The U.S. Department of Energy and the Uranium Disposition Services, LLC (UDS) announced May 21^st, 2008 that physical construction of the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant near Piketon, Ohio, is complete. The DUF6 Facility will convert more than 250,000 metric tons of depleted uranium that were generated during uranium enrichment activities at the site since the 1950s. Steve Polston, President of UDS, stated “the people of UDS have shown by working as a team they can safely deliver on a very difficult challenge. While there are important hurdles yet to surmount, the completion of physical construction of the Portsmouth Plant is impressive evidence that UDS will effectively complete the DUF6 Project for the Department of Energy!”

Now that construction on the Piketon facility is complete, plant equipment will be thoroughly tested and plant operators will undergo extensive training in preparation for conversion operations. The project will convert the depleted uranium into uranium oxide (the most stable chemical form of uranium). The uranium oxide will then be repackaged for re-use or will be disposed of at a permitted waste disposal site. Once the facility is operating it will take approximately 18 years to convert the existing inventory of depleted uranium at Piketon.

The project will create more than 160 new permanent jobs in the Piketon area. During the peak of construction, the project employed over 250 construction workers. The facilities at the site consist of a 64,000-square-foot process building that houses the majority of the conversion equipment, a warehouse, an administration building, and several smaller support buildings.

In addition to the construction completion milestone, the UDS and its subcontractor’s workforce recently celebrated more than 2.3 million safe work hours without a lost time accident including work at both the Portsmouth and Paducah Sites. This safety record goes back to the start of construction in July 2004 and includes both the construction and operations activities.

UDS is a partnership between EnergySolutions, AREVA NP Inc., and Burns and Roe Enterprises Incorporated. The UDS corporate headquarters is in Lexington, KY. UDS is a prime contractor to the DOE Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office to design, construct, and operate the DUF6 Conversion Project facilities in Piketon, Ohio, and Paducah, Kentucky.

Photograph of the DUF6 Conversion Facility near Piketon

Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman toured the Paducah Site on August 2, 2005. Secretary Bodman's visit included the UDS project site where he reviewed construction progress. Secretary Bodman recognized the UDS conversion as a significant part of total plant clean up efforts. The project includes the design, construction and operation of facilities to convert approximately 39,000 cylinders of depleted UF6 to a more stable uranium oxide form for disposition and removal from the Paducah site. The Secretary discussed progress and obstacles to progress with UDS President, Tim Forden. The Secretary voiced his support for the project and urged UDS to continue to move forward to make the project a reality.

On September 30, 2005, the Department of Energy (DOE) granted UDS approval to proceed with construction. DOE approved UDS's CD-3 (final design) Design Package and granted approval for full construction to proceed. UDS construction activities had been limited to site preparation, infrastructure and auxiliary buildings. The latest approval now allows construction to start on process facilities and process equipment. The approved design package includes upgrading of the facility design to meet enhanced DOE requirements.

Construction activity will increase dramatically in the next few weeks and procurement of equipment and subcontract services will increase significantly over the next few months.

Tim Forden, UDS President, thanked everyone in the organization for their contributions in the successful achievement of this milestone. "It has been a monumental effort and signals the confidence that DOE has in our ability to move forward in our project" stated Mr. Forden. He further added "Let us remember that while this is a major milestone achievement, it is but one step on the journey that is the DUF6 project. Many months of work remains before the plants at Paducah and Portsmouth are started up. This work will require all of us to continue to work together and to give the project our very best. However, let us savor the moment - congratulations and thanks to all members of the team on this accomplishment."