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USEC Completes Return of Paducah Plant to DOE

USEC Completes Return of Paducah Plant to DOE
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By West Kentucky Star Staff
Oct. 21, 2014 | PADUCAH, KY
By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 21, 2014 | 08:39 AM | PADUCAH, KY
United States Enrichment Corporation, a subsidiary of Centrus Energy Corp., today returned full control of the 750-acre uranium enrichment complex near Paducah, Ky. to the U.S. Department of Energy. The transfer of control occurred at 7:00 am and followed a year-long process to prepare the plant for a return to full DOE control.

United States Enrichment Corporation had leased the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant from DOE since it was privatized by the U.S. Government in 1998 and enriched uranium there for the global nuclear fuel market until May 2013. DOE has responsibility for the decontamination and decommissioning of the 60-year old complex and has contracted with Fluor Federal Services, Inc. to begin deactivation activities at the site.

“For more than a decade, United States Enrichment Corporation employees in Paducah operated this plant at record-high levels of productivity in a safe and environmentally responsible manner,” said Steve Penrod, vice president of American Centrifuge for Centrus and former general manager at Paducah. “When enrichment ceased in 2013, this same team came together to safely and diligently wind down operations and work closely with DOE to effect a smooth and successful de-lease and return of full control of the site to DOE. I want to thank them and our counterparts at DOE for the tremendous efforts that led to this successful outcome.”

John Castellano, interim president and chief executive officer of Centrus, added, “With the successful handover of the Paducah plant complete, Centrus can focus on serving its utility customers, improving its business and maintaining the American Centrifuge technology for national security needs and future commercial deployment. We are well positioned to deliver value to our customers and shareholders as a smaller company with a stronger balance sheet.”

Castellano noted that the turnover of the Paducah plant to DOE will have no effect on customers or their deliveries. Turnover Process Turnover activities began in May 2013 when United States Enrichment Corporation ceased enrichment at the plant because its high cost of operations made it uncompetitive in a depressed global nuclear fuel market. In early 2014, the Company began the process of repackaging inventory and moving it to other licensed storage locations. All transfers of enriched uranium product to off-site licensed locations were completed by April 2014.

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, built in the 1950’s as a government owned and operated facility, supplied enriched uranium for national security and energy production for 60 years. In its initial years of operation, it was an integral part of the country’s production of enriched uranium for national security purposes. Later in its life, it supplied nuclear fuel to commercial nuclear reactors in the United States and around the world to produce clean, reliable electricity. The plant also served as the U.S. destination for low enriched uranium fuel produced in Russia during the recently concluded Megatons to Megawatts program, which transformed the equivalent of 20,000 Russian nuclear warheads into fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

Over its 60-year history, the Paducah plant helped fuel western Kentucky’s regional economy. The plant’s management and workforce gave generously to support community service projects, charities and schools. The local community consistently supported the plant, as did local, state and federal legislators, who recognized both the local and national benefits of the plant. Nothing about the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is small. During its operations, it produced more than 300 million SWU, or separative work units, a measure of nuclear fuel production, enough to fuel every U.S. reactor for 25 years. The plant covers 750 of the 3,425 acres on the Federal site. It is comprised of 161 buildings, including four giant process buildings, each averaging 74 acres under roof.

 

STATEMENT FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) officially received the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant from the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), a subsidiary of Centrus Energy Corp., at 7:01 this morning. 

During a brief ceremony, DOE site lead Jennifer Woodard received the “key” to the plant from Centrus Vice President Steve Penrod. Fluor Federal Services, Inc. (FFS) will be performing the deactivation of the plant and other activities under its contract with DOE.  The Department awarded FFS an approximately $420-million, three-year contract to accept the deleased facilities formerly operated by USEC and conduct deactivation activities to optimize the site’s utilities and infrastructure to support reduced operations and energy needs.

“Today is a big day for all of those involved in this transition and a significant step forward in the Department’s cleanup mission.” said Woodard.  “For over 60 years this plant has served its purpose of enriching uranium for nuclear defense and energy.  Now it is time to begin the process for deactivating the plant and preparing for decontamination and decommissioning.”

“The next three years will bring about significant change at the site and we are pleased to have skilled craftsmen and long-term employees who have significant expertise here at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant,” said Con Murphy, Program Manager for Fluor.  “Each and every work day will be anchored by the Fluor core values of safety, quality, community, leadership and collaboration.”

The project will initially employ approximately 400 people, and Fluor expects to ramp up to approximately 500 employees over the next year, comprised primarily of highly skilled former USEC and LATA-Kentucky workers.  This number does not include subcontractors who will also be hired during the project.  LATA-KY’s environmental cleanup contract at the site continues until July 2015.  After July 2015, the remaining environmental cleanup scope will be performed by FFS.

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is a 3,556-acre federal reservation that was built as part of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex, and enriched uranium beginning in 1952.  DOE’s site missions include deactivation and stabilization, environmental cleanup, waste disposition, depleted uranium conversion, and eventual decontamination and demolition of the plant. The Department of Energy is responsible for cleaning up the nation’s gaseous diffusion buildings in accordance with the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 1992.  Besides the decontamination of soil and groundwater at these sites, thousands of buildings and structures must be decontaminated and demolished.

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