Y-12 National Security Complex Top Stories

Ecological health of East Fork Poplar Creek continues to improve

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 04:00:00 GMT

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.

Y-12 Closes the Circle

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 04:00:00 GMT

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.

Responding to the call

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 04:00:00 GMT

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.

First impressions, lasting impacts

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Jack Case: The ultimate facelift

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Paving the road to success

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Licensed Y-12 technology helps New Orleans recover

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:00:00 GMT

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.

New weapons system deployed

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 04:00:00 GMT

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.

Building a better birdcage

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Wireless technology aids maintenance

Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Y-12 volunteers receive national awards

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 05:00:00 GMT

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.

UPF: Y-12’s largest planned construction

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:00:00 GMT

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?

HEUMF team prepares to hit the ground running

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Pure success

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 05:00:00 GMT

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.

New containers take a beating

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 04:00:00 GMT

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.

Bombs away — warheads safely recycled

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 04:00:00 GMT

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.

The skin-ny on lying

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 05:00:00 GMT

Some Analytical Chemistry employees' contributions to a study on deception detection may one day help to further safeguard national secrets.

ACREM heats up

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 05:00:00 GMT

Y‑12 is the first U.S. Department of Energy–National Nuclear Security Administration site to destroy accountable classified removable media.

From weapons to fuel

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Y-12 preserves the past for the future

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 05:00:00 GMT

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.