The Department of Energy is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from vendors that could potentially help recover valuable critical materials from nuclear cleanup sites.
DOE expects it can reclaim rare earth elements and other materials important to industry from Cold War and Manhattan Project sites overseen by the department’s Office of Environmental Management, according to a Friday press release.
Environmental Management plans to hold a virtual industry day Sept. 30 to provide more details on the EOI. Responses are due by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 2, according to the EOI notice posted online.
Critical items included on the EOI shopping list are, in alphabetical order, aluminum, cesium-137, chloride, copper, fluorine, lead, lithium hydride, platinum, selenium, silver, tungsten and vanadium. The materials are deemed valuable to helping the United States beef up its scientific and manufacturing supply chain, according to the release.
DOE sites that were used in either weapons production or nuclear energy research should provide a fertile ground for recovering such material, the DOE Office of Environmental Management said in the release.
DOE sites taking part in the initiative include Oak Ridge in Tennessee, Paducah in Kentucky, Portsmouth in Ohio as well as western properties such as Moab in Utah and the Nevada National Security Site, the department said in the release.
“EM is transforming the legacy of America’s nuclear mission into opportunity,” EM Infrastructure, Disposition and Regulatory Policy Director Rob Seifert said in the release. “The surplus materials at our sites could help put American resources to work for American industry by supporting jobs, strengthening our industrial base and advancing the administration’s energy and national security priorities.”
For questions and a link to attend, email Seifert, robert.seifert@em.doe.gov.