Oak Ridge

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has released over 700 acres in a land transfer to support economic and energy development.  Oak Ridge said in its Monday press release that this is the office’s largest land transfer to date. The latest transfer includes two parcels from DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation: Self-Sufficiency […]

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has released over 700 acres in a land transfer to support economic and energy development.  Oak Ridge said in its Monday press release that this is the office’s largest land transfer to date. The latest transfer includes two parcels from DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation: Self-Sufficiency […]

Kairos Power and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have entered into a $27 million partnership to focus on accelerating advanced nuclear technology. “DOE’s support has been instrumental in helping Kairos Power accelerate our path to technological maturity,” Ed Blandford, Kairos chief technology officer and co-founder, said in ONRL’s Feb. 19 press […]

A long-running lawsuit brought by an employee over implementation of a federal contractor’s COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee has ended just months before a planned jury trial. A Jan. 30 filing with the federal district court in Knoxville, Tenn., indicate plaintiff Jeff Bilyeu and employer UT-Battelle, which runs Oak […]

A long-running lawsuit brought by an employee over implementation of a federal contractor’s COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee has ended just months before a planned jury trial. A Jan. 30 filing with the federal district court in Knoxville, Tenn., indicate plaintiff Jeff Bilyeu and employer UT-Battelle, which runs Oak […]

A long-running lawsuit brought by an employee over implementation of a federal contractor’s COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee has ended just months before a planned jury trial. A Jan. 30 filing with the federal district court in Knoxville, Tenn., indicate plaintiff Jeff Bilyeu and employer UT-Battelle, which runs Oak […]

The Department of Energy has approved the preliminary documented safety analysis for Hawthorne, Calif.-based nuclear company Valar Atomics’s demonstration reactor Thursday. The announcement of the completed safety analysis was made by DOE Idaho Operations Manager Robert Boston in a Friday LinkedIn post. Valar becomes the third demonstration reactor under DOE’s pilot reactor program to get […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup complex will soon become host to “energy dominance parks,” Tim Walsh, the assistant secretary of energy for Environmental Management, said here Tuesday evening. In coming months, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management will make announcements for both data centers for artificial intelligence (AI) and new nuclear power, […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup complex will soon become host to “energy dominance parks,” Tim Walsh, the assistant secretary of energy for Environmental Management, said here Tuesday evening. In coming months, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management will make announcements for both data centers for artificial intelligence (AI) and new nuclear power, […]

ARLINGTON, VA — Two sister entities within the Department of Energy, the Office of Environmental Management and the semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), are setting the stage for future work at the Y-12 National Security Complex at Oak Ridge, Tenn. That’s according to NNSA Y-12 field office manager Mary Helen Hitson at Exchange Monitor’s […]

The head of the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management field  office in Tennessee, Eric Olds, is also temporarily overseeing DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. While Olds remains the manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, he now is also serving as the interim acting manager for the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO), a department spokesperson […]

ARLINGTON, VA – For sites in the Department of Energy’s nuclear complex recruiting electricians and skilled craftspeople is a big task – and keeping them can be another. This was a key theme to emerge during a Tuesday Jan. 27 panel discussion here at Exchange Monitor’s annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit.  Senior managers from National Nuclear […]

Centrus Energy plans to expand its manufacturing plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn. at an investment of more than $560 million, according to the company’s Jan. 23 press release. The Bethesda, Md.-based uranium broker said the expansion of the Oak Ridge manufacturing plant supports its plans to expand the uranium enrichment plant at the Department of […]

The Department of Energy issued a request for information (RFI) Wednesday seeking states interested in hosting Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses. The proposed campuses must support capabilities of the full nuclear fuel cycle, such as fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing spent nuclear fuel and disposal of waste, according to DOE’s press release. The approach could be more […]

Standard Nuclear, which bills itself as a “reactor-agnostic” maker of advanced nuclear fuel, has received a shipment of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock at its facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn, the company said last week. This makes Standard Nuclear the first company to get both Department of Energy authorization as well as physically receive HALEU […]

Standard Nuclear, which bills itself as a “reactor-agnostic” maker of advanced nuclear fuel, has received a shipment of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) feedstock at its facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn, the company said last week. This makes Standard Nuclear the first company to get both Department of Energy authorization as well as physically receive HALEU […]

A three-bill minibus appropriations bill with fiscal 2026 funds for Energy and Water development, including $8.5 billion for nuclear cleanup and $25.4 billion to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), passed the House floor 397-28 Thursday. The bill was released by top appropriators in the Senate and House Monday on both sides of the aisle. […]

  The Department of Energy said Monday it was awarding $2.7 billion total in task orders to three companies with the goal of strengthening domestic uranium enrichment over the next ten years. American Centrifuge Operating, a Centrus company, and General Matter are both receiving $900 million to create a domestic high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) enrichment […]

Centrus Energy has started manufacturing centrifuges in Tennessee for the company’s advanced uranium enrichment plant at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio. New enrichment capacity is expected to come online in 2029, according to Centrus’ Dec. 19 press release. The centrifuges are being made at the company’s manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, […]

A longtime Amentum executive, Jim Blankenhorn has been selected as the new president and chief executive officer of United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR), the environmental prime at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. Blankenhorn assumes the top job at UCOR effective April 1, 2026. UCOR said in a Dec. 16 press release […]

A longtime Amentum executive, Jim Blankenhorn has been selected as the new president and chief executive officer of United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR), the environmental prime at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. Blankenhorn assumes the top job at UCOR effective April 1, 2026. UCOR said in a Dec. 16 press release […]

Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. recently downgraded Building 9206 from nuclear facility status to radiologically contaminated, local publication The Oak Ridger said Monday. Building 9206 was constructed in 1944 and was used for processes such as uranium recovery and processing, as well as chemical recycling. The Y-12 building was shut down in […]

The Department of Energy and other agencies said Wednesday nearly half of the 33,000-plus acres at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee are suitable for reuse without any additional cleanup. Research by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) “show 16,377 of the […]

The Department of Energy and other agencies said Wednesday nearly half of the 33,000-plus acres at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee are suitable for reuse without any additional cleanup. Research by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) “show 16,377 of the […]

TRISO-X announced this week it has begun construction of its first nuclear fuel fabrication facility, TX-1, at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. “As TX-1 takes shape, it will stand as a symbol of our team’s relentless dedication and determination to bring this transformative project forward in just a few years, not […]

Ken Rueter, top executive for the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup contractor at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, will retire in March 2026, the Amentum-led joint venture said Tuesday. Rueter, the president and CEO of United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR), will retire effective March 30, UCOR said in a press release. He will remain […]

Ken Rueter, top executive for the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup contractor at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, will retire in March 2026, the Amentum-led joint venture said Tuesday. Rueter, the president and CEO of United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR), will retire effective March 30, UCOR said in a press release. He will remain […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  (With the federal shutdown still in effect at press time it is advisable to double-check with sponsors to see if government-related speakers/events are still scheduled. ) November  09 – 12 – American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2025 Winter Conference and Expo in Washington […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has published a supplemental environmental impact statement on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)’s proposed reactor project adjacent to the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. NRC, together with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, seek public comment on a draft supplemental environmental impact statement, or supplemental EIS, on […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), the Bechtel-led contractor team that oversees the Y-12 National Security Complex, is looking at office space near the facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn. CNS recently took in expressions of interest (EOI) from potential suppliers of office space located within five to 20 miles of the Y-12 complex at the Department of […]