Due to the recent concerns expressed by the community, contract workers at Y-12, and residents of Oak Ridge, City officials met with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) this week to more learn more about the department’s plan to contract with Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) of Erwin, Tennessee. It would use the third-party vendor to perform uranium
purification remotely from the Y-12 complex at a location 125 miles from Oak Ridge. The transfer of this function could begin with a Phase I contract announcement coming as soon as March 1, 2021.
During the briefing, NNSA officials identified their needs to develop new facilities outside of original Manhattan Project era structures on the Y-12 campus. Processes for uranium purification will be considered through a Phase I pilot-scale project contract with Nuclear Fuel Service facilities located in Erwin, Tennessee.
Despite the additional information provided in the briefing, the City still cannot support this proposed move. City Council members continue to express concern for the performance of this work for an initial 3-year period noting that if continued, this process may be utilized for the remainder of a ten-year period.
“I reiterated to NNSA that signing this important national security contract is unsettling as it is being done in the middle of a change to a new Administration, before a new Secretary of Energy is on board and a new Y-12 contractor is selected,” said Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch. “The NNSA will remove this work from Oak Ridge at a time when new, taxpayer-funded facilities are being
constructed at Y-12 to an offsite location with a non-proven production process that is not fully developed.”
