today released info about new technique for processing titanium alloys, which reportedly could slash the cost of parts for joint replacements and other such things, including armored vehicles for the military. (Lead researcher, Bill Peter, is pictured at right.)
The Defense Dept.'s Advanced Research Projects Agency is one of the sponsors of the research, along with the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
K-25 is coming down
Update today on the D&D project at the World War II-era K-25 facility.
Bechtel Jacobs Co., DOE's environmental manager in Oak Ridge, is heading the massive project. Subcontractors include Washington Safety Management Solutions, SEC Radcon Alliance, Fairfield, Restoration Services Inc., and Broadway Electrical Services.
Reinventing Y-12
B&W Technical Services, the contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, will sign a memorandum of understanding with Oak Ridge Associated Universities during ceremonies Wednesday morning at Y-12.
According to a media advisory, "This MOU is a pioneering step in Y-12's transformation from simply a key fixture in the nation's nuclear weapons complex into an enterprise that can now offer unique scientific and technical expertise to outside entities, such as ORAU's consortium of colleges and universities. As part of this agreement, ORAU member institutions will be providiing input on specific uranium research capabilities needed to promote sustained mutually beneficial research collaborations."
ORAU doings
Oak Ridge Associated Universities has awarded research grants to 30 junior faculty members from its member institutions. Among the recipients of the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards is Qiuhong Zhao of the University of Tennessee.
Each winner gets $5,000 from ORAU, with a matching grant from the recipient's institution. Here's the full list.
In other ORAU news:
Out of Latvia
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a regular player in nuclear nonproliferation efforts around the globe. Here's another example.
The National Nuclear Security Administration announced that about 30 pounds of Soviet-origin HEU (highly enriched uranium) had been removed from Latvia and secured at a Russian nuclear facility near Chelyabinsk. The HEU was in spent fuel. Earlier (in May 2005), about three kilograms of fresh (unirradiated) fuel had been removed from the Salaspils Research Reactor in Latvia.
ORNL personnel participated in the latest project. Here's a statement from Larry Satkowiak, the lab's director of global security and nonproliferation programs, in response to questions about the Oak Ridge involvement:
New part of the government uniform
About 15,000 Oak Ridge workers will be getting new badges as part of another post-9/11 mandate from the government. Column in Knox Biz Journal.
Drug tests expanding in Oak Ridge
Thousands of workers in Oak Ridge will be subject to random drug tests under new DOE program.
Jaguar update at ORNL
As noted earlier this year, ORNL's Cray XT4 "Jaguar" supercomputer was upgraded with new quadcore processors that doubled its peak operating speed to a nominal 250 teraflops. According to press statement today from the lab, the reconfigured Jaguar has passed its acceptance testing with a capability of 263 trillion calculations second.
ORNL Director Thom Mason commented that the upgrade was an essential step toward petascape computing, the next big milestone with thousands of trillions of calculations per second. Stay tuned. It's happening pretty fast.
Drive-thru radiation protection in Maryland
A story in Washington Post about Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.
Eeeek!
Make that a double "Eeek!" as local citizens could be frightened by the fake emergencies in upcoming drills in Oak Ridge
The Dept. of Energy usually sounds its warning sirens once a month as a test, but in early June there'll be that and more. The public warning sirens at ORNL will be sounded on the morning of June 3 as part of a two-day emergency exercise at the laboratory, and the next day the sirens will be sounded at ORNL and Y-12 and the East Tennessee Technology Park as part of the monthly test on the government reservation.
Itty-bitty fire at K-25
Workers were using a plasma arc cutter to cut duct work around process equipment at the K-25 uranium-enrichment facility, and a small amount of debris caught fire this afternoon, a spokesman confirmed.
Workers quickly put out the fire with a fire extinguisher and then called the Fire Dept., per regulations, according to Dennis Hill of Bechtel Jacobs, DOE's cleanup contractor. Hill said no radiological or hazardous materials were involved, and nobody was hurt.
W76 work resumes; no word on Fogbank
Just posted a story on the main news site. Y-12 has confirmed that life-extension work is under way on the W76 warhead, with the first production unit by year's end.
Thanks, but . . .
The Alliance for Nuclear Worker Advocacy Groups sent a letter to the Dept. of Labor raising issues about the website that's supposed to provide info on possible links between diseases and occupational exposures to various toxins.
"While we appreciate DOL's efforts in existing the claimants, we feel this list inadequate and, in some respects, misleading," Terrie Barrie of ANWAG wrote to Peter Turcic, who directs the compensation program for sick workers.
Wamp may go to bat for RRW
If he gains a leadership position on the powerful House Apppropriations energy and water subcommittee, Congressman Zach Wamp plans to promote the Reliable Replacement Warhead. More on this in today's column.
Good deeds
About 400 workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex are expected to participate Saturday morning in landscaping, maintenance and otherwise helpful acts for local organizations as part of this year's Day of Volunteering. About 35 projects are planned in the greater Oak Ridge/Knoxville area.
Rep. Gordon states his case against n-waste imports
Congressman Bart Gordon, who heads the House Science and Technology Committee, was in Oak Ridge last week to talk about solving the nation's energy woes. In a side interview, he took a little time to discuss his oppostion to the plans that would import up to 20,000 tons of Italian nuclear waste.
"Let me start off by saying this: There's only one nation in the world that allows radioactive low-level waste to come in and be stored. That's the United States," the Tennessee Democrat said emphatically. "There are about a dozen nations, including Canada and Mexico, that have no storage of their own. So it's only logical that if we're the only nation we're going to see more and more of them bringing their low-level wastes here."
Continue reading "Rep. Gordon states his case against n-waste imports"
UCS wants to delay projects at Y-12, Los Alamos
The Union of Concerned Scientists wants to postpone construction of a new production facility at Y-12 (Uranium Processing Facility or UPF) until the nation has a new nuclear policy and a better handle on the future of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. UCS also says it's "premature" to build the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) Nuclear Facility at Los Alamos.
The new report, "The Cart Before the Horse: DOE's Plan for the Future of the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex," is available here.
98 union departures approved at Y-12
That's the latest news on job reductions at the Oak Ridge weapons plant, according to Bill Wiburn, a spokesman for B&W Technical Services.
Even though B&W earlier indicated it hoped to reduce the hourly ranks by about 120, Wilburn said no layoffs are planned. "We do not anticipate any involuntary separations," he said.
Padgett's energy plan
Mike Padgett, who is running for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, has released his energy plan, and a campaign spokeswoman called following Sen. Lamar Alexander's big to-do Friday in Oak Ridge to make sure we'd seen it.
This is a 'log' of bomb-grade uranium
The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant casts these logs from scraps of highly enriched uranium, including chips, briquettes and pieces of dismantled warhead parts. Today's story discusses Y-12's plan to introduce a microwave furnace into the uranium production center, and it will be dedicated to the recycling operation. The log of highly concentrated U-235 is hollow for nuclear criticality reasons. Campaigns director Steve Laggis would not reveal the log's dimensions.
Christensen on nuclear's future role
Dana Christensen, an associate lab director at ORNL who came to Oak Ridge a couple of years ago from Los Alamos, outlined the potential role of nuclear energy in a U.S. strategy for energy independence.
Here's the prepared text:
Text of David Greene's remarks at Alexander gig
David Greene, a corporate fellow at ORNL and one of the leading transportation researchers in the U.S., offered this viewpoint following Sen. Alexander's speech.
Here's the text:
Continue reading "Text of David Greene's remarks at Alexander gig"
ORNL Director's comments
photo/Michael Patrick
Here's the text of ORNL Director Thom Mason's comments at today's program that featured U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander's call for a "A New Manhattan Project for Clean Energy Independence."
Roadblock on Italian waste disposal
Members of the Northwest regional waste compact take action to halt the disposal of foreign nuclear waste at the EnergySolutions landfill at Clive, Utah. EnergySolutions earlier this week asked for a Federal Court ruling on the matter to clarify the authority on waste disposal at the company's site.
EnergySolutions & Italy: the beat goes on
photo/Michael Patrick
News continues to circulate on the EnergySolutions proposal to import Italian nuclear waste for processing and disposal. A number of environmental and nuke-related activist groups in Tennessee, including the Coalition for a Healthy Environment, supported a resolution against the project that didn't make it out of the state's General Assembly, at least not at this point.
Meanwhile, EnergySolutions is moving forward in anticipation of a positive response from the NRC on the import license application and working to counter any roadblocks. The company is seeking a Federal Court ruling that would affirm the right to dispose of waste-processing residues from the Italian waste at the Clive, Utah, landfill.
Continue reading "EnergySolutions & Italy: the beat goes on"
Help for sick nuclear workers
Dept. of Labor had added info on occupational illnesses to its Site Exposures Matrices (SEM) website, which should make it easier for folks trying to figure out eligibility under Part E of the federal compensation program. The site has lists of toxic substances found at various facilities, and it now includes info on the relationship between substances and occupational illnesses.
For instance, the website lists 529 toxic substances found at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant at some point in the plant's 60-plus years of existence.There are 649 toxic substances listed as onsite at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
News from the Science Bowl
Oak Ridge High School won this year's Tennessee Science Bowl, but didn't fare quite as well this past weekend at the National Science Bowl (won by a team from Santa Monica, Calif.) in Washington, D.C.
The Oak Ridge team didn't make it to the final round of 16 and the double-elimination finals. But according to Jeff Sherwood, a Dept. of Energy spokesman, the Oak Ridge team won four of its seven matches competing in the eight-team Galileo Division. Only the top two teams advanced from each division.
The scare factor
Today's column includes observations about the scary-looking storage center for enriched uranium, genetic testing for beryllium workers and the burgeoning load of waste at DOE's nuke landfill in Oak Ridge.
FBI raids Special Counsel
In an interesting twist in advance of the national whistleblower conference, the FBI raided the office of Scott Bloch, head of the Office of Special Counsel, one of the key federal components for protecting government whistleblowers.
Here is statement relased by Oak Ridge whistleblower Joe Carson, who's had many dealings and battles with the office.
Whistleblower conference in D.C.
The International Association of Whistleblowers and a host of public- and worker-interest groups will hold a conference next week (May 11-18) in Washington.
"The week's events are designed to highlight the important work of whistleblowers _ 'truth-tellers' _ who seek protections for people risking their lives and/or careers to expose those who abuse the public trust," the IAW said in a press statement.
EnergySolutions takes nuke issue to court
According to reports out of Utah, EnergySolutions is seeking a ruling in Federal Court on whether a regional waste compact has the authority to block the company's bid to dispose of residues of Italian nuclear waste at its Clive, Utah, landfill.
The proposed project would import up to 20,000 tons of low-level rad waste from Italy and process the materials (incineration, smelting, etc.) at the company's Oak Ridge waste facility on Bear Creek Road.
Tennessee claims net $833 million-plus
According to the latest stats from the Dept. of Labor, Tennessee residents have collected $833,906,370 in compensation and medical payments from the sick nuclear worker compensation program.
Eeeek . . . an elk!
Add elk to the critters occasionally seen on the Dept. of Energy's Oak Ridge reservation. Wildlife officers say elk sometimes wander down to Oak Ridge from the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area, where they were released a few years ago. There is no plan, however, to populate the DOE reservation, and the animals are returned to sender.
'This article sounds like Oak Ridge'
Sylvia Dodson, a Knoxville woman who's fought the system set up by EEOICP for years, passed along a link to a story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about the sickness and hardships from nuclear contamination.
It's a different setting and different situation, but Dodson wrote, "This article sounds like Oak Ridge."
Krueger to head Y-12 waste operations
B&W Technical Services, the contractor that manages Y-12, has hired John W. Krueger as senior director of waste operations. He also heads Y-12's involvement in the Integrated Facilities Disposition Program, a proposed effort that would dismantle and demolish about 200 old buildings at Y-12 and ORNL.
Krueger most recently worked for Weston Solutions, where he was vice president and manager of the Pacific Coast Division. He previously was president and CEO of WESKEM, a waste contractor for DOE. He holds engineering degrees from University of Nebraska and Stanford University.
Another Bechtel takeover
Bechtel Jacobs Co., the Dept. of Energy's cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, has taken over operation of the government's nuclear landfill for wastes generated by Superfund projects.
The landfill (known officially as the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility) had been operated by Duratek-turned-EnergySolutions under a subcontract to Bechtel Jacobs, but BJC spokesman Dennis Hill said that arrangement changed late last year.
Vitkus returns to rad survey role
Tim Vitkus, a certified health physicist on the staff at Oak Ridge Associated Universities, has resumed his job as survey projects manager. According to info from ORAU, Vitkus held this position from 1996 until 2005, when he left to lead a three-year decommissioning project at Defense National Stockpile sites in Maryland and Indiana.
As survey projects chief at ORAU, Vitkus manages a team of health physicists and survey techs who do radiological surveys to verify and validate the results of cleanup projects around the U.S. He holds degrees in biology (Emory University) and environmental microbiology (Georgia State University).
'A Record of Accomplishment'
That was the title of the presentation Tom D'Agostino and other U.S. reps made earlier this year to the UN Conference on Disarmament, as regards Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Critics will undoubtedly disagree with that assessment. Here's the link.
ORAU family grows by 2
The University of Alabama at Huntsville and the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico are the newest members of Oak Ridge Associated Universities. ORAU Prez Ron Townsend said this in the announcement: "While separated by thousands of miles, these two newest member institutions share a common vision of advancing their academic stature while promoting scientific research and education."
The consortium's membership is 99 and counting.
Beryllium disease and genetic testing
NY Times reports that a deal is near in Congress for a bill that would prevent discrimination based on results of genetic testing. This may prove important for beryllium workers in the DOE complex because of research that indicates there can be genetic markers for developing beryllium sensitivity.
Glenn Bell, a retired machinist at Y-12 who developed chronic beryllium disease years ago, offered this comment on the bill.
Today's science quiz: What is this?
Well, it's not a Picasso, if that's what you were thinking.
It's an optical micrograph of a cryogenically quenched single crystal of stainless steel, provided courtesy of Lynn Boatner and Hu Longmire at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Ex-DOE official to lead ETEBA
Peter Greenwalt, a retired DOE manager whose federal career included a long stint in Oak Ridge, has been named executive director of the Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association. He succeeds Alice Murphy, who recently announced her retirement from ETEBA.
The non-profit business and trade association represents the interests of more than 1,800 businesses that provide environmental, engineering and other services to government agencies -- particularly DOE -- and the private sector.
Y-12 hires nuke safety chief
Joe Henry has been named chief of nuclear safety operations at Y-12. In this newly created position, he will oversee the plant's nuclear safety program and conduct of operations. He also will be Y-12's chief interface with the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Henry joins the management team at B&W Technical Services, the contractor that manages the nuclear weapons plant for the federal government. He previously was executive vice president at EnergySolutions and, before that, was chief operating officer of Duratek.
Cyber security experts coming to ORNL
The fourth annual Cyber Security and Information Intelligence Research Workshop will be held at the Oak Ridge lab, May 12-14. Rick Sheldon of ORNL's Computational Sciences and Engineering Division is the workshop's general chair.
According to info from ORNL, the speakers will include Dick Kemmerer of UC-Santa Barbara; Michael Franz of UC-Irvine; Brian Witten of Symantec, Mike McDuffie and Patrick Arnold of Microsoft; and Jeff Voas and Steven Lines of SAIC.
American Chemical Society honors trio
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R) and Rep. Bart Gordon (D), both from Tennessee, were honored by the American Chemical Society, along with Energy Secretary Sam Bodman. They got the public service awards for efforts to boost U.S. competitiveness in science and education.
The current society president, Bruce Bursten, is a chemistry professor and dean of arts and sciences at the University of Tennessee.
Molten Salt wrap-up
Aerial view of Molten Salt Reactor complex (photo/BJC)
The last of the uranium-233 fuel was removed from the Molten Salt Reactor on March 26, according to Bechtel Jacobs, the DOE contractor in charge. That ended a years-long, expensive effort that was fraught with technical problems and delays. Removal and disposal of the high-rad fuel salts will be left for another day, probably years down the road.
A positive note: The project team, which included a number of subcontractors, went 1,647 days without a recordable injury.
More problems at HEUMF
Construction of the new uranium-storage complex at Y-12 is now 80 percent complete, but more quality issues have surfaced.
The biggest concern was a concrete pour that didn't work out, requiring a re-do. UFI did the work as a subcontractor, but John Howanitz, senior vp with B&W, said the ultimate responsibility rests with Caddell-Blaine _ the partnership that is heading the construction effort at the ultra-high-security complex 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. 