Frank Munger
Knoxville News Sentinel
Knoxville, TN, United States
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Past articles by Frank:
Frank Munger: Hirings at Y-12 a big deal
The hiring campaign under way by Consolidated Nuclear Security appears to be one of the biggest to take place in the post-Cold War nuclear weapons complex. → Read More
Nuke safety issue briefly halted uranium operation
The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant last month briefly suspended casting operations with highly enriched uranium because water accumulated in an area near the emissions stack, creating a nuclear safety concern. → Read More
DOE safety review cites ‘deficiencies’ at Y-12 uranium facility
A Department of Energy review team identified some “significant deficiencies” in the management of safety systems at a Y-12 storage facility that houses the nation’s largest stockpile of bomb grade uranium. → Read More
Ex-ORNL counterintelligence official charged in death
Thomas Martens, a former counterintelligence officer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a retired FBI agent, has been indicted on second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter charges in the violent death of his son-in-law last August in North Carolina. → Read More
Y-12 mercury treatment taking shape; DOE contractors sharing info
URS-CH2M Oak Ridge is the Department of Energy’s cleanup manager, and that role has brought the contractor face-to-face with some challenging tasks. → Read More
ORNL achieves plutonium milestone
OAK RIDGE — Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced Tuesday it had achieved production of 50 grams of plutonium-238. That's roughly the size of a golf ball, but it's considered an important milestone in re-establishing a U.S. stockpile of Pu-238 for use as a power source on deep-space missions. → Read More
Y-12 workers ratify new 5-year contract
Union workers at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant on Thursday ratified a new collective bargaining agreement, which includes a 3 percent wage increase in each of the contract’s five years and a $2,500 signing bonus. → Read More
ORNL may get hot nuke fuel for research
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason confirmed Tuesday that a proposal under review could bring spent nuclear fuel from a Virginia reactor to the lab for analysis and research. → Read More
Mercury discharges decline at Y-12
Mercury discharges at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant have declined, apparently due — at least in part — to a Recovery Act-funded project in 2011 that cleaned out and repaired the plant's storm sewer system. → Read More
UCOR meeting small-biz goals in Oak Ridge cleanup
URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, the Department of Energy's cleanup manager in Oak Ridge for the past four years, is meeting its goals for subcontracting to small businesses, according to a DOE Inspector General report released Tuesday. → Read More
Clinton man, 34, faces multiple charges for Y-12 intrusion
The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant has reopened to employees after a security situation Thursday morning. → Read More
Y-12 shipped 10 times too much U-235
A July 13 shipment from the Y-12 National Security Complex to a company in New York contained 10 times the intended amount of bomb-uranium, violating multiple regulations and resulting in a $33,620 fine. → Read More
ORNL works with industry on energy-sharing prototypes
The future was parked on Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s front lawn Wednesday, and it created quite a stir. → Read More
Y-12 ships too much nuke material; mistake discovered by recipient
A federal spokesman confirmed Thursday evening that the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant inadvertently sent a larger-than-intended quantity of “special nuclear material” to a commercial facility earlier this summer. → Read More
145 Oak Ridge workers warned of possible layoffs
Centrus Energy Corp. confirmed Thursday that it had delivered notices to about 380 workers — including 145 in Oak Ridge — warning of possible layoffs over the next couple of months. → Read More
Peace alliance says UPF cost will top $10B; Sen. Alexander says project under control
The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance says the cost of the Uranium Processing Facility has ballooned to at least $10 billion, based on their analysis of design costs and other factors. The group also accused U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of meeting privately with the UPF team and shielding information from the public about the big project. → Read More
IG report: Y-12 didn't respond properly to HEU incident
An inspector general's report released Friday says Y-12 didn't properly handle a January 2014 incident in which small vials of bomb-grade uranium almost left the plant on a laundry truck. → Read More
$40 million project supposed to ease uranium risks at Y-12
The government plans to install to install new processing equipment at one of Y-12's oldest facilities to help speed the removal of enriched uranium and get out of the deteriorated 9212 complex as soon as possible. → Read More
1,100 union workers to strike at nuclear weapons plant
Union workers at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant — a sister plant to Y-12 in Oak Ridge — this week rejected a final contract offer and voted to go on strike, effective at midnight Friday. → Read More
Retirees file lawsuit against Y-12 contractor; seek full benefits
A federal lawsuit filed this week on behalf of Y-12 retirees claims that their health care benefits were dramatically reduced by a new contractor, violating promises made to them when they retired from the federal facility in Oak Ridge. → Read More