Billy Starnes recently celebrated his 50th anniversary working in the oldest operating nuclear facility in the world, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
Office of Environmental Management
May 14, 2024
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Billy Starnes currently serves as a uranium-233 specialist with Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management contractor Isotek. His knowledge is vital to preparations needed for processing operations as crews downblend the material into a form safe for shipment and disposal.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Billy Starnes recently celebrated his 50th anniversary working in the oldest operating nuclear facility in the world, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
Starnes walked into Building 3019 for the first time in February 1974 as an engineering technician, tasked with testing uranium-233 processing. His career over the past five decades has transitioned from making the material safe for storage to now making it safe for disposal.
“I was one of the first engineering technicians they brought in when they started ramping up the number of people to really go into production,” said Starnes.
Billy Starnes began working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1974. His first job in Building 3019 was as an engineering technician testing processing with uranium-233.
Starnes began by extracting radioisotopes to reduce uranium-233’s radioactivity as it was prepared for storage. His role and responsibilities continued expanding over the years, becoming operations manager and facility supervisor.
“I think I’ve been in pretty much every compartment, every cell, every tunnel, even in the bottom of the stack,” Starnes said. “I’ve probably seen a few of the places that most people will not see.”
One of the largest processing campaigns Starnes supported was the Consolidated Edison Uranium Solidification Project. As part of that effort, highly radioactive uranyl nitrate solutions of fuel cores from other facilities across the country were sent to Building 3019 in liquid form to be converted into a safer, solid form for storage.
“There were a lot of projects going on that had meaning, and it was an accomplishment to finish those,” Starnes recounted.
Isotek holds a celebration recognizing Billy Starnes’ 50 years of work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He is pictured with Isotek President and Project Manager Sarah Schaefer.
Given his experience with the radioisotope and his aversion to leisure, Starnes joined Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) contractor Isotek in 2003, coming out of retirement from ORNL after only two weeks.
Today, he relies on his unmatched familiarity with the uranium-233 inventory to support OREM’s highest priority project at ORNL, which is focused on eliminating that material from storage in Building 3019. The project is also advancing cancer treatment research and providing material needed to start clinical trials for a promising form of treatment.
Processing and disposition of uranium-233 canisters is a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management 2024 priority.
Starnes currently serves as a uranium-233 specialist, vital to extensive preparations needed for processing operations that are downblending the material and converting it to a form safe for shipment and permanent disposal.
“The level of knowledge that he retains is incredible,” said Karl Thomas, Isotek processing manager. “From a cost perspective, having that value on the project, it’s hard to calculate how important that is.”
Billy Starnes, second from left, is shown with a team of employees preparing to process a portion of a low-dose inventory of uranium-233 in gloveboxes. That phase of the project is complete, and employees are now processing the high-dose portion of the inventory in hot cells, which are large concrete enclosures with shielded glass and mechanical manipulators that allow operators to safely handle highly radioactive or hazardous materials.
His subject matter expertise and remarkable memory helps with analysis of uranium-233 canisters and maintenance of Building 3019. One could reliably say that no one alive knows more about uranium-233 and Building 3019 than Starnes.
“He’s so focused, not only on the technical details; he’s focused on the people details,” said Linda Gilpin, Isotek data manager. “He can look at people’s names, and he remembers what their roles were.”
Starnes has no public plans to retire, and the team has expressed gratitude that he will continue providing his insight to support the Uranium-233 Disposition Project.
-Contributor: John Gray
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