Temporary Fencing at Y-12 Entrance Still Drawing Questions
NS&D Monitor
7/18/2014
Fifteen months after a “temporary” security fence was erected to block an area near the entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex, the temporary structure is still in place and apparently will remain so for the foreseeable future. The fence was constructed along the plant’s boundary along Scarboro Road in the wake of the July 28, 2012, break-in by three protesters that created a security crisis not only at Y-12 but throughout the nuclear security enterprise.
The net gain of the security fence has been questioned. In effect, what the fence did was block the grassy area at the plant’s front door that had traditionally been used by peace activists to protest nuclear weapons—especially at certain times of the year, such as the upcoming Aug. 6 anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Y-12 produced the enriched uranium in World War II that was used in the “Little Boy” atomic bomb at Hiroshima.
In a statement about the fence last year, Chuck Spencer, then the general manager at Y-12, said, “This was done in response to recent trespassing events at Y-12 in order to strengthen our security posture. While past decisions to allow demonstrations in this area may have been sound at the time, the fact is that we are now a more frequent target of intentional and illegal trespassing than ever before.”
Peace Group Urges NNSA to Voluntarily Take Down Fence
The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance attempted to challenge the legality of the fence last year, but a federal judge declined to hear the case because he said the challenged lacked standing. Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the peace alliance, said the group hasn’t given up hope of forcing the National Nuclear Security Administration to take down the fence. But he said he believes the NNSA would be better off taking it down voluntarily, saying it was “stupid” to put it up in the first place.
When the fence was put in place on April 1, 2013, the NNSA said the fence—consisting of galvanized steel barrier strung together—was a temporary measure until it could construct the traditional boundary fencing, which is made of wood posts and strands of barbed wire. In response to questions, NNSA spokeswoman Rebekah Nwangwa said it is still the NNSA’s intent to build a permanent fence along the entrance. “But we’ve not formulated any specific plans at this time and have not set a schedule for when we intend to pursue the installation of a new fence,” Nwangwa said.
ORNL Continuing to Pursue Spallation Neutron Source Expansion
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason said this week that the lab is continuing to pursue a billion-dollar expansion of the Spallation Neutron Source, even though he acknowledged this is a tough time to get new projects started. Mason said the lab is trying to get all the preparatory work, technical reviews and consensus building with the research community completed before attempting to move forward with design and construction sometime over the next two-to-four years.
Ideally, that would create a situation where the only barrier to expanding the capabilities at SNS would be the money, Mason said. “And that’s a real barrier these days,” he said. Despite the times, there’s still a strong case to be made for expanding the research capabilities at the Oak Ridge materials research center, the ORNL director said. “Even in tough times, you need to be doing new things in science,” he said.
Expansion Would Include Second Target Facility
The SNS expansion would include a second target facility and essentially double the research capabilities. DOE has already approved “Critical Decision-0,” which means the agency agreed there is a “mission need” for the project. Early estimates suggest that the expansion could cost almost as much as the original SNS price tag of $1.4 billion. Mason said there is strong demand in the scientific community for expanded experimental capabilities to take advantage of the pulsed neutron source.
The current Target Facility at the Spallation Neutron Source has room for 25 research instruments, and 20 of those slots either have operating instruments or are waiting for instruments that are “in the pipeline,” he said. Plus, each time a new instrument has come online, the research demand from scientists around the globe has immediately outpaced the available time for experiments, Mason said. The Oak Ridge lab would like to have a second target station under development by the time the first facility reaches its capacity.
