Meeting Nuclear Demand
ORNL has a unique complex of nuclear facilities to support the increasing demand for producing isotopes and developing nuclear fuels and materials. The Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities Division (NNFD) operates, maintains and modernizes those facilities, managing infrastructure, staffing and processes needed to support research and development.
The lab's research and development mission requires extensive maintenance and regular updates to ORNL's nuclear facilities, which include hot and cold laboratories, glove boxes, high bays and heavily shielded hot cells.
NNFD provides qualified staff to support the goal of nuclear facilities management, protecting workers at the lab as well as the public. It oversees transportation of nuclear materials on site in support of the lab's missions. It provides safety support through engineering designs for facility upgrades; evaluation of the methods used to implement research and development mission activities; Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality; training; work control; and document control.
NNFD also develops strategic plans for the needed investments to keep these facilities performing optimally, continuing the research and development necessary to meet the nation's nuclear materials and isotopes needs both now and in the future.
Asset Management Section
Under the Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities Division is the Asset Management Section. Staff members in the Asset Management Section make up an essential system of processes, practices, skillset, organization and information management. Workers use this system to optimize the value gained from targeted assets developed at Oak Ridge National Lab from cradle to grave.
Facility Maintenance
Facility Maintenance
The Facility Maintenance Group are professionals and skilled craft workers who are charged with performing the care, protection and installation of the Oak Ridge National Lab nuclear facility equipment. Team members in Facility Maintenance operation directives include equipment troubleshooting and repair; preventive and predictive maintenance; and non-capital project execution.
Project Delivery
Project Delivery
The team members in the Project Delivery Group operates an essential function along with the other teams under Asset Management. This group ensures optimal execution of approved projects, asset recapitalization and nuclear facility equipment modifications.
Reliability Engineering
Reliability Engineering
Staff members who are part of the Reliability Engineering Group identify and manage asset reliability risks. These are risks that could impact operations or equipment health, and the members of this group develop engineering solutions to mitigate failures and all other problems that adversely affect operations. These adverse challenges include issues dealing with capacity, quality, cost or even regulatory compliance.
Work Coordination
Work Coordination
The members of the Work Coordination group works hand-in-hand with the Facility Maintenance Group by leading asset management work planning and scheduling, critical equipment work packages, CMMS administration, external contracts and procurement/materials management/warehousing/MRO functions.
Nuclear Facility Management
Nuclear Facility Management maintains and updates the nonreactor nuclear facilities that support a wide array of essential research and development missions that aid in national security, medicine, industry and more for the United States. The work the staff members in these groups perform is an essential function within the Oak Ridge National Lab system.
3025/3532 Operations
3025/3532 Operations
Team members of 3025/3532 Operations work in The Irradiated Fuels Examination Lab. The Irradiated Fuels Examination Lab performs the receipt, handling, transfer, packaging, and shipment of irradiated fuels/materials. Additionally, examination and testing activities include metrology, metallographic sample preparation, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, gamma spectrometry, and other physical properties evaluations as appropriate to the experimental objectives of the particular program. The Irradiated materials Examination and Testing Facility performs post-irradiation testing and examination. Irradiated test samples are received, processed, tested (both destructive and nondestructive), examined, and stored by the IMET Facility or shipped to other research facilities throughout ORNL and the world.
System Engineering
System Engineering
The expertly qualified engineers in the System Engineering Group are responsible for maintaining the configuration and operability of structures, systems and components that are credited for nuclear safety protection of workers and the public. The System Engineering Group team members provide primary technical expertise for installation of new equipment and capabilities within the nonreactor nuclear facilities.
Waste Operations
Waste Operations
The Waste Operations Group team members manage all aspects of solid waste handling and ultimate disposal for both transuranic and low-level waste streams in the nonreactor nuclear facilities. The staff within the group assist waste generators in developing technically sound, cost-effective radioactive waste characterization and disposal approaches.
Safety Engineering and Support
The Safety Engineering and Support Section is home to experts from essential fields that help implement safety programs and management programs to support and assist in the safe conduct of Oak Ridge National Lab's vast and crucial nuclear research and development missions. The work performed by the members of Safety Engineering and Support is critical to supporting research that serves the United States.
Design Engineering
Design Engineering
The members of the Design Engineering Group offer input and instructions on engineering, design and drafting for facility upgrades and for implementation of research and development mission activities. Some of the facilities at Oak Ridge National Lab are historic and this group serves those, as well.
Technical Support
Technical Support
The Technical Support Group supports the Isotope Science and Enrichment Directorate operations overall. This operations support includes training, procedures, document control and Nuclear Quality Assurance.
Environment, Safety and Health Support
Environment, Safety and Health Support
The Environment, Safety and Health Support group supports nuclear facility mission work, as well as the research and development staff who are part of the Isotopes Science and Enrichment Directorate. This group also provides necessary and crucial training and work control to Environment, Safety, Health and Quality.
Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities
Radiochemical Engineering Development Center
At the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center (REDC), experts in radiochemical processing use specialized equipment and systems to produce unique radioisotopes for applications in research, national security, medicine, space exploration, and industry. The REDC complex – Building 7920, built in 1966, and Building 7930, built in 1968 – are designated as Hazard Category 2 nuclear facilities and include hot and cold laboratories, heavily shielded hot cells, glove boxes, and high bay space.
Irradiated Materials Examination and Testing Facility
The Irradiated Material Examination and Testing (IMET) Facility, Building 3025E, was designed and built in 1950 as a hot cell facility. It is a block-and-brick structure with a two-story high bay and houses six heavily shielded cells and 60 shielded storage wells.
Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory
The Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory (IFEL), Building 3525, was designed and constructed in 1963 to permit the safe handling of increasing levels of radiation in the chemical, physical, and metallurgical examination of nuclear reactor fuel elements and reactor parts. A two-story building with a partial basement, the IFEL is classified a Category 2 nuclear facility.