Gone Fission Nuclear Report

On April 27, 2024, more than 650 former workers at the historic K-25 gaseous diffusion plant in Oak Ridge, TN, came together for their first-ever reunion. As Daniel Dassow wrote in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, it was the first time many had driven their private cars into the complex, the first time they weren’t required to show a badge and perhaps the first time they had seen K-25 as a field site with no large buildings left. In this week’s Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, Host Michael Butler takes a look at this unique get-together and joins attendees in remembering their historic careers. Our guests are former K-25 Plant Manager Dr. Harold Conner Jr. and Pam Toon, one of the Reunion's organizers.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

Thousands of workers show up each day to advance the environmental cleanup mission at DOE sites around the country. They are talented and dedicated but for the most part their work goes unheralded without awards or accolades. In this week’s Gone Fission Nuclear Report host Michael Butler talks with a DOE official who has been singled out by the Secretary of Energy for a major performance award. Jud Lilly, a DOE executive at the Portsmouth OH site, has been named Federal Project Director of the Year by the Secretary of Energy. Meet Jud and hear his story, including the tremendous respect he has for the Portsmouth team who get the job done very day.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

The Department of Energy’s 17 national laboratories conduct research and development on some of the world’s most vexing challenges—from climate change to the origins of the universe.  Most recently, six labs have turned their attention to speeding cleanup of underground tank waste at DOE’s Hanford site in Washington State. The labs are using $27 million in DOE funding to research everything from tank integrity and the impact of corrosion to robotic handling of tank waste.  Estimates show this and other work could save $150 billion in cleanup costs and shave up to two decades off a 60-year timeline. This week, Gone Fission host Michael Butler talks with Connie Herman, Associate Director, Savannah River National Laboratory, and Delmar Noyes, DOE Tank Farms Manager at Hanford.

NOTE: The work Network of National Laboratories for Environmental Management and Stewardship (NNLEMS) performs is overseen by the EM Laboratory Policy Office with the support of the EM Technology Operations Office, Hanford Site Office as well as the Office of Science, and ARPA-E.”

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

The Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup program is boosting a resurgence in the growth of nuclear energy. Cleaning up formerly contaminated land has created a new home for advanced reactor concepts that have become the centerpiece of the nuclear renaissance. In this week’s episode, the Gone Fission Nuclear Report examines how environmental cleanup is helping to position the nation for a clean energy future. Guests are Ashley Saunders of UCOR, Dr. Wes Hines, Head of the Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of Tennessee, and Jim Little, E-4 Carolinas board member.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

This month, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico celebrates its 25th Anniversary. Located in Southeast New Mexico about 26 miles east of Carlsbad, WIPP was constructed for disposal of defense-generated transuranic--or TRU-- waste. WIPP is the nation’s only repository for the permanent disposal of TRU waste. In this week’s episode, Host Michael Butler talks with DOE Carlsbad Field Office Manager Mark Bollinger, Senior WIPP offiicial Tammy Hobbes, and Brandon Jones, Project Manager for the facility’s new underground venting system. They join us in looking back on WIPP’s history, starting with receipt of the first shipment of TRU waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory in March 1999.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

As we near the end of Black History Month, in this week’s podcast host Michael Butler features the story of the Scarboro 85. In August 1955, 85 young African American students entered all-white classrooms in the Oak Ridge High School and the Robertsville Junior High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This desegregation stands as an important milestone in American civil rights history. Oak Ridge City Historian Ray Smith is our guest.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

Consistent, reliable Congressional funding is an essential element of success in the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup program. In this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, host Michael Butler interviews two former members of Congress who were instrumental in creation of the Nuclear Cleanup Caucus in the mid-1990s. Our guests are former Washington State Congressman Doc Hastings, whose district included the Hanford site, and former Tennessee Congressman Zach Wamp who represented Oak Ridge. Over the past 30 years, the Caucus has worked diligently to educate fellow members about the importance of cleanup and to keep funding flowing to meet site cleanup priorities across the country.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

The Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup program is now focused on 15 remaining sites around the country, down from 107 at the start of the program three decades ago. It is a multi-million dollar, multi-decade effort that depends on qualified contractors to get the job done. DOE is the largest civilian contracting agency in the federal government. In this week’s episode, the Gone Fission Nuclear Report examines the procurement process that results in contract awards and looks at the agency’s new contracting model, the role of small business and the impact of protests on cleanup schedules and progress.  Guests are Angela Watmore, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Project Management and Aaron Deckard, Procurement Director, EM Consolidated Business Center.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

Every DOE community has local leaders who step up to advocate for funding and new missions and to hold the Department of Energy accountable for its cleanup obligations. These leaders take the time to educate themselves on site issues, get to know DOE leaders and members of Congress, and use their voices and influence to represent their communities. In this week’s episode, the Gone Fission Nuclear Report remembers one such leader--Gary Petersen, a long-time passionate advocate for the Hanford site in Washington State, who passed away last October, leaving an impressive legacy of advocacy and support.

Paying tribute to Gary are former Congressman Doc Hastings, Duane Schmoker, President, Sterling Engineering, David Reeploeg, Vice President, TRIDEC, Seth Kirshenberg, Executive Director, Energy Communities Alliance, and Carl Adrian, past president, TRIDEC.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

In 2015, the United States welcomed its 409th National Park. Known as the Manhattan Project National Historic Park, it tells the story of the men and women who developed the atomic bomb that ended World War II. The Park features three key locations across the U.S.—Oak Ridge TN, Los Alamos NM, and Hanford WA. National Park Service Superintendent Wendy Behrman is our guest in this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.