Oak Ridge, TN
Oak Ridge, TN Siren Systems
Oak Ridge is a city located in the far west suburbs of Knoxville, TN, and is home to many nuclear research/production facilities. There are three main facilities, and each has their own separate system.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, or ORNL, is located deep in the forest about 6 miles south-southwest of downtown Oak Ridge. Their first system comprised of 12 sirens. They were all most likely ACA Alertronic AL-12000 sirens, however they cannot easily be confirmed via any means of satellite imagery, and access to the area is restricted. In 2013, a few of these sirens were presumably replaced by American Signal iForce sirens.
Y-12 National Security Complex
Y-12 National Security Complex is located just south of downtown Oak Ridge, and most of its system overlaps into Oak Ridge itself. Their original system, installed in the 1980's, comprised of 16 ACA Alertronic AL-12000 omnidirectional sirens and 5 ACA Alertronic AL-6000R directional sirens. In 2013, a new system of American Signal T-121's and T-135's was installed to replace all of the Alertronic series sirens, which were outdated and using analog controllers. Many of the old Alertronics still remain standing, however they seem to be slowly disappearing one by one. This system is tested on the first Wednesday of every month at noon.
"Watch for birds"
There is one known video to exist of the Y-12 siren system in action. It shows an AL-12000, presumably the one located at the Post Office in Oak Ridge, however its actual location has not been found. This is the only known video of an AL-12000.
K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant
The K-25 plant was used to enrich uranium for use in atomic bombs during WWII. Currently it is in the long process of being demolished. They do, however, have a siren system and it is the original one installed in the 1980's. Their system comprises of 16 Alertronic AL-6000R directional sirens and 4 ACA Alertronic AL-12000 omnidirectional sirens within the plant itself. It is possible, however, that one of the AL-6000R's is broken, and it is also possible that one of the AL-12000's was removed to make way for a new building. This system is tested on the first Wednesday of every month between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
