The Department of Energy is reducing its uranium transfers used to pay for DOE cleanup and downblending programs under the latest Secretarial determination for the transfers, released late last week. DOE will transfer up to 2,100 metric tons of natural uranium in 2016, compared to the 2,705 metric tons allowed under the Secretarial determination completed in May 2014. The transfers are used to pay for cleanup work at the Portsmouth site as well as a program to downblend highly-enriched uranium to low-enriched uranium. A determination of no “adverse material impact” on the domestic uranium industry is required before DOE can move ahead with the transfers.
Notably, the increase in DOE’s 2014 determination above a previous guideline of no more than 10 percent of the domestic nuclear fuel market gained significant opposition from industry and some lawmakers and sparked a lawsuit from uranium conversion company ConverDyn. DOE subsequently opened the latest determination to public comment before issuing it on May 1. Beginning on June 30 this year, transfers supporting Portsmouth cleanup will be reduced from 600 metric tons per quarter to up to 400 metric tons per quarter. In 2016, up to 1,600 metric tons per year will support Portsmouth cleanup, while up to 500 metric tons will go to the HEU downblending program.
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