Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle

SHINE Medical Technologies has entered into a supply agreement with Lantheus Medical Imaging to provide the diagnostic imaging company with molybdenum-99, the medical isotope used in millions of procedures annually, the company announced this week. SHINE is one of several companies trying to get through the regulatory hurdles to begin the production of Moly-99, and […]

SHINE Medical Technologies has entered into a supply agreement with Lantheus Medical Imaging to provide the diagnostic imaging company with molybdenum-99, the medical isotope used in millions of procedures annually, the company announced this week. SHINE is one of several companies trying to get through the regulatory hurdles to begin the production of Moly-99, and […]

Centrus Energy has regained compliance with New York Stock Exchange listing standards after reaching an average 30 trading-day market capitalization above $50 million, the company announced yesterday. The company fell out of compliance with listing standards in April 2013, and Centrus then submitted a plan to the Exchange for bringing it into compliance over an […]

The Department of Energy has awarded a $3.6 million grant to Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet for regulatory oversight of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The grant covers a period from Nov. 1 through Oct. 31, 2015, with options for four one-year extensions. The grant aims to have Kentucky “provide an independent, impartial, and qualified […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 10/31/2014 AMELIA ISLAND, Fla.–While the Department of Energy’s two depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion plants did not meet a goal to reach 100 percent operational design plate capacity by the end of Fiscal Year 2014, the facilities are seeing improvements  in production rates, DOE Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Manager Bill Murphie […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/31/2014 Perma-Fix Environmental Services is attempting to pivot its design for the production of molybdenum-99 into a larger-scale version of its technology, Perma-Fix CEO Lou Centofanti said this week. The company announced earlier this year the successful demonstration of its technology to produce the medical isotopes used in millions of […]

Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 10/31/2014 Honeywell is still determining how much uranium hexafluoride leaked after an Oct. 26 equipment failure at its Metropolis Works uranium conversion facility in Illinois. The leak began at about 7:35 p.m. and was active for less than an hour. The cause of the release was traced to an equipment failure […]

Honeywell is still determining how much uranium hexafluoride leaked after an equipment failure Sunday night at its Metropolis Works uranium conversion facility in Illinois. The leak began at about 7:35 p.m. and was active for less than an hour. The cause of the release was traced to an equipment failure near the end of the […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 10/24/2014 AMELIA ISLAND, Fla.—This week marked the official handoff of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant to the Department of Energy and deactivation contractor Fluor, and the focus in the coming months will now be on deactivation work and integrating scope with outgoing cleanup contractor LATA Environmental Services of Kentucky, officials said […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 10/24/2014 Contrary to what some industry officials had hoped, the new contract to operate the Department of Energy’s depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion plants won’t be set aside for small businesses. Instead, DOE plans to compete the new contract on a full-and-open basis, according to a notice issued late this week. Prior […]

The turnover of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant to the Department of Energy and deactivation contractor Fluor was completed yesterday by former plant operator Centrus Energy Corporation, previously known as USEC. Current Paducah cleanup contractor LATA-Kentucky will continue work until the end of its contract in July 2015, after which Fluor will take over remaining […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 10/17/2014 With transition set to wrap up next week on the Paducah deactivation services contract to a Fluor-led team, the local United Steelworkers union is raising concerns about a lack of transparency on worker hiring for the new contractor. The Department of Energy awarded the work to Fluor in July under […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 10/10/2014 B&W Conversion Services fell just short of achieving its Fiscal Year 2014 production goals at the Department of Energy’s two depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion plants. BWCS reported a total production of 22,596 metric tons, compared to a goal of 22,700 metric tons, according to the DOE Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 10/3/2014 In the next move in a lawsuit filed by uranium conversion company ConverDyn aiming to limit the Department of Energy’s transfers of excess uranium to pay for cleanup work, DOE late last week urged the court to grant summary judgment in its favor. ConverDyn has argued that DOE’s transfers violate […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 10/3/2014 As USEC became Centrus Energy Corp. this week after completing Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, in its first major action longtime President and Chief Executive Officer John Welch announced his plans to step down. Welch, who has served as head of the uranium enrichment firm since October 2005, plans to leave […]

Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 10/3/2014 As USEC became Centrus Energy Corp. this week after completing Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, in its first major action longtime President and Chief Executive Officer John Welch announced his plans to step down. Welch, who has served as head of the uranium enrichment firm since October 2005, plans to leave […]

In the first major action since transitioning from USEC to Centrus Energy Corp. this week, longtime President and Chief Executive Officer John Welch will step down, while the company’s new board of directors elected Mikel Williams as chairman. Welch, who has served as head of the company since October 2005, plans to step down on […]

USEC completes its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring today and is switching over to its new name: Centrus Energy Corp. The company’s new common stock shares also will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “LEU” rather than the previously used “USU” symbol. USU stock closed at $0.83 per share yesterday, […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/19/2014 Uranium conversion services company ConverDyn late last week filed a motion for summary judgment in a case that aims to limit the Department of Energy’s ability to transfer stocks of excess uranium to help pay for activities such as D&D work at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. ConverDyn has argued […]

Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 9/19/2014 USEC plans to complete on Sept. 30 its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring and emerge from the process under the new name Centrus Energy Corp., the company said this week. The company’s new common stock shares will also then begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol […]

The Uranium Producers of America is backing a case that aims to halt the Department of Energy’s transfers of excess uranium, which in a large part fund cleanup work at Portsmouth and some National Nuclear Security Administration programs. UPA, a uranium miner’s group, has weighed in support of a motion for summary judgment in a […]

Uranium conversion services company ConverDyn late last week filed a motion for summary judgment in a case that aims to prevent the Department of Energy from moving ahead with its transfers of excess uranium. ConverDyn is asking the U.S. District Court for D.C. to  vacate the May 15, 2014 DOE Secretarial determination on the sale […]

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Delaware District has confirmed USEC’s plans for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, completing the final step for USEC to restructure its debt and change its name to Centrus Energy Corp. USEC filed for Chapter 11 in March in an effort to replace $530 million in debt that largely comes due in […]

EM Procurement Chief Says Decision on Possible Rebid Coming ‘Soon’ Mike Nartker and Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/5/2014 The Department of Energy appears to be in the final stages of deciding whether to rebid the Portsmouth D&D contract or exercise the five-year option remaining in Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC’s current contract. Jack Surash, Deputy Assistant Secretary […]

The Department of Energy is pursuing an anomaly of $66 million in the event of a short-term Continuing Resolution to avoid some looming layoffs at the Portsmouth site, WC Monitor has learned. About 700 Portsmouth workers are at risk of layoffs in the start of the new fiscal year Oct. 1 due to both a […]

The Department of Energy is pursuing an anomaly of $66 million in the event of a short-term Continuing Resolution to avoid some looming layoffs at the Portsmouth site, WC Monitor has learned. About 700 Portsmouth workers are at risk of layoffs in the start of the new fiscal year Oct. 1 due to both a […]

Hitachi Ltd. announced last week that it has entered into a joint research project with three U.S. universities to study Transuranium Elements (TRU) as fuel in the development of Resource-renewable Boiling Water Reactors (RBWRs). The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, and the University of California, Berkeley will aid in the research of […]

USEC has named Glenn Strausser as the new manager of quality assurance at the American Centrifuge Plant, the company announced. Strausser previously was director of engineering, procurement and construction for American Centrifuge. In his new role, he will “oversee independent oversight and assessment of the plant and will work to ensure the plant’s compliance with […]

Site Facing Impending Layoffs Set to Reduce D&D Workforce by One-Third Mike Nartker WC Monitor 8/29/2014 As the clock ticks down on impending layoffs at the Portsmouth D&D project, Ohio Senator Rob Portman (R) held what he described as “frustrating” discussions with Department of Energy officials during a visit to the site late this week. […]

Acting Department of Energy cleanup chief Mark Whitney and David Foster, a senior advisor to Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, are scheduled to visit the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant today, along with Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). The visit comes as the plant’s D&D contractor, Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC, is preparing for significant layoffs this fall due […]