The Department of Energy last week released its long awaited Excess Uranium Inventory Management Plan, more than a year after it had been due to Congress on June 30, 2012. The plan updates a 2008 document that details uses for DOE’s stockpiles of uranium. DOE released the new plan along with an announcement that it is seeking offers for purchase of depleted uranium stored at the Paducah and Portsmouth sites. The delays in the release of the plan over the last year led to questions and criticism from some lawmakers and industry groups.
The updated plan, available here, cites potential uranium transfers approved in a Secretarial Determination by DOE in May 2012. That includes up to 2,400 metric tons per year of natural uranium from Paducah and Portsmouth between 2012 and 2021. It also notes the transfer of up to about 9,000 metric tons of depleted uranium to Energy Northwest, part of a recently completed one-year tails reenrichment program that extended operations at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. And under the National Nuclear Security Administration the plan includes the potential transfer of 400 metric tons of natural uranium equivalent for the downblending of highly enriched uranium.