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The weapons-to-power nuclear argument | knoxnews.com
There's been a lot of megatons-to-megawatts activity in recent years, but some folks aren't too sure if that's going to continue to be a big factor in the downsizing of the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals. Of course, a lot of folks are skeptical, period, about a nuclear renaissance.
Darrel Kohlhorst isn't one of them. I've had a couple of opportunities in recent weeks to talk to the general manager at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. During a conversation at a hearing for Y-12's Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement, he offered some views on nuclear power.
Here's what he said:
Oak Ridge Hospital workers (1950-59) get special status in nuke worker compensation program | Frank Munger's Atomic City Underground | knoxnews.com
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has signed the designation that adds the 1950s employees at Oak Ridge Hospital -- when the hospital was being used for pioneering cancer treatments with radiation -- as a "Special Exposure Cohort" in the Energy Employees Occupational Illness and Compensation Program. The SEC status makes it easier for workers with cancer to collect under the compensation program.
The designation was forwarded to Congress and will become effective Jan. 9, unless Congress acts on it prior to that date, according to NIOSH spokeswoman Shannon Bradford.
Live Green at Heart | Knoxville, TN | DOE drills wells to test for the movement of nuclear waste across the Clinch River
The Department of Energy is drilling a series of wells south of the Clinch River to ensure no nuclear waste from Oak Ridge has migrated underground into its neighbors' backyards along Jones Road.
"We have not found any evidence of any contamination south of the river," said David Adler with the Department of Energy. "This is completely a precautionary measure."
North of the Clinch River on DOE property is where nuclear waste was buried from the 1940s until the '80s. The groundwater in this area is known to be contaminated from the hazardous materials. However, recently there were signs that the material may be moving towards the river.
Oak Ridge landfills: big, big and bigger | knoxnews.com
I've written on multiple occasions about the projects underway, with much of the money coming from the Recovery Act, to expand the Department of Energy's nuclear landfill in Oak Ridge. Less attention, however, has been given to the work to expand the sanitary landfills on Chestnut Ridge not far from the Y-12 National Security Complex.
According to Bechtel Jacobs Co., DOE's environmental manager in Oak Ridge, a request for proposals (RFP) is to be issued by the end of December, seeking bids for the landfill expansion and related projects.
Dennis Hill, a spokesman for BJC, said there are three active landfills on Chestnut Ridge -- Landfiill IV (industrial waste); V (sanitary waste) and VII (construction/demolition waste)
Independence day for B&W | knoxnews.com
Babcock & Wilcox today announced that its parent company, McDermott International, is planning to separate its operating subsidiaries -- B&W and J. Ray McDermott -- into "two independent, publicly traded companies."
B&W has mutliple Oak Ridge interests, co-managing the Y-12 site in partnership with Bechtel National, and working a manufacturing contractor for USEC's American Centrifuge Project.
Munger: Loading of uranium fortress may begin in mid-February » Knoxville News Sentinel
Loading of the government's new storehouse for bomb-grade uranium is expected to begin in mid-February, according to the latest projections.
Construction of the $549 million Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility was essentially completed in late 2008, and since then, workers have been installing equipment, applying finishing touches to the high-security structure and conducting test operations.
B&W Technical Services, the managing contractor at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, recently completed its "operational readiness review" and is resolving some of the issues that were identified during that review, B&W spokesman David Keim said.
Pop secret: microwaves at a warhead plant | knoxnews.com
After a decade in development, microwave casting is about to become part of the production capabilities at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge.
Y-12 has contracted with a vendor, Microwave Synergy Inc., to complete the detailed design work and deliver the first production unit by unit July 2010. "Overall completion of installation, checkout and turn-over of the microwave caster to operations is scheduled for the end of FY 2011," B&W, the government's contractor at Y-12, said in response to questions.
The Oak Ridge plant currently has five R&D microwave units and a "production-scale" prototype caster in the 9212 complex, where uranium is processed and fabricated into nuclear warhead parts. "The current prototype unit only has been used to cast enriched uranium into different shapes for evaluation purposes," B&W said via e-mail.
Top federal salaries in Oak Ridge | knoxnews.com
The financial compensation of top contractor executives in Oak Ridge, recently revealed as part of the Recovery Act reporting requirements, created a buzz of attention (Who's making the big bucks in Oak Ridge?). It also prompted questions from readers about how much the federal counterparts earn at the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration:
Below are some of the FY09 salaries for top execs at DOE and NNSA in Oak Ridge, including any performance bonuses received for 2008. Bonus info for '09 is not yet available.
Here's the compensation for members of the Senior Executive Service at the NNSA's site office at Y-12
Ted Sherry -- YSO Manager -- $192,541
Kevin Smith -- YSO Deputy Manager -- $167,052.
Here's the compensation for top officers at DOE's Oak Ridge Operations:
Closing of incinerator delayed » Knoxville News Sentinel
Mercury-laden waste pushes shutdown date to Nov. 30
OAK RIDGE - The last waste to be burned at the federal government's 20-year-old toxic waste incinerator is apparently proving to be some of the most difficult.
The Department of Energy and its environmental manager have again delayed the permanent closure of the Oak Ridge incinerator, citing the need for more time to process mercury-laden
Peace activists push 'Alternative 6' for Y-12 | knoxnews.com
The debate over nuclear weapons in the 21st century continued tonight with about 100 people in attendance. This time the forum was held at the New Hope Center, near the entrance to the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, and the topic was modernization of Y-12 and the proposed construction of a new production facility with broad capabilities at the Oak Ridge plant.
If there's a price tag for world peace and security, several speakers passionately argued, it's surely not between $1.4 billion and $3.5 billion. That's the estimated cost range of the Uranium Processing Facility, which the National Nuclear Security Administration wants to build at Y-12 to replace antiquated operations -- some of which date back to the World War II Manhattan Project -- for making and dismantling warhead parts.
S.C. waste coming to Oak Ridge » Knoxville News Sentinel
The U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River nuclear facility in South Carolina is using a wealth of Recovery Act funding to accelerate cleanup activities and reduce its Cold War stockpile of radioactive waste.
Some of that waste, containing radioactive tritium and other contaminants, is coming to Oak Ridge for treatment and packaging before being shipped west to Nevada or Utah for disposal. Two local facilities owned by Perma-Fix Environmental Services Inc. - Diversified Scientific Services Inc. near Kingston and Materials & Energy Corp. in Oak Ridge - have been hired to treat the so-called mixed waste, which contains both radioactive elements and hazardous chemicals.
DOE: ORNL: Y-12 SWEIS
Draft SWEIS
Dear Interested Party Letter
Summary
Table of Contents and Front Matter
Chapter 1: Introduction and Purpose and Need for Action
Chapter 2: Operations Overview of Y-12 National Security Complex
Chapter 3: Alternatives
Chapter 4: Affected Environment
Chapter 5: Environmental Consequences
Chapter 6: Cumulative Impacts
Chapter 7: Regulatory Requirements
Chapter 8: Short-Term Uses and Long-Term Productivity
Chapter 9: Irreversible and Irretrievable Commitment of Resources
Chapter 10: References
Chapter 11: Glossary
Chapter 12: List of Preparers and Contributors
Chapter 13: Index
Chapter 14: Distribution List
Appendix A: Y-12 Planning Process and Facility Information
Appendix B: Notice of Intent
Appendix C: Consultation Letters and Biological Assessment
Appendix D: Human Health and Accidents
Appendix E: Impact Methodology
Appendix F: NEPA Disclosure Statement for Preparation of the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Y-12 National Security Complex
Reference Materials
Factoid No. 1 from Y-12 EIS | Frank Munger's Atomic City Underground | knoxnews.com
Here's a brief excerpt from the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement on Y-12, the document that's setting the stage for construction of the proposed Uranium Processing Facility:
"More than 200 sites have been identified at Y-12 that represent potential sources of contamination to the environment as a result of past waste management practices."
That's from Page 4-34 of the massive document.
Remembrance Day and Janine Anderson | Frank Munger's Atomic City Underground | knoxnews.com
The first "National Day of Remembrance" will be held this Friday, and Oak Ridge will be among the sites holding ceremonies.
The day's events will honor workers in the nation's nuclear weapons program, many of whom fell sick and ultimately died as a result of workplace exposures, Hundreds of thousands of workers have participated in the U.S. weapons program since its inception in World War II, when work began on the first atomic bombs.
Advisory board recommends Special Exposure Cohort for Oak Ridge Hospital workers, 1950-59 | Frank Munger's Atomic City Underground | knoxnews.com
The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health today recommended that Oak Ridge Hospital workers, 1950-59, be desigated a Special Exposure Cohort, NIOSH spokeswoman Shannon Bradford said.
The ruling is based on the likelihood they were exposed to chronic levels of radiation. The SEC status, if it stands, would make it easier for those workers with cancer to receive compensation under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program.
The advisory board concurred with an earlier recommendation from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and now it will be sent to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who will make a recommendation to Congress, Bradford said. If Congress doesn't act within 30 days, the secretary's recommendation stands, she said.
NukeWatch reports UPF getting $94M in 2010| knoxnews.com
I received an e-mail this afternoon from Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, and he reported that the Energy and Water conference report contains $94 million for the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12. The activist group, which is closely tracking UPF and other spending in the nuclear weapons program, has a similar report on its Web site.
Here's what Coghlan wrote:
Frank:
Looks like Y-12 is being awarded far more than just environmental awards to hang on the wall.
Buried in the budget numbers of the House/Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Conference Report is $94 million for a construction project designated as "06-D-141 Project Engineering and Design (PED), Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, TN."
Security supervisor fired for alleged threat | Frank Munger's Atomic City Underground | knoxnews.com
Wackenhut Services Inc., the government's security contractor in Oak Ridge, has confirmed that a security supervisor was fired for allegedly threatening another employee.
"One supervisor was terminated for verbally threatening another employee, while on duty, which is a violation of the WSI-OR Workplace Violence Policy," spokeswoman Courtney Henry said in response to questions about the incident.
Wackenhut also confirmed other disciplinary actions that have been taken against supervisory personnel and strongly denied that the contractor management had shown more leniency toward supervisors than hourly personnel. Several security police officers in recent weeks have suggested that Wackenhut (also known as WSI-Oak Ridge) uses a double standard in doling out punishments.
$5 million USEC tax break may be revised - Oak Ridge, TN - The Oak Ridger
The largest tax break given under city policies in effect for several years might have to be revised now that USEC Inc. and its partner and contractors have begun laying off employees, city officials said last week.
The property tax break, valued at up to $5 million over a 10-year period, was approved about a year ago -- before USEC ran into trouble getting a big loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy. The $2 billion guarantee would have been used for work on USEC's American Centrifuge Program.
K-25 costs going through the roof? | knoxnews.com
Reports are circulating that the cost of completing the K-25 demolition is going up big-time, as in hundreds of millions of dollars.
DOE isn't saying much, except to say that's under evaluation by the agency and Bechtel Jacobs, the Oak Ridge cleanup manager. I have heard a specific dollar amount, but won't repeat here because nobody is confirming it. Earlier, of course, I reported on the technetium-99 issue that's getting big attention.
Here's what DOE spokesman John Shewairy said in response to questions about the rising cost of K-25 D&D. I'm not exactly sure what it means, but you can read it for yourself:
Shutdown of Oak Ridge incinerator delayed | Frank Munger's Atomic City Underground | knoxnews.com
The Department of Energy's long-stated plan to shut down its Oak Ridge incinerator at the end of September has been put on hold -- at least for another month and a half.
According to Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs Co., efforts to burn the remaining inventory of hazardous waste got delayed, in part, because some of the last liquid-waste shipments contained higher-than-expected quantities of mercury. That meant the waste had to be burned at a slower rate to meet the incinerator's emissions requirements, Hill said.
"The higher concentration waste is incinerated at lower rates to meet emission limits and, therefore, requires additional time to incinerate," Hill said. "We also are conducting tank rinse and closure activities at the same time.''
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