Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Demonstration reactor projects, alternative fuel among projects centered around Oak Ridge, an old-school nuclear town

Leo Williams is the editor of ORNL Review. UT-Battelle manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The full interactive article is available here.

Offer your perspective on this article and the new rise of nuclear technology in East Tennessee by contacting Hellbender Press Editor Thomas Fraser at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

OAK RIDGE — In fall 2020, California-based Kairos Power announced plans to build an advanced nuclear demonstration reactor within the site of the former K-25 uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge.

It was a good location for the company. The decommissioned K-25, now named Heritage Center Industrial Park, came with impressive infrastructure, including ample electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority, abundant water from the nearby Clinch River and more than 11 miles of rail line connected directly to the Norfolk Southern system. Interstate 40 was less than five miles away.

Perhaps more importantly, the location gave Kairos’ scientists and engineers close access to an unmatched pool of nuclear expertise. ORNL, which helped start the nuclear age more than 80 years ago and remains at the forefront of nuclear research, is all of five miles away. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which hosts a prestigious nuclear engineering department dating back to 1957, is just 30 miles down the road.

And the federally owned TVA, which has operated nuclear power plants since 1974, is developing its own next-generation nuclear reactor about three miles away.

In particular, though, the company wanted to be near a national lab, according to its co-founder Mike Laufer.

“The big decision for us was where we were going to put the Hermes reactor,” he said.

“For that, we pretty quickly narrowed down that we had a strong preference to be in close proximity to a national laboratory, with capabilities that could augment our own infrastructure.”

Hermes will be a 35-megawatt molten salt-cooled reactor that uses a new kind of uranium fuel called TRISO — short for tristructural isotropic particle fuel. The billiard ball-sized TRISO pebbles will consist of uranium, carbon and oxygen particles surrounded by carbon- and ceramic-based materials designed to prevent the release of radioactive fission products. The reactor will not produce electricity; rather, it will demonstrate the company’s technology before Kairos moves on to building much larger commercial reactors.

Architect’s rendering of the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor facility under construction in Oak Ridge.  Kairos Power

A mudpuppy mugs for the camera. A hellbender survey in North Georgia uncovered these rare denizens of Southern Appalachia.  Tyler Troxel/Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Only three of the small water dogs have been documented in North Georgia section of Tennessee River drainage since 2011

Thomas Floyd is a wildlife biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Section of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

BLAIRSVILLE — Hellbender surveys in North Georgia turned up a welcome surprise this summer: one of the state’s few sightings of common mudpuppies.

Although these big freshwater salamanders also known as waterdogs range from New York to the Great Lakes and from southern Canada to the rivers of northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, common mudpuppies are abundant in only parts of that realm. And in Georgia, they are rare.

The mid-August capture and release of three mudpuppies near Blairsville marked only the third time that Necturus maculosus has been documented in the state. The previous sightings were near Ringgold in 1987 and McCaysville in 2010.

While mudpuppies are found alongside eastern hellbenders throughout much of the hellbender’s range, it’s unclear why mudpuppies are so elusive or simply absent in many streams in Western North Carolina and Georgia.

A Blairsville mudpuppy is seen on the right. On the left are ways to identify a common mudpuppy.  Thomas Floyd/Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Since 2011, DNR surveys have recorded nearly 900 hellbenders across the Tennessee River drainage in North Georgia. But during that same time, and in what is the state's presumed distribution of mudpuppies, only three waterdogs have been seen. 

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee’s 2024-25 statewide gun hunting season for deer opens Saturday, Nov. 23. The season traditionally opens each year on the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving. During gun season, sportsmen may also use muzzleloaders or archery equipment. 

The statewide bag limit for antlered bucks is two. No more than one antlered deer may be taken per day, not to exceed two for the season. In Units 1, 2 and 3 there is an antlerless bag limit of three per day, and a limit of two antlerless for this season in Units 4, 5 and 6. The bag limit may only be exceeded as part of the Earn-A-Buck program or as replacement buck in a CWD positive county.

During season setting, new hunting units were implemented for this season. Hunters should refer to the 2024-25 Tennessee Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Guide for specific information about their hunting unit and complete license requirements.

Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1969, is required to carry proof of satisfactory completion of a hunter education class or be in possession of the Apprentice Hunter Education Permit (along with other required licenses) while hunting any species in Tennessee. Hunter education can be completed online for free along with in person options offered by TWRA. 

The statewide deer hunting season will continue through Jan. 5, 2025. The second Young Sportsman Hunt is Jan. 11-12.

A trail crew takes a breather after laboring on the Ramsey Cascades Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Crew members and park officials formally opened the rehabilitated trail this week after three years of work.  National Park Service

Radically enhanced Ramsey Cascades Trail leads to national park’s highest waterfall

Dave Barak is a public affairs specialist with the National Park Service.

GATLINBURG — In collaboration with Friends of the Smokies, the National Park Service (NPS) completed a three-year restoration of the Ramsey Cascades Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Located in the Greenbrier area, this popular trail ascends through beautiful hardwood forests to the 105-foot Ramsey Cascades, the tallest waterfall in the park. The trail is now open seven days a week following an extensive reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The NPS and Friends of the Smokies celebrated the milestone at the Ramsey Cascades trailhead. Following remarks and a ribbon-cutting, several participants hiked the newly restored trail together.  

Improvements to the Ramsey Cascades Trail include:

Throughout this rehabilitation, the NPS restored Ramsey Cascades — with the original trail design in mind — in a way that blends in with the natural landscape. Trail crew members used natural materials and hand tools and transported most tools and equipment by hand or pack mule. A helicopter delivered several loads to five drop sites that the mule team could not access. The trail crew used 1,200 black locust logs and 760,000 pounds of rock crush for fill for this rehabilitation.

Crews had to carry many materials and tools to the site by hand or mule.  National Park Service

“Trails Forever is an excellent example of the collaborative partnership between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Friends of the Smokies,” said Boone Vandzura, Acting Deputy Superintendent. “Together we’ve preserved and rehabilitated trails that enhance the recreational experience of millions of visitors.”  

A range of vegetation has moved into the former Kakhovka reservoir in Ukraine. Russian occupying forces destroyed the dam along the Dnieper River in June 2023.  Photos by Serhiiy Skoryk

Russia’s bombing of Kakhovka Dam in 2023 killed hundreds of people and tens of thousands of animals, but it also provided a potential ecological reset.

This story was originally published by The Revelator.

KYIV — In the early hours of June 6, 2023, two large explosions reverberated across cities and small towns located on the banks of the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine. The Russian military had reportedly set off multiple bombs, destroying the three-kilometer-long Kakhovka Dam and draining its massive reservoir into nearby settlements.

Water from the dam flooded the plains, killing hundreds of civilians and countless livestock, destroying farms, and displacing the residents of more than 37,000 homes.

The bombing made headlines around the world. It’s the long-term impact of the attack on the local biodiversity, however, that has scientists and experts concerned. In the weeks following the explosion, researchers from Ukrainian ministries and independent organizations carried out several assessments as best they could to the backdrop of the war.

They found that the attack had flooded about 60,000 hectares (230 square miles) of forest in at least four national parks, threatening an estimated population of 20,000 animals and 10,000 birds.

Serhiiy Skoryk, a national park director, is seen with landmines that are typical of those that have literally flooded the conflict zone during the Russian occupation of parts of Ukraine. These mines and other hazards complicate efforts to gauge the impact of the Russian invasion on Ukraine’s unique natural environment.