Maryland-based nuclear fuel provider Centrus Energy is working toward termination of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license for its American Centrifuge Lead Cascade demonstration project at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio.
Most decontamination and decommissioning at the site was finished by June 30, Centrus said in a 10-Q quarterly report filed Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Centrus has previously said all plant equipment from the 120-machine cascade had been removed.
The company has not publicly cited the cost of cleanup to date, Centrus spokesman Jeremy Derryberry said by email Monday. Centrus carried $38.6 million of accrued liability for the work at the end of 2017, and $1 million as of its second-quarter earnings report, which covers a three-month period ending June 30. The company has also generated a $5.9 million credit by relying less than expected on outside contractors for decommissioning. Accrual liability basically tracks a future financial obligation.
Separately, NRC staff recently issued a finding of no significant impact regarding potential environmental effects of the decommissioning plan. This completes the National Environmental Policy Act review process for the action, said NRC spokesman David McIntyre. The NRC must still approve termination of the license for the Centrus facility, he added.
Centrus spent $5.4 million on license and decommissioning-related costs during the second quarter and $13.4 million during the first six month of 2018. The company began cleanup in 2016, after the Energy Department declined to continue funding the advanced uranium enrichment demonstration. Centrus has been using surety bonds as financial assurance.
Centrus reported a net loss of $26.1 million, or $3.08 per common share, for the latest earnings period. That compared to a $22.4 million loss, $2.69 per common share, during the same period one year earlier.
It also suffered a net loss of $51.1 million for the first half of 2018, compared to $14.8 million a year ago, Centrus said in an earnings report Wednesday.
