Y-12 Power Tool Licensed by Chattanooga Company
A power tool developed at the Y-12 National Security Complex may soon become a fixture in large-scale demolition projects. B&W Y-12 announced that the Omni Jaw 5, an invention by the plant’s technology chief, Lee Bzorgi, has been licensed to a start-up company in Chattanooga that plans to take the device to the commercial market. Omni Jaw is used to shear bolt heads during demolitions. In addition to its power, the device also scoops up the shavings as it goes and provides additional safety in hazardous environments. According to Y-12, the hand-held tool can generate up to five tons of force.
It was initially developed for use on the K-25 demolition project—where asbestos cyanide-dipped bolts were a problem—and other tear-down activities at the former uranium-enrichment sit that’s now known as the East Tennessee Technology Park.
Casey York, the founder of Green Arc Labs, said the company plans to use existing manufacturers in Chattanooga to produce the tool commercially. In a statement, York said, "There’s such an apparent need for this tool in the construction or demolition of any commercial building, for example, or in ship deconstruction, asbestos removal, or equipment dismantlement."
China Heads List of Foreign Visitors to ORNL
China has again headed the roster of foreign visitors at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with almost 20 percent of the total visits by foreign nationals last year. Overall, the number of foreign visits was on the rise at ORNL. According to information released by the lab in response to questions, there were 8,311 visits by foreign nationals in 2013. That was up significantly from the 7,706 in 2012 and a couple of thousand more than the annual visitation numbers five years ago. The visitors came from 111 countries, with China topping the list with 1,646. That was almost double the number from India (861). Other countries in the top 10 included Germany (605), United Kingdom (550), Japan (550), Canada (447), South Korea (401), France (271), Russia (223) and Italy (215). Many of the visitors conduct experiments at Oak Ridge facilities, such as the Spallation Neutron Source and the High Flux Isotope Reactor.
Visits by foreign nationals must go through an approval process. There are background checks and other requirements for visitors from countries on the Department of Energy’s sensitive countries list—such as China, India and Russia. Escorts are required, and there are some areas at the lab that are entirely off-limits to non-U.S. citizens. The Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General last fall criticized ORNL for not adequately keeping tabs on foreign nationals during their visits. The audit report said Oak Ridge hosts did not maintain contact with foreign scientists throughout their visits, a step that’s required so that details of the visitors’ work—and their technical competency—can be reported to the DOE Counterintelligence Office. The report also noted that when ORNL’s designated hosts weren’t able to be with foreign visitors, the lab didn’t designate alternate hosts to take over those duties.
ORNL Strengthens Foreign Nationals Program
The report did not find any evidence that foreign visitors obtained any information to which they were not entitled, and ORNL promised to carry out recommendations. In response to questions, ORNL spokesman David Keim said there had been improvements since the IG report. "We’ve further strengthened our program by improving software used to assign hosts, limiting access to more buildings, and updating training for escorts," the lab spokesman said.
China continues to make its presence felt despite growing allegations of cyber espionage against U.S. companies. Last month, federal indictments were returned against five Chinese military officials, accusing them of hacking into or attempting to hack into computer systems of U.S. companies—such as Westinghouse and Alcoa—for commercial gain. China was also suspected of being behind a disruptive cyber attack on ORNL systems in 2011.
Could Chinese Cyber Activities Affect Relationship?
Last year, after cybersecurity firm Mandiant released a report implicating China in some of the espionage events, ORNL Director Thom Mason said the alleged activities could start to impact relationships. "I think one of the messages to China coming out of the recent attention on this topic is that the level of activity has reached a point where there are starting to be consequences for the relationships with government and industry in the U.S.," Mason stated.
The ORNL director last week said there had been some recent changes to tighten the approval process on cooperative agreements between U.S. labs and foreign entities. He referred questions about the details to DOE headquarters, but the agency’s initial response did not shed any additional light on those changes. Keim said the lab currently has three memorandums of understanding with Chinese institutions, two of them with the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Plasma Physics. The other is with China’s National Energy Conservation Center. That working agreement also includes Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in California. "As with any of ORNL’s international science collaborations, all information ORNL shares with China is nonproprietary in nature and within the public domain," Keim said. "Our objective is to build a cooperative relationship." Four previous MOUs between ORNL and Chinese institutions have expired since 2010, he said.
