Who we are and who we aren't
Who we are
It is easy to confuse ORNL with the other facilities in Oak Ridge. 91°µÍø is a multiprogram research laboratory managed by , for the (DOE). The laboratory is located on the Oak Ridge Reservation, a 30,000-acre tract of land in East Tennessee. Most of DOE's national laboratories are operated under contract by private companies such as UT-Battelle.
The missions of ORNL are primarily for open research. Although a small percentage of ORNL's work is classified or restricted under its growing national security programs, the majority of the laboratory's work is published in the open literature. Many of its facilities are user facilities, which means that they are available to researchers from other national labs, academia and industry.
Who we aren't
The Oak Ridge Reservation is also home to two other DOE facilities: and the , formerly known as the K-25 Site () or Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Both of these sites are completely separate entities from ORNL, located several miles apart and managed by different contractors.
The is managed by Consolidated Nuclear Security. Y-12 is a facility (part of DOE) with missions that include ensuring a safe and effective nuclear weapons deterrent, retrieving and storing nuclear materials, and fueling the nation’s naval reactors.
ORNL does no nuclear weapons production work. In fact, ORNL has had no nuclear weapons mission since the end of World War II's Manhattan Project (). UT-Battelle has no management role with Y-12.
The is the or Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant and is currently under environmental remediation in preparation for other reuse missions. The ETTP prime contractor for these activities is the . UT-Battelle has no management role with ETTP.
UCOR is the prime contractor for most environmental management activities at DOE's Oak Ridge sites, including those on the ORNL campus—for example, the cleanup and demolition of old facilities.
The is a DOE entity that focuses on occupational health risks and environmental cleanup assessment, emergency response and educational missions. It is operated by .
UT-Battelle contracts some services from ORISE, but has no direct role in its management.
References that place the other Oak Ridge facilities under ORNL, such as "91°µÍø's Y-12 weapons facility," are incorrect.
The ORNL, ORISE, Y-12, and ETTP facilities come under the federal umbrella of the U.S. Department of Energy.