LB/Coburn Goes Nuclear

When the U.S. Department of Energy needed a 33-foot diameter steel vessel and 1.6 million pounds of steel shielding blocks for the United States' next-generation neutron scattering facility, they turned to LB/Coburn.

	The 33-foot diameter Bulk Shield Liner is dimensionally accurate to +/- 0.25 inches.

After a highly competitive bidding process, LB/Coburn was chosen to fabricate the Bulk Shield Liner and and Shielding Blocks for The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) target building. This shielding protects the workers and visitors from the high-energy radiation produced in the SNS target facility. In January 2002, we delivered the 33-foot diameter Bulk Shield Liner on time, within budget, and dimensionally accurate to the specified +/- 0.25 inches. By the end of the year the Shielding Blocks will be installed inside it.

	The facility begins to rise around the Spallation Target Building.

Ken Chipley, the Target Systems project manager for the lead contractor UT-Battelle, LLC, told us, "The continued success of the project is dependent on having responsive suppliers like LB Steel who are willing to supply components such as shielding blocks on schedule and at a reasonable cost."

	LB/Coburn cut and fabricated 1.6 million pounds of shielding blocks that will protect the SNS workers from high-power neutrons.

This is the most advanced facility of it's kind anywhere in the world and LB/Coburn is proud to be able to contribute to the effort to maintain our nation's scientific leadership.

What is the Department of Energy SNS?

	The Spallation Target Building is a critical part of a massive research project.

"The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is an accelerator-based neutron source being built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, by the U.S. Department of Energy. The SNS will provide the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world for scientific research and industrial development. At a total cost of $1.4 billion, construction began in 1999 and will be completed in 2006. Currently, the SNS is a mammoth building site buzzing with cranes, concrete trucks, and hard-hatted workers. SNS is expected to reach peak construction activity later this year with more than 600 construction workers on site."*

*From the DOE Spallation Neutron Source web site (link opens new window).