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The Department of Energy today issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the design, construction and operation of new facilities at uranium enrichment plant sites in Ohio and Kentucky. Once built, these facilities will convert the federal government's large inventory of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) to a more stable form and prepare the material for disposal or potential reuse.

"We are committed to dealing effectively with our depleted uranium inventory and continuing the environmental restoration of these sites," said Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson. "The issuance of this Request for Proposals puts us one step closer to addressing the government's inventory of depleted uranium hexafluoride at the gaseous diffusion plant sites."

The department manages approximately 700,000 metric tons of DUF6 in about 57,000 cylinders stored at its Paducah, Kentucky; Portsmouth, Ohio; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee sites. This material is a by-product from over forty years of uranium enrichment operations in support of both national security and commercial customers. Depleted uranium hexafluoride is a granular solid at normal temperatures which can release hazardous chemicals under certain conditions. The inventory is maintained in large 10 and 14 ton steel cylinders that must be regularly inspected and protected from corrosion.

The procurement is a direct result of the record of decision issued by the department in July 1999 to move forward with the conversion of the depleted uranium hexafluoride inventory. The conversion plants that result from this procurement will convert this material to a more stable chemical form which is suitable for either use or disposal. The contractor selected will have the tasks of: applying its technology to the design of conversion plants; constructing the plants at the Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio uranium enrichment plant sites; and operating the plants for a five-year period. The work will include maintaining depleted uranium and product inventories, transporting depleted uranium from Tennessee to a conversion plant and transporting converted product that is not needed for other uses to a disposal site. The selected contractor will be expected to arrange for the disposal of excess material at an appropriate site.

The procurement is open to a wide range of potential product forms and process technologies and was designed to enable the best technologies to compete on an equal basis. The Energy Department estimates that it will take up to 25 years of plant operations to convert all its depleted uranium.

Proposals must be submitted by Feb.1, 2001, and the contract is expected to be awarded during the summer of 2001.

The RFP is available via the Internet at www.oro.doe.gov/duf6disposition/.

- DOE -

R-00-281